Cyprus to set up national sports council and double Olympic funding
President Nikos Christodoulides announced a new national sports council and a rise in athlete sponsorship for the 2028 Los Angeles Games to €700,000.
Cyprus will establish a national sports council to draft a proposal for a deputy sports ministry, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday night, as reported by Cyprus Mail. The cabinet approved the new body the same day during a meeting at the presidential palace, where an event marked 40 years of sports cooperation between Greece and Cyprus.
“It’s not a promise that we will do it, we did it today,” Christodoulides said, describing the council as “a leading scientific body” meant to bring specialised expertise into sports policy. Among its first tasks will be preparing a comprehensive proposal for a deputy sports ministry, which he said is “something that is missing from our country”.
Funding for athletes preparing for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 will rise to €700,000, up from €350,000 provided ahead of the Paris Games in 2024. The programme will be run by the sports organisation from January next year. “The amount is already budgeted, today at cabinet we approved the first draft of the budget,” the president said.
Christodoulides also cited plans to upgrade sports venues, equalise benefits between able-bodied and disabled athletes, and introduce measures to tackle violence in sport. He referred to a professional rehabilitation plan introduced after the Paris Games, under which all Cypriot athletes who compete at the Olympic or Paralympic games are guaranteed employment once their athletic careers end.
On the anniversary, he described the signing of the first sports protocol between Greece and Cyprus in 1986 as “an act of the utmost national and social importance”, recalling that it came while Cyprus “was still recovering from the Turkish invasion”. He confirmed the bilateral agreement will now be upgraded into a “sports cooperation protocol”, providing what he called “a strong framework” for continued cooperation.
What it means for residents
The decisions touch public spending and the way sport is run in Cyprus, with effects that will be felt over the coming years rather than immediately.
- Budget commitments The €700,000 for Olympic preparation is already budgeted, but residents should watch how the deputy sports ministry proposal develops and what it costs.
- Local facilities Plans to upgrade sports venues could affect access and conditions at grounds used by local clubs and the public.
- Beyond elite sport Equalising benefits between able-bodied and disabled athletes and tackling violence in sport may change how competitions and clubs operate across the island.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
