Speaking after Spain’s victory in the Davis Cup, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced plans to set up a full-fledged Sports Ministry during the next ministerial reshuffle, modifying sports-related legislation that dates back to 1990. Emilio Sanchez Vicario, captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team, had reportedly suggested such a move.
Spain’s Superior Sports Council had previously decided to raise its budget for the promotion of sports participation by 1.24 percent to €193.2 million for 2009, notwithstanding the difficult economic conditions in the country.
TradeSport also reports that the regional government of Catalonia, which has been very active in the sports sector at least since the Olympic Games in Barcelona, is launching a program worth €2.5 million specifically intended to get more women physically involved in sports.
Some action is also envisaged in Madrid, where a recent study shows that rising rates of obesity are linked to the fact that half of the youngsters between the ages of 15 and 17 practice sports only as part of their school curriculum.
The government of neighboring Andorra is quite serious about the promotion of the practice of sport as well. Its Education and Sports Ministry has just announced a plan to spend more than €1.2 million next year to provide free ski lessons to at least 7,000 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 16. The program is addressed primarily to the children of the numerous immigrants who work in Andorra, who are not particularly sporty.
More on the Spanish sports culture and related issues can be read in the very comprehensive Iberian market research report that we released a few weeks ago.
