Hungary sports funding and expenditure reforms

The Hungarian government has initiated a series of reforms regarding the financing of sports and major international events. The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance have been tasked with conducting a comprehensive audit of large-scale, state-funded international sporting events held between January 2022 and December 2025. This investigation aims to examine procurement, financing, and accounting processes for high-cost events, such as the 2023 World Athletics Championships and the 2024 Short Course Swimming World Championships.

Parallel to these audits, the government announced that the ‘sport-tao’ system—a corporate tax-based sports support mechanism—will be replaced by direct budgetary funding starting in 2027. Officials stated this transition is intended to ensure resources are distributed through professional justification and transparency. Data released by the Prime Minister’s Office indicates that between 2015 and 2026, the ‘sport-tao’ system issued support certificates totaling 1,408 billion forints across six major team sports.