The government will consider the new Sports Law on Tuesday, Prime Minister Evika Silina informed the media.
Why is it needed? Silina stated that the Sports Law is necessary to clearly define what an active lifestyle is. “Popular sports, children's and youth sports, an active and healthy society would be our priority,” she said.
She emphasized that the law aims to regulate the issue of sports funding so that it relies less on contingency funds. It is also planned to define what the state does and what local governments do.
As previously reported, the re-approval of the draft law was completed at the end of January. The Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia, Edgars Pukinskis, informed the Saeima committee that a "number of proposals and objections" had been received. He also admitted that the draft law would be submitted to the government with "some fundamental objections."
The unresolved comments are mainly related to the compatibility of the new Sports Law with other regulations and possible financial risks. Most objections came from the Ministry of Justice of Latvia and the Ministry of Finance of Latvia.
The changes also provide for the establishment of a Sports Fund. To meet the needs of the industry, several million euros are annually allocated from the state budget for contingency funds. According to the ministry, this indicates the need to develop mechanisms for additional funding for the industry.
The funding procedure for mass sports will remain unchanged until the new law is adopted — this year, funds for sports organizations will be allocated through federations, Pukinskis noted, referring to the Ministry of Justice's objection during the coordination of funding rules for the industry. The ministry indicated that until the new law is adopted, the Ministry of Education will not be able to enter into contracts with sports organizations directly, but only through federations. Accordingly, the funding procedure this year will not change.
This year, the state budget allocates 52.4 million euros for the sports sector — four million less than last year.
As previously reported, the draft Sports Law prepared by the Ministry of Education provides for a significant update of the regulation that has been in place in Latvia for over 20 years. After government approval, the draft law will still need to be reviewed by the Saeima of Latvia.
