The budget bill submitted to Parliament aims to allocate HUF 118.8 billion (EUR 383 million) to sports, an increase of 20.7% compared to this year, Minister of State for Sports István Simicskó said at a Budapest press conference on Thursday.
He added that sports remains a strategic area for the government and next year’s budget for sports facilities will be allocated an additional 20.5 billion forints (EUR 66 million).
He said next year’s largest investment will be the National Olympic Centre, with a state budget of 44.3 billion forints, and facility improvements related to international sporting events will also have priority.
Mr. Simicskó also said that the 16 preferred sports will receive state funding of 11 billion forints next year and there are 2.65 billion forints set aside for rewarding outstanding performances, while preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games have a budget of 1.7 billion forints. The Minister of State said the amounts allocated for sports in next year’s budget are realistic, but given that there will certainly be amendment proposals, he added that he is “ready to make reasonable compromises”.
(Ministry of Human Capacities)
