The KGB is concerned about the insufficient support for youth sports by sports clubs in the Vitebsk region

October 22, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo – BELTA /. The Vitebsk Regional Committee for State Control is concerned about the insufficient support for youth sports by gaming clubs in the Vitebsk region, the control department informed a BELTA correspondent. An analysis of the statistical reports of 11 gaming sports clubs in the Vitebsk region showed that the main source of funds for their activities is the support of legal entities provided in accordance with Decree No. 497 "On providing support to physical culture and sports organizations" dated November 3, 2011. This document establishes several types of support for physical culture and sports organizations: sponsorship from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs; allocation of subsidies from local budgets; creation of preferential conditions for sports organizations for entrepreneurial activities; provision of tax benefits. A condition for receiving support, in particular for gaming sports clubs, is the use of funds in accordance with estimates agreed with the local executive and administrative bodies in whose territory these clubs are located, for the implementation of their statutory goals and the development of relevant sports, including the infrastructure of gaming sports clubs, as well as youth sports. The decree also provides for tax benefits for both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs providing support, as well as for gaming sports clubs and their employees. The gross profit of sports organizations is reduced by the amount of profit used by them for purposes in accordance with approved estimates. The condition for receiving this benefit is the allocation of at least 25% of the support funds received by gaming sports clubs to the development of youth sports and the infrastructure of relevant sports. In the first half of the current year, the clubs' revenues amounted to Br6.1 billion, of which 54.2% came from enterprise support funds. Despite the fact that one of the conditions for financial support of physical culture and sports organizations is the allocation of at least a quarter of the funds received by them for the development of youth sports and the infrastructure of relevant sports, in the first half of the current year, none of the audited clubs met this requirement. Only Br432.5 million, or 13% of the received support amount, was allocated to the development of youth sports and sports infrastructure. For example, an audit of the "Vitebsk" football club revealed that payments by the "Belarusian Football Federation" association for legionary football players in the amount of Br21 million, expenses for maintaining the head of the youth football department within the club itself, and even salaries with accruals for sports school coaches and teachers paid from the budget were included in the statistical report to fulfill the indicator for the development of youth sports and infrastructure. Such manipulation of figures, according to the Committee for State Control, distorts state statistical reporting data and entails both administrative and criminal liability. Clubs actively use the opportunity provided by Decree No. 300 of July 1, 2005, to conclude sponsorship agreements, the use of which is not restricted. In the first half of the year, 31% of the total sponsorship received was obtained under agreements concluded in accordance with this document. It is worth noting that the state has provided clubs with the opportunity to earn funds themselves. However, gaming sports clubs, as a rule, do not have their own sports facilities, and as a result, only 3% of the income received by the clubs was generated from entrepreneurial activities. The regional Committee for State Control reminded the clubs that the year is not over yet and each of them has the opportunity to rectify the current situation. Funds allocated to the development of youth sports and infrastructure will return to the clubs in the form of new achievements of young promising players and simply in the health of children. -0-