The cuts to exercise and sports have dismayed sports players.
In the government’s framework crisis, which started on Monday, new adjustment measures are planned to balance the state economy. If the cuts planned by the government go through, they will take almost a quarter of the state’s sports budget by 2027.
This means 40 million euros, on top of which there may be additional savings from the frame rush.
In addition to the cuts, the government is planning to increase the value added tax on sports services from 10 percent to 14 percent in 2025. Sports associations and sports clubs are facing a challenging situation when, due to increasing costs, the number of enthusiasts decreases.
Executive director of the Floorball Association Pekka Ilmivalta admits that a massive slice of the union’s budget will be lost with the cuts. This year, the Floorball Association will receive a general subsidy of around 1.1 million euros, but significantly less in the future.
– For our union, it means about 300,000 euros in cuts to the state’s general assistance. It is quite clear that such sums affect our operations.
This is a big setback for the sports association, which reported a drastically negative financial statement a year ago. At that time, the Floorball Association made losses of more than 400,000 euros.
– We had to start a systematic austerity program, when the workforce was reduced by five people. Quite a lot had to be saved for everything.
According to Ilmivalta, the most recent financial statements of the Salibandyliitoto are positive after extensive savings measures, but the government’s cuts will again lead to adjustments in operations.
This means, for example, looking for new sources of funding. Savings measures inevitably also target children and young people.
– Not all adaptation can be done in national team or player path activities. Certainly, the cuts will also be seen in the support that is used to move children and young people in clubs.
“The biggest loser is the Finnish economy itself”
Chairman of the Finnish Olympic Committee Jan Vapaavuoren exercise and sports should be included in the savings talks, but the cuts planned now make the situation unsustainable.
– The supply of exercise will shrink in Finland and prices will rise. It is clear that the well-being of children and young people will suffer if the amount of exercise and sports in Finland decreases, Vapaavuori commented in an interview with Urheilu.
Vapaavuori has a strong understanding that ill-considered decisions were made in the final meters of the long-drawn-out government negotiations.
– Perhaps it was not fully understood how significant they are and how much they deviate from the general cutting line.
According to Vapaavuori, the sports budget is subject to larger cuts than other areas of administration on average. The austerity measures would affect the functioning of society as a whole and the resilience of the crisis.
– Excessive savings on exercise is like shooting yourself in the foot. The biggest loser would be the Finnish public finances themselves.
Worry about the future
As a countermeasure, the Olympic Committee launched the #EiLeikataLiikunnstasta social campaign, the goal of which is to illustrate to decision-makers what Finland will lose if exercise is cut.
One of the participants in the campaign is the head coach of the Badminton League Ville Långwho says in an interview with Urheilu that he is shocked by the surgery plans.
He emphasizes that he takes a stand on the topic specifically from the point of view of the movement of children and young people.
– I’m not talking about elite sports, but rather I’m thinking about this as a matter for the whole nation. It’s really incredible that the connection is not seen in the fact that we are physically and mentally worse year by year. Nausea is always going towards the younger people.
He also criticized the financial effects of the cuts in the longer term. Currently, the costs of immobility and sitting still for society are 4.7 billion euros annually.
– What will be the rate of surgeries in 10, 15 or 20 years? It will explode in your hands if young people move even less.
Although Lång is especially concerned about children’s diminished hobby opportunities, the cuts are inevitably connected to elite sports as well.
– This has been seen not only in badminton but also in many other sports. In general, we have difficulties in bringing enough young people to the sport, let alone those who could even dream of a career as a top athlete.