On the 24th of October, 1996 the Swedish government decided to appoint a Commission on Sports. The members serving on the Commission were nominated from all the political parties in the Parliament. Representatives from authorities, the sports movement and associations for the promotion of outdoor life were assigned as experts to the Commission. The considerations and recommendations proposed by the Commission and published in Sports for life. Government grants to the sports movement and the associations for the promotion of outdoor life (SOU 1998:76) were delivered to the Minister responsible for Sports on the 29th of May, 1998. I The assignment The Commission on Sports was assigned the task of evaluating government grants to sports, and to propose new, clearer objectives for those grants. The task also involved proposing a model for following up and evaluating objectives as well as measures that would ensure control of the allocation of government funds to sports. Finally, the Commission was directed to analyse the consequences for government sport policy if sports associations chose to organize themselves in other forms than that of the non-profit organisation. II The Commission`s proposals The Commission differentiates between two types of grants: one for sports and one for the promotion of outdoor activities. Overall objective for government grants to sports Government grants to sports shall strengthen public activities organised by democratic, member controlled non profit sports associations for children and young people, and mass sports and competitive activities that are open to a considerable proportion of the population irrespective of sex, social or ethnic group, or physical and mental capacity. In its proposal for an overall objective, the Commission on Sports emphasises its continued confidence in the ability of the non-profit organisations to realise the Sports for all objective. The Commission makes a distinction between competitive sports and general exercise. Competitive sports centre on performance and results, while exercise puts physical well-being before performance. The overall objective is concretised in a number of specific objectives. These objectives define the use of government grants but do not aim to control the activities of sports organisations. The purpose of subsidies is primarily to develop the quality of the activities organised by the sports organisations. Specific objectives Government grants shall contribute to activities that promote the interest of children and young people in sporting activities and enable them to influence and take responsibility for their sporting activities. Government grants to sports give high priority to sporting activities for children and young people. Just over 40 per cent of subsidies go to activities for these groups via sports clubs at the local level. The Commission`s evaluation of grants shows that three out of four clubs are satisfied with the grants they receive and consider that there is no better alternative. However, although the associations are satisfied with their grants, the Commission`s evaluation indicates that the grants neither affect the scope nor the direction of activities. Firstly, grants are too small, and secondly, the objectives are not sufficiently welldefined. For this reason, we propose the above-mentioned objective for grants, along with an increase in government subsidies (through lotteries) to sporting activities for children and young people. Governmental grants shall contribute to further improving the quality of the activities organised by the sports movement for children and young people and mass sports and competitive activities with a view to promoting sound ethical conduct, increased participation, voluntary involvment, equality and integration. This objective applies to the subsidies allocated to the central organisations that form the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC). The Commission emphasises the importance of increased participation in sports. In the Commission`s report ethical issues mainly receive attention as part of the doping problem in sports but they are also included in the more general work carried out at central level to promote and protect values in sport such as fair-play, friendship, teamwork, etc. The success of the Swedish sports movement can largely be attributed to all the voluntary work performed by members at all levels within the sports movement on governing boards, as teamleaders, coaches etc. Government grants should contribute to the further development of and greater commitment to voluntary work. With its 3 million members the sports movement constitutes Sweden's largest non-profit organisation. The Commission's evaluation indicates that exercise habits are fairly evenly distributed among the population with regard to age, sex, ethnic and social group. However, although exercise is fairly evenly distributed, some groups are underrepresented in the sports movement. There are differences between men and women with regard to membership - four out of ten men are members of sports organisations compared with three out of ten women. This is also reflected in the fact that fewer women than men sit on governing boards at different levels within the sports movement. Families with lower income exercise slightly less than those with higher incomes. The Commission concludes that the sports movement has shown its ability to involve a large part of the population. However, the Commission's field survey indicates that the sports movement has the potential to reach an even larger proportion of the population. Governmental grants shall facilitate both participation in international competitions and the preparations necessary for those competitions. During the 1990s, Sweden's previously prominent position in the international sports arena has become weaker. The Commission concludes that Swedish success in international sports plays a significant role in inspiring both leaders and participants at all levels within the sports movement. Success also helps to promote Sweden's image abroad and as such can be said to affect Sweden's chances in export markets and Sweden's image as a country for tourism. Governmental grants shall help to create better opportunities for research, development and education based on the needs of the organised sports movement. The research and development policy of the Swedish Sports Confederation demonstrates how a policy for applied research might be formulated. The Commission considers this policy, with the priority it accords to sports activities for children and young people, exercise and public health, and equality and sporting achievement at the very highest level, to be an excellent basis for the Confederation in its role as, among other things, the national organisation for applied research in the sports area. Government grants shall improve opportunities for young top athletes to combine their sports training with an education that will give them a good start in life after their active sports career is over. According to our evaluation, over 70 per cent of the adult population consider it important that Swedish athletes are successful in international sports. There is also general political consensus that élite sports should receive government support. The Commission proposes a number of measures designed to improve Sweden's prospects in international sport. Follow-up and evaluation We propose a model for the follow-up and evaluation of the objectives. We propose that the Swedish Sports Confederation in the short term should present the results in relation to the specific objectives. We propose that the statistics used to measure performance should be compiled to show the differences between the sexes with regard to sports and present figures on, for example, activities for children and youth in different sports, the age of members engaged in various sports, the composition of governing boards, etc. We also propose that data on household expenditure on sport compiled by Statistics Sweden is used in the short-range follow-up. The way in which government funds are used in relation to the objectives should also be subject to governmental control and audit. The starting point for long-range evaluation should be the overall objective for government grants to sports. Such evaluations should highlight the effect of the subsidies on public health, equality between women and men and the integration of various ethnic groups. It is proposed that the long-range evaluations should be made at four-year intervals. Tasks of the Swedish Sports Confederation By our proposal to regulate the government-funded tasks of the Swedish Sports Confederation in laws and ordinances, the organisation is given a clear role with regard to its management of government funds. The duties regulated in law concern governmental subsidies that go to specialist sports associations at the national level, to the Swedish olympic committee, to upper secondary sports schools, and to associations at the local level. People in the 7 to 20 age-group should be entitled to receive government grants for their activities at the local level. Grants to the national sports associations may amount to a maximum of 70 per cent of an association`s total income, while no single national sports association may receive more than 10 per cent of the total allocation to the said associations. Furthermore, the association must have at least 3,000 members to qualify for government subsidies. Anti-doping The Swedish Sports Confederation is assigned responsibility for the implementation of the Government`s international undertakings to promote a drugs-free sports sector. It is proposed that responsibility for a full-scale doping control laboratory and the financing of the same should be transferred to the public health sector. Moreover, it is also proposed that the sports movement should pay the costs of analysing the doping tests. Applied research The Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) should be assigned the task of serving as the national organisation for applied research in the sport area. This means that the SSC will be responsible for ordering, carrying out and spreading the results of this applied research. Increased funding to sports for children and young people In order to strengthen the financing of sporting activities for children and young people, the Commission proposes amendments to the laws regulating lotteries. By giving the sports movement the right to place and make a profit from video lottery terminals in bingo halls operated by the sports movement, the Commission estimates that funds for sporting activities for children and young people may be increased by close to SEK 100 million. Top sports In order to make it simpler for top athletes to combine their sports training with studies the Commission proposes that studies at upper secondary sports schools may be extended from three to four years. For the same reason the Commission also proposes that top athletes studying at one university may transfer to another provided that their national sports association has made special training arrangements at the new locality. Furthermore, the Commission proposes an increase in government grants to top athletes in the 18 to 24 age-group by SEK 10 million annually. The increased grant should be used for training camps, competitions, etc. and to improve the athletes` prospects after their sports career, for example scholarships, career planning, etc. Since many young athletes are not eligible for sponsor support additional government grants are most welcome. Participation in Olympic and Paralympic Games We propose that the special grant for participation in Olympic and Paralympic games is incorporated into the regular annual government grant to the sports movement. Organisations for the promotion of outdoor activities It is proposed that government subsidies to these organisations should be separated from grants to the sports movement. A special set of objectives should be formulated for grants to the organisations that promote outdoor life. It is proposed that the overall objective of government grants to these organisations should be: to strengthen public activities organised by democratic, member controlled non-profit associations for the purpose of encouraging an active outdoor life. As more specific objectives for grants to these organisations we propose the following: government grants shall support and develop outdoor activities for children and young people, and they shall support further development of the organisations` activities with a view to promoting sound ethical conduct, increased participation, voluntary involvement, equality and integration. III The Commission`s evaluation of governmental grants to sports The Commission`s evaluation begins with a survey of the objectives for government grants to sports that have applied during this century, with emphasis on events after 1970. The fundamental principle underlying government support to sports has been public health, "sports for all" and the significance of the sports movement for democracy. Throughout, Government policy has been to support a unified sports movement. This tendency has been accentuated by the concentration of grants to one ministry and the concentration to one recipient, namely the Swedish Sports Confederation. The number of objectives for government grants has gradually increased along with growing ambitions on the part of the Government but also because of more general changes that have taken place in society. The objectives have been difficult to follow up because they have been formulated in general terms. Nor have they been formulated with a specific effect in view. Although there were some shortcomings in the formulation of objectives, the Commission concludes that the objectives were relevant for the activities in the sports movement, and that the sports movement in general has fulfilled these objectives. The Commission also concludes that, on the whole, there is political consensus with regard to the scope and direction of government subsidies to sports. The survey of people`s exercise habits gives a good picture of how well the Government`s policy of sports for all has been fulfilled. The Commission concludes that there has been a steady growth in the number of members in the sports movement as well as in the number of associations. Differences in exercise habits between women and men have steadily diminished, people are satisfied with the number of sports facilities, the cost of sporting activities is low, and most households do not consider that their expenditure on sports is a burden on the household`s economy. Publicly financed sports facilities still dominate the "market" for sports facilities, although 32 per cent of the adult population stated that they exercise at private sports facilities. The number of publicly financed sports facilities has risen during the last 30 years, although there has been a recession in growth in the last decade. In recent years associations have increasingly taken over the management of sports facilities. 70 per cent of the county authorities expect this trend to continue and grow more marked in the future. Exercise and competition are central concepts in the ideas and activities of the sports movement. The competition and élite sport culture is largely maintained by the sports organisations at the national level, while the ideal of exercise is mainly upheld by the local clubs. Exercise does not necessarily mean that elements of competition are excluded. Competition has its place in the more exercise-oriented sports sector, but performance comes second to well-being and other social values in sport. Among the members of the Swedish Sports Confederation most of them put competition at the forefront although there are some specialised sports federations that put exercise before performance. The sports movement has shown a steady economic growth in recent years. Since 1992, the sports movement has increased its income by 25 per cent. The Commission has estimated that the sports movement grossed SEK 7,8 billion in 1996. Most of this income is generated by the movement itself. The share of public grants, in particular at the local level, has decreased, at the same time as the proportion of income derived from lotteries and sponsoring activities has increased. Generally speaking, lotteries benefit sports at the local level while sponsoring mainly affectsélite sports. Government grants are small in relation to the total income of the sports movements. Government grants to local activities for children and young people amount on average to 3, 5 per cent (median) of a local association's income. Government grants to sports organisations at the national level vary in importance - from 90 per cent of an organisation's income to as little as a couple of per cent. Generally speaking, government grants represent a larger proportion of the total income of specialised sports federations with few members and/or little commercial potential than of federations with more members and/or greater commercial potential. Clubs at the local level and the national organisations generally have healthy balance sheets. The accumulated capital in the national organisations has grown by 60 per cent since 1992. The sports movement has been able to finance its own activities through a number of sources: public funding, members, lotteries, sponsoring activities, etc. This shows that the sports movement is also able to create value for a number of groups outside the movement. Government support has primarily been motivated by the contribution that the sports movement makes to public health. Another aspect that legitimises government support is the high percentage of children and young people involved in the sports movement. 69 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls in the 7 to 15 age-group participate regularly in some sport, which makes them the most active group in the sports movement. The activities organised by the associations not only play a part in the physical education of children and youngsters but also have a great impact on their social development by giving them self-confidence and by teaching them to work together in a group. The movement also contributes to employment by providing jobs for persons who for various reasons are unable to get employment in the regular labour market. The local authorities have the same reasons as central government for giving support to the sports movement but their support is also motivated by the different tasks that the sports movement have taken over from the local authorities or in cases where the sports movement cooperates with the local authorities. As mentioned above, one task entails the management of sports facilities. About 50 per cent of sports arenas are currently managed by sports associations. Other examples where the sports movement manages projects on contract for local authorities include fitness projects and various social projects, for example, to fight violence and racism. The interaction of the sports movement with the commercial sector has increased markedly in recent decades. This development has been followed by a discussion on where the limit for the tax exemption enjoyed by the non-profit organisations should be drawn. Audits conducted by local tax authorities show that in numerous cases the local associations conduct business transactions in such a manner that they do not qualify for tax exemption. The result is that the associations have been forced to pay VAT and income tax. Another problem that has emerged is that when selling services or goods associations can distort prices and hence competition on the market since they are normally exempt from taxes. Another aspect of the commercialisation of sport is the debate on sports associations that wish to form joint stock companies. One of the tasks assigned to the Commission was to analyse the consequences for government sports policy if sports associations choose to a organize themselves in other forms than that of the non-profit organisation. The Commission`s conclusion is that the phenomenon of sports associations turning into joint stock companies will only affect a marginal proportion of the sports movement, namely the associations that arrange élite sporting activities and events that are attractive to the media and therefore have good commercial potential. If associations are transformed into joint stock companies this will not affect the basic principle of sports for all in the sports movement. The Commission would also like to underline the principle that government grants to sports shall only fund non-profit organisations. Although they receive government grants for sports, the organisations that promote outdoor activities are not really part of the sports "family". Six organisations of this type currently receive government grants. The Commission also indicates that this group of organisations may well change. The Commission's analysis would indicate that the activities of these organisations differ from those of the sports movement - largely because the element of competition is either absent or very small. The Commission therefore proposes that grants to these organisations be separated from subsidies to the sports movement. Such a step would give them an independent role in relation to the sports movement. With regard to the issue of doping the Commission concludes that this should be treated as a public health problem. Consequently, the Commission proposes that responsibility for a full-scale doping control laboratory should be transferred to the public health sector. The Commission has also discussed the motives for government support to the anti-doping activities carried out by the sports movement. Our conclusion is that the Swedish Sports Confederation should receive government grants for the anti-doping measures that focus on information and cooperation with other organisations in order to prevent doping. On the subject of élite sports the Commission points out that the Swedish model - with its base in the sports movement and combined education/training - is a good starting point for developing Swedish sports talent. Nevertheless the model needs to be strengthened in a number of ways to help top athletes to concentrate on their sport. Research and development activities in the sports area can be divided into the more independent research carried out at universities and colleges and the more user-oriented research which, though conducted by the academic community, is commissioned by the sports movement. The Commission concludes that this user-oriented research is an important element in efforts to utilise sports talents more effectively, and it therefore proposes that government funding to such research should be increased. The Commission's evaluation has also taken into account the relationship between the government and the sports movement in other Nordic countries. The comparative analysis shows that the governments of other Nordic countries, as in Sweden, have chosen the sports movement as their partner in discussions and also as the organisation that implements government sports policy. Both in Sweden and in other Nordic countries the governments have raised their level of ambition with regard to policy objectives and follow-up of government subsidies. The degree of control over government funds varies in different Nordic countries. Unlike Sweden, other Nordic countries formulate objectives for activities within the sports movement: grants are earmarked for certain projects and the sports movement is expected to cooperate and carry out activities that sometimes do not correspond to core activities in the sports movement, for example, fitness programmes for the elderly and various social activities.