Everyone is discussing the financial crisis these days, and it is obvious that all spheres of life, including soccer, will be affected. Officials from the Ministry of Ukraine for Family, Youth, and Sports are concerned by the fact that budget expenditures for sports will probably be cut 20 percent, and this at the time when the country will have to be making preparations for Euro-2012 and getting its athletes ready for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Moreover, there is a great need to renew resource and technical provision which the heads of sports federations have long been complaining about. It is also necessary to create in every region Olympic centers and anti-doping centers with modern equipment.
Experts predict that because of the financial crisis there will be fewer sports events held, expenditures on food for athletes will have to be cut, and there is a chance that Ukraine will have to back out of participation in international competitions. In order to avoid this, the Ministry of Ukraine for Family, Youth, and Sports decided to create an Anticrisis Committee. The Day’s journalists have asked experts about what else should be done in this situation and whether Ukrainian sport will stand up against the financial blow.
Vasyl KARLENKO, the head of the Sector for Physical Culture and Sports, Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine:
“No one will dare raise their hand on the directions of sports development that are now considered to be of high priority for the state. This is because no one wants the Ukrainian team to perform worse at the Olympic Games in Vancouver or at the Summer Olympics in London than it did in Beijing.
“There are no crises in our sport — with its organization, methodology, or scientific foundation. It is actually quite the opposite-Ukraine is on the rise in sports. We are past those hard times when athletes, coaches, and scientists fled abroad. If one cares to count, the total number of sports experts who have left Ukraine would reach up to 500 — this was our best, nearly gold reserve.
“But time passed and now a new generation of experts and coaches has matured, and they are preparing new Olympic champions with their own efforts and knowledge. That is why there will be no overall collapse in our sport. We had crises in 1992, 1998, and even 2000. These days none of the state leaders would dare lower the high status which Ukraine has achieved over many years, above all, in sports. After all, the Constitution does not foresee this either.”
Yurii PAVLENKO, the Minister of Family, Youth, and Sports:
“This way or another hryvnia’s fall will affect the number of sports competitions held at the local and international level. That is why we have to do everything we can so that our athletes could get themselves into a proper shape and perform in London as well as they did in Beijing. It applies both to our Olympic and Paralympic team. Therefore at the last meeting of the ministerial board [on sports] a decision was adopted to create an Anticrisis Group which will involve representatives of the Ministry, the National Olympic Committee, and other interested organizations. This will be done so that we can quickly come up with counteractions and revise the budget, if necessary, and carry out an effective sector management policy in these non-standard conditions.
“We have been reporting certain progress in sports, but this may not longer continue. But the most important thing is that we have to prevent physical culture and sport from a collapse which may be caused by a 20-percent cut in budget expenditures which is already proposed for the next year. We hope that financing will downsized within reasonable limits because slowing down the progress in sports is easy whereas regaining momentum is difficult. Therefore, we will submit a proposal to the government, asking to create a group of this kind, and we hope that it will be approved.
“It is very important to protect all the achievements our physical culture and sport have attained by now. For the first time in a long while our sport is gaining momentum and reaching a fairly high level. We do not feel any crisis effects in our everyday work now, but this is a matter of days, or even hours. I hope that the crisis will not affect athletes’ wages and they will not be reduced. We already had an economical crisis in the early 1990s, but it has a more local character. I am convinced that we will find a way out the present situation.”
Leontii TKACHOV, the administrator of the Zoria Soccer Club (Luhansk):
“I think that in time like this, the sports that will stay afloat are the ones financed not only by the state, but also by private businesses, for example, soccer and basketball. It is no secret that the financial stability of soccer clubs depends on the well-being of their owners and not on the number of tickets sold or any other marketing moves. Athletes themselves can suffer from the crisis because their wages may be reduced. Clubs that are run by metallurgy tycoons are likely to either go bankrupt or tighten their belts.
“In Europe soccer teams receive a lot of money from selling season tickets and broadcasting rights, which is why the crisis poses only an indirect threat to them. In contrast to this, Ukrainian athletes will have to pay for the crisis out of their own pockets. The crisis may affect fans as well because there will be fewer matches, competitions, etc. That is why the Ministry for Family, Youth, and Sports has to take short-term measures that will permit us to handle the situation quickly and effectively. There is no sense in planning anything for a long term because the situation on the financial market is changing every hour.”
Oleh DIOMIN, the president of the Ukrainian Swimming Federation:
“We cannot forgo the preparation of facilities for Euro-2012 and the construction of modern Olympic centers. These have to become priorities now, but this should be done in such a way that the new centers would be available not only to top-notch athletes, but also to the public at large. They should be used for mass sport as much as possible, in particular for teaching young kids to swim.
“Unfortunately, this is a great problem for Ukraine nowadays. For example, only one out of ten conscripts can swim. Judging from the experience of other countries, it is necessary to get commercial businesses involved and introduce insurance-based healthcare for the purpose of developing the entire sector.
“I cannot say that sport in Ukraine is doomed... We should use the experience of other countries to reduce the impact of the crisis on sport in Ukraine and should not expect the state to finance the construction of all sports facilities from the budget. It is also a good idea to attract private capital. It requires huge organizational efforts which have to come precisely from the structures that define the state policy.
“A crisis in sport does not always reflect a financial crisis, though cutting budget expenditures will affect further development of this sector. It is necessary to choose the most important items from those on the reduction list. And here again we should mention Olympic centers, sports facilities that enable the development of mass sport, in particular for children. We also need to use the possibilities offered by a combined approach to the financing of the sector, just like it has been done in the world for a long time now. For example, in the United States swimming pools, mostly commercial property, receive half of their profits from the insurance-based healthcare. Have you ever seen anyone in Ukraine go to a swimming pool for medical treatment? That is why we need a comprehensive approach to the development of sport and then we will not fear any crises.”
