Investing in sport: France and the Netherlands have increased their investments

19, Aug - BLOG

‘If we look at the medals table and compare ourselves to other countries, let's also look at investment.’ That was the phrase that Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), used to assess this week's harvest at the Paris Olympics, where Spain finished in fifteenth place. If we look at the investment in sport per capita in European Union countries, Spain comes in eleventh place, with 124.7 euros per inhabitant.

The fact is that the level of funding is very different from other European powers such as France or the Netherlands, which have doubled their investment in sport compared to Spain. France, for example, allocated €215 per inhabitant in 2022, according to the latest Eurostat figures, while the Netherlands allocated €276 per citizen. Allocations from these and other EU countries are rising year on year and have reached record levels, which may explain the number of medals won at these Games.

But is medal standings a way of measuring the success or failure of sporting investments? The EOC argues that the difference between fourth or fifth place and a medal is often minimal, but be that as it may, countries with a higher percentage of investment achieve higher positions on the Olympic podium.

Spain is reducing its turnover in sports investment

According to Eurostat, in 2024 Spain will rank eleventh in the ranking of countries that allocate the most public funds to sport, behind Luxembourg, Sweden, France, Denmark, Belgium and Estonia, but ahead of countries such as Germany and Italy. In particular, Spain reached almost 6,000 million euros of investment in 2022, compared to France's 14,600 million. In 2021, Spain was third in the ranking of sports investments, ahead of powers such as the UK and Italy, and although investments made by public administrations rose from 107.6 euros per capita to 124.7 euros, the country surrendered its position in the ranking.

Thus, while Spain, with 48 million inhabitants, won 18 medals at the Games, Hungary, with barely more than 9 million people, won one more medal - 19. While geopolitics always determines the Olympic medal count, the politics of governing sports systems also plays a large role in its influence. This was the case, for example, for the Netherlands, which came in sixth place with an advanced sports system that, as experts explain, is run as a private company and fosters a local sports ecosystem. However, in Spain, sports governance policies are not well developed at the regional level and the differences between autonomous regions are very large.

Overall, Spain is still far from achieving the performance of the 1992 Olympics, when an unprecedented investment of almost 6,000 million was invested in sport, achieving the best result in history. This investment was channelled through the ADO (Association of Olympic Athletes) plan, made up of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), the Spanish Sports Council (CDS) and the public corporation (RTVE), as well as other public companies such as Correos, Renfe and Endesa.

Why it matters?

The disparity in sports investment between Spain and its European counterparts is a clear sign of potential economic opportunity.

Countries with higher investment in sport often see an increase in national pride, tourism and consumer spending. This can affect the share prices of companies involved in sportswear, equipment, broadcasting and even tourism. For example, a country that excels in a particular sport may see a surge in demand for related goods and services.

In addition, government policy and spending on sport can be a leading economic indicator. If a government prioritises investment in sport, it signals a healthy economy.