According to Timo Elo, the president of the Basketball Association, the Basketball Association is not responsible for the payment, because it did not receive the support money itself, but distributed it to the clubs.
During the corona years, the Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM) granted support to sports clubs to cover the loss of income caused by audience restrictions.
Now the ministry has decided to recover the basketball clubs’ subsidies after the report of the external auditor.
OKM granted the Basketball Association a grant of 459,000 euros aimed at men’s and women’s Basketball League clubs in February 2021.
Recoverable amounts vary from a few thousand to 40,000 euros per club. President of the Basketball Association Timo Elo tells that OKM will recover a total of 254,000 euros.
– We haven’t seen those grounds or calculations, so it’s a bit difficult to take a stand on anything, and the clubs probably haven’t seen anything other than the final decision on how much to pay, Elo wonders.
According to Elo, the subsidies were used correctly.
– No one received any income when the government’s decision had empty stands. I think that the loss of income is definitely there for everyone, says Elo.
– Yes, everyone has had player fees and other things on, so it was quite a surprise that these are being collected back.
According to Elo, the Basketball Association is not responsible for the payment, because it did not receive the support money itself, but distributed it to the clubs.
– Of course, the responsibility lies with the recipient if this were the case, but we will of course help and support in this process in every way, so that there is no need to go to recoveries.
The Ministry of Education and Culture announced on September 19 that it will immediately recover the subsidies. The next day, the Basketball Association asked for reasons and the right to appeal. The union has been promised an official consultation procedure within a month.
– It’s a bit bureaucratic, and the interest rate for possible recoveries runs all the time. This is a really sad situation for the clubs, says Elo.
How big is a few tens of thousands of euros for a Finnish basketball club?
– Really big. Budgets vary from a little over a million to just under half a million. Those are huge sums for everyone.