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Federal sport policy
Article Sport
Germany is a nation of sport enthusiasts. Professional, Olympic and recreational sports have an important place in our society.
In accordance with our Constitution, federal support for sport concentrates on high-performance sport and exceptional sport activities of national interest.
Sport policy is a demanding area of activity, with highly differentiated aspects and a wide variety of approaches. The basic principles of sport policy are the autonomy of sport, subsidiarity of sport funding and cooperation with sport organizations.
Federal sport policy is oriented on the constitutional division of responsibilities between the federal and state governments. Based on its responsibility for representing Germany abroad, the Federal Government sees its task as promoting world-class sport, while the states have primary responsibility for promoting recreational sport for all. As part of its national responsibility for sport, the Federal Government is also dedicated to overseeing and improving the framework conditions for the appropriate development of recreational sport, not only because sport for all is an important source of elite athletes, but also because recreational sport can help promote social cohesion.
Top athletes are role models. Their success motivates many young people to take part in sport as well. Their success is the result of years of hard work, discipline and commitment – qualities which also help our society function.
Independently and on their own responsibility, organized sport and sports associations represent the interests of about 91,000 sport clubs with about 27 million members, and they are trusted partners of the Federal Government. Sport is also an important leisure activity for millions more who do not belong to sport clubs. Sport brings people together from all walks of life, whether native Germans or guests in our country.
Another important issue of federal sport policy is doping. Athletes who use drugs to improve their sport performance are unethical and violate the principle of fairness, distort competition and discourage young people from taking up sports. For this reason, the Federal Government stands behind organized sport and sports associations in their efforts to fight doping.
The Federal Government also supports high-performance sport by athletes with a disability. Their achievements deserve recognition, and the Federal Government wants to enable and support these achievements.
Federal sport policy also has an international dimension. Germany is a world leader in sport, and its expertise is highly sought in European and international sport organizations. In this way, Germany significantly contributes to the development of sport in Europe and around the world.
