Olympics: Criticism of reform: top associations fear for the 2020 Olympics

The top associations of the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) have harshly criticized the sluggish implementation of the reform of competitive sport.

“The delays and ambiguities in the implementation of the reform lead to considerable uncertainty among athletes, coaches and federations and thus massively endanger the preparations for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020,”according to a statement by the federations that they received on the fringes of the 14th World Championships. General Assembly of the DOSB in Koblenz.

The amalgamation of the Olympic and non-Olympic federations demanded “clarity for the athletes with regard to their financial security, the structure of the base and professional support”. The “unsustainable employment situation” of numerous trainers must be eliminated. In addition,”the funds necessary for the implementation of the competitive sports reform must be made available to the associations”.

The associations’ criticism is directed primarily at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the largest sponsor of top-class sport, and the federal states. Due to the unclear political situation in Berlin, the additional funds promised by the managing interior minister Thomas de Maiziere are not yet available. According to the paper, a new federal government will only be able to decide on an increase in funding:”From 2018 onwards, the federal and state governments will have to raise their public funding for competitive sport considerably.