Greek Athletes Risk Missing Olympics Due To Cuts In State Funding
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Greece’s track and field federation may be forced to suspend all their existing programmes and activities, said Federation head Vassilis Sevastis to the Associated Press on Tuesday, after cuts in state funding had left several coaches and suppliers unpaid for months.
Greece’s track and field federation may be forced to suspend all their existing programmes and activities, said Federation head Vassilis Sevastis to the Associated Press on Tuesday, after cuts in state funding had left several coaches and suppliers unpaid for months.
According to Sevastis, the federation’s budget was cut by nearly a third in 2011, and by a similar amount this year, which has brought the entire organisation to a financial “dead-end.”
[quote]”The cuts in funding for the federation, last year and this year, are so extensive that they do not allow us to cover our basic needs,” said Sevastis.[/quote] [quote]”We can’t do our job properly,” he added.[/quote]The AP reports that the entire budget for the Greek track and field federation this year is $8.7 million, which pales in comparison to the U.S.’s $23 million budget for instance.
Greek athletes are also at risk of missing the European Championships in Helsinki this summer, with concerns growing over their presence at the London Olympics from July to August.
“After more cuts were brought in this year, we’re at a dead end financially,” said Sevastis. The track and field federation head added that his group would hold an emergency board meeting on Wednesday to determine their future plans, and to decide whether they should stop all activities permanently in order to pressure the government into reversing the cuts.
[quote]”We want the government to reverse its decisions,” he said.[/quote]The Greek government has slashed funding for sports, health care and public services in the aftermath of a spiralling debt crisis within the country and throughout the eurozone region.
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International pressure from lenders has also contributed to continued budget cuts by the Greek government for public funding, with the government unwilling, and unable, to rescind any of its main austerity measures despite near-daily strikes and protests.
Several high-profile Greek athletes have already complained that training facilities, once created for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, had been poorly maintained and not kept in ideal conditions for preparations towards the biggest sporting event on the athletics calendar.
Sevastis said that the track coaches, maintenance crew, and equipment suppliers had not been paid for 10 months, with little relief in sight.
Officials from the Greek ministry of culture and sport could not be reached for comment, while the Hellenic Olympic Committee declined to comment on the impact a suspension would have on Greek competitors heading to London.
