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Emanuela Karastoyanova 

Ministry of Culture and Tourism undertook new directions in their policy towards sport. At a press conference the Chief Secretary of Sport, Panos Bitsaktsis presented a plan, which sets out the main lines of action of the Ministry in respect of sport in Greece. Priorities for the Ministry at the moment are mainly - subsidizing sports federations (required is transparency in the organization and in their activities), keeping sport clean, fighting fake sports federations and aggression in places designated for sport. According to the Secretary the new program prepared by the Ministry will stimulate clean sport. As he clarified this is only one step towards the deep changes that will be introduced in the field of sport, but there is no doubt that this is a good start. From free subsidizing and no rules in sports federations and associations, the state will start a stricter and more transparent financing, which will also aid the Greek taxpayer. The new plan of the Ministry will give the sport a long needed support in difficult times such as today, when among other things the state is struggling with an economic crisis. 
  
Based on a list of criteria such as - tradition in sport, sport harmony with the Greek mentality, distribution among the people, link with climatic conditions in Greece, success and opportunity for future success in a certain sport, transparency in its activities, developing sport without elements of aggression, systematically maintaining its purity and other - Bitsaktsis presented and drawn up by the Ministry other sport groups, in which subsidies and developing the country will participate in a different way. So the sports of the highest importance for the country are - volleyball, gymnastics, recreational soccer, sailing, rowing, basketball, athletics, and handball. The state is committed to help the respective sports federations entirely as they are of paramount importance. It plans to subsidize their development and distribution and to materially support initiatives related to them. Federations, in turn, will have to submit a five-year development plan to the General Secretariat of Sports but also to provide a report on their activities every six months. Another category of sports, which are also essential for the Greek state are: weightlifting, canoeing, wrestling, table tennis, cycling, boxing, taekwondo and judo. The Ministry cannot fully subsidize their operations, but will assume responsibility to monitor and maintain the existing level of development. It is envisaged that the federations will submit a three-year plan for their future activities to the General Secretariat. For the sports - horse riding, fencing, chess, tennis, archery and shooting with a bow, the state is not planning to provide financial support. Although these types of sports have the social soil, they will have to rely mainly on private financing. The state cannot subsidize their existence and development, but it can provide partial aid. Sports federations which will have to seek grants themselves because there is lack of funds in the state budget are: golf, water skiing, climbing, winter skiing. These sports are recognized by the state as privately financed disciplines, so the state can help only for specific initiatives. Sports which are entirely privately financed are: air sports, Jiu-zhitsu, Karate, Kick-Boxing, badminton, baseball, bowling, bridge, winter skating, rugby, softball, taekwondo, and field hockey. In their case the state can only contribute to facilitating the organization of leagues and help secure buildings for their federations. 

Mr. Bitsaktsis clearly repeated that an important condition for paying grants to Federations is lack of aggression in places designed for sports, keeping sports clean and transparency in the organization and functioning of the federation.