Reform of the CONS ordinary contribution: 90% cut for the FSGC

The Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio acknowledges the reform of the criteria for the distribution of public funding in favour of Sports Federations. The vote on the document proposed by the CONS Executive Committee and drafted by a working group was placed on the agenda of the latest National Council meeting, held on Monday 6 November, and was approved by majority. Among the effects of the new regulations, there are progressive reductions for sports federations whose annual federal budget exceeds € 500,000.00, calculated on the average of a four-year period. For some federations similar to the FSGC, these reductions mean cuts of almost one third or around two thirds of the annual contribution, while for the San Marino Football Federation alone they amount to 90% of the state support normally granted. The amount recovered through the reductions imposed on federations with a budget above € 500,000.00 will be distributed among the remaining federations, and also shared in equal parts among FSN/DSA where there is federal activity. Instead of such a purely arithmetic distribution, the FSGC had suggested that the amount of the reductions be used for the construction of new sports facilities in which to carry out the activities of federations affiliated to CONS, or allocated to the maintenance of existing facilities which – in some cases – are clearly in need of it. Far from wishing to focus on the cut to a contribution which was guaranteed to the Football Federation, as to the other FSN affected by the reductions, on the basis of parameters linked to the volume of activities organised and taking into account – among many other factors – the number of registered members, the FSGC wishes to highlight a different impact that affects the San Marino community as a whole. For some years now, the state contribution granted by CONS to the FSGC has in turn been reinvested by the Football Federation into the San Marino sporting system. Until a few financial years ago, 50% of the total was paid directly back into the coffers of the Olympic Committee, so that it could then be redistributed to those FSN in need of further financial support to sustain their sporting activities. More recently, however, it has been the Football Federation itself that has acted as guarantor of this principle of sporting solidarity, receiving the entire allocated contribution and then making it available to FSN wishing to draw on it, subject to the submission of a project aimed at the sporting development of their movement. Had such requests not arisen, this would not have prevented the FSGC from directing its solidarity fund also towards bodies or associations engaged in the promotion of sport, not only at competitive level but also purely amateur or recreational. In this respect, it is enough to visit the Salesian oratory in Murata to see a clear and direct example, with the complete renovation of the five-a-side pitch for the benefit of all the boys and girls who attend the recreation centre, inaugurated last September. The greatest regret does not concern the impact on the resources available to the FSGC, but rather the lost opportunities to support virtuous projects – whether promoted by FSN or by San Marino bodies and associations – that the Football Federation has been able to guarantee over all these years.

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FSGC