Families Brazil's main source of funding for sports
The Graels celebrate Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze's sailing 49erFX gold at Rio 2016
Brazil's sport activities are chiefly financed by sport practitioners' families, and sedentarism is a problem facing mostly the poorer sections of the population. These and thousands of other figures can be found in a survey entitled National Sport Diagnosis, conducted by the Sports Ministry, in partnership with federal universities across the country, and published in June last year. The study had only 5% of its content made available to the general public. Never-before-seen data on the topic was disclosed Wednesday (Aug. 17) at Casa Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian families' expenditures with sport-related practices and equipment totaled approximately $14 billion in 2013, with a monthly $30 average. The private enterprise contributed with some $580 million in the period, compared to public companies' $140 million in funding. The federal government invested close to $434 million in 2013, an increase driven by major sports events hosted by the country. Professor Cássia Damiani, of the Federal University of Ceará, one of the researchers in the team, argues that the private enterprise should be encouraged to sponsor not just high-performance sports, but also activities that save Brazilians from sedentarism, which affects 45.9% of the population.
“Brazil has invested a lot and made major strides over the last decade regarding investment in infrastructure. Nonetheless, to ensure universal access to sport activities, government funding is not enough; we need joint efforts with the private enterprise as well as investment as a social responsibility in the education of the youth. The amount invested in sport by companies is still insignificant. This market should be further explored,” the researcher argues.
Professor Ailton Oliveira, also of the Federal University of Ceará and one of the coordinators of the study, highlights that poor schooling is usually associated with little sport: “Less educated people usually lack the financial means, live farther away, and have a heavier work load, which is why they have less time to play sports. This shows that, in order to give everyone access to sports, mobility, employment, and housing are key issues that should be worked on,” he says.
Judoka Rafaela Silva won Brazil's first gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympics. She is part of a Brazilian Navy's special program meant to support athletes with training.
The researchers pointed out that the data should be disclosed as soon as possible in order for their impact and relevance not to be lost. The study includes figures divided into as many as 220 tables. “We need to publicize this report so that researchers can use it to gather more data. It's information that must be debated with the community,” Oliveira remarked.
By the time this article was finished, the ministry had not answered Agência Brasil's questions regarding deadlines and why the publication of the study in full was delayed.
The survey heard 9 thousand people. Its methodology is based on a similar project carried out in Europe and implemented in 17 countries to monitor sport-related practices among the population.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Families Brazil's main source of funding for sports
