Dutch Sports Minister Mirjam Sterk Proposes Fairer Funding for Amateur Clubs

Sportminister Mirjam Sterk told parliament that she is reviewing the distribution of the BOSA subsidy for amateur sports clubs. A recent surge in applications caused a technical failure that prevented the system from identifying the order of requests, so a lottery was used to allocate funds. Sterk acknowledged that the lottery “scratches the sense of fairness”, even though it allowed slightly more clubs to receive aid.

Each club can receive a maximum of €2.5 million. This year €46.5 million is available, including an extra €3 million contributed by the CDA party. Sterk said the amount is “quite high” but is looking at ways to increase the total budget for the next year.

The minister is also considering a broader application window and, from 2028, a revolving fund that would provide loans to clubs; repayments and interest would be recycled to finance other clubs.