Although its responsibility is to promote top-class sport, the federal government is making 25 million euros available for the restart of club and popular sport after the first two years of the corona pandemic.

The budget committee released the money on Wednesday.

It is in the national interest to eliminate the structural damage caused by the pandemic in popular sport, writes the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Florian Toncar in the stipulations.

Michael Reinsch

Correspondent for sports in Berlin.

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In this way, it should be possible to counteract the lack of exercise caused by the pandemic, to bring children, young people and adults back to the clubs, to strengthen voluntary work in sport and to support integration.

The Ministry of the Interior, which has the sum in its budget, will make it available to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).

Together with this, it created the concept.

State and association wanted to get the country moving again, commented DOSB Vice President Kerstin Holze, a pediatrician.

Sports clubs are described in the concept as social filling stations.

Five million euros will be available by the end of 2023 for the training and further education of volunteer trainers and trainers, and 10.7 million euros to support the clubs in recruiting members.

The latest measures include the provision of 150,000 checks for three months of club membership.

Another pillar should be a low-threshold sports offer outside of the clubs, namely in a publicly accessible area.

2.85 million euros are available for the concept of freely accessible sports boxing, which clubs are to operate.

An accompanying advertising campaign is supported with five million euros, the administration with 1.45 million euros.

The participation of the federal states, which was initially considered - in the public sector sports promotion they are responsible for club, popular and young people's sports - is no longer planned.

"Rarely has a minister personally fought so passionately for financial growth for sport as Nancy Faeser," says MP Martin Gerster, her party friend in the SPD: "The release of the 25 million euros was not a sure-fire success, but in the end we got one decided on a strong package that will help the sport a lot.”

"I am pleased that we are now launching the concept 'Restart - Sport Moves Germany'," said Green MP Jamila Schäfer: "The clubs are the backbone for social cohesion.

At the same time, they counteract a lack of exercise, which has become even worse as a result of the pandemic. ”The sports committee was not involved with the issue.

The Green MP Philip Krämer also criticized: "I would have preferred to see the five million earmarked for public relations at the clubs."

In its adjustment meeting in May, the budget committee allocated 450 million euros to the building ministry's budget for the renovation of municipal facilities in the areas of sport, youth and culture;

Experience has shown that 80 percent of this flows into sports facilities, according to the DOSB.

The members of the budget committee decide on the applications for funding.

Instead of 50 million euros from the expired Corona aid package for professional sports outside of football, he granted 25 million euros to revive club and popular sports, but blocked them until a concept was presented.

As of Wednesday morning, it was still uncertain whether the money would be released;

the Greens threatened to remove it from the agenda in the dispute over aid for refugees from Afghanistan.

The DOSB will have the opportunity to celebrate this Thursday.

First his presidium meets in Berlin, in the evening he invites you to the parliamentary evening in the Olympic Stadium.

The committee's decision and the commitment of Interior Minister Faeser are worth more than the 25 million euros that have now been granted.

Politics and sport thus prove their agreement to understand sport as social policy.

The DOSB requires the federal government to anchor responsibility for sport in all departments and to accept it as a cross-sectional task.

According to the wishes of the sports organization, Chancellor Olaf Scholz should bring all relevant departments together for an exercise summit before the end of this year.

The family, health and foreign ministries as well as the integration officer, like the interior ministry, have long been supporting a large number of programs