KINESIOLOGIASLOVENICA4 {1998)1 : 55-58 55 CLUBS - THE BRIDGE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN EUROPEAN MODELS OFSPORT Rajko Šugman Jakob Bednarik v v SPORTNA DRUSTVA- MOST MED VZHODNO-EVROPSKIM IN ZAHODNO- v EVROPSKIM MODELOM SPORTA Abstract Following the so-called social ist model of sports, Slovenia adopted the Western European model. Slovenian sports organisations fund up to 70 percent of their needs through their own activities, which is typical far Western Europe. Taking into account the share of the active sports population, as well as com- petition results achieved relative to population size, Slovenia can easily be compared with Western Europe. We share the opinion that clubs, beinga sig- nificant part of civil society and the foundations of sport in both the past and today, are crucial to the ac- celerated transformation of Sloven ian sports fund- 1ng. Key words: model of sports, clubs, financing, organ- isations University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Sport, Gortanova 22, S1-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia phone: ++38661140-10-77 fax: ++38661448-148 e-rnail: Jakob.Bednarik@sp.uni-lj.si Izvleček Slovenija je bl ižje zahodno evropskemu modelu športa kot tako imenovanemu socialističnem u mo- delu. Slovenske športne organizacije se v 70% fi- nanci rajo z lastno aktivnostjo. To pa je z;načilno za zahodno evropske države. Tako glede na odstotek športno aktivnega prebivalstva, kot glede na tek- movalne rezultate v razmerju do števila prebivalcev, se Slovenija zlahka primerja z zahodno evropskimi državami. Vzrok za tako stanje je verjetno v tem, da športn~ društva so in so bila pomemben del civilne sfere.Zev preteklosti so se financirala iz javnih fi- nanc pa tudi z lastno dejavnostjo, torej s privatnimi sredstvi. Prav zaradi take društvene organiziranosti športa, se je lahko slovenski model financiranja špor- ta lahko hitro približa l evropskemu. Ključne besede: model športa, društva, financiranje, organiziranost 56 Rajko Šugman, Jakob Bednarik CLUBS - THE BRIDGE BElWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN EUROPEAN MODELS OF SPORT IN TRO D UCTION According to the findings of Andreff (1 ), the major sou rces of sports financing in the Western European model of sports funding are primarily households, i.e. the population at large, fol lowed by local governments. This model significantly differs from the American one, where private capital and enterprises are the main sources of sports funding rea lised through TV rights, sponsorship, the owners of private clubs, etc. Both models are quite d ifferent from the so-cal led socialist model, w here the major role of sports financing lay in state hands. Slovenia is now also undergoing a process of transition in sport. Sport is itself so multidimensional that ali changes cannot be evaluated atonce. In th is paper we shall try to evaluate the Slovenian model of sports in re- lation to funding, the organisation of sport, the percent of the active sports population, the success of the coun- try's top athletes and to draw a comparison between the Slovenian model with that of Western Europe. METHO DS .Three sa mples were selected for the purposes of this study. The first represented the Slovenian adult popu- lation aged 18 years and over. The sample comprised 1036 people, and was described w ith the help of the following variables: the forms and manner of sports participation, membership in sports clubs, sports par- ticipation in clubs in private enterprises or elsewhere. The second sample encompassed all national sports as- sociations, incorporating some 3,274 clubs. We de- scribed it using the following variables: number of sportspeople participating at the latestOlympic Games and results achieved of at least yd place, number of sportspeople gaining in the last two years at least 16th place at the Olympics or World Championships, at least 12th place at the European Championships, at least 3rd place atWorld Cups, aswell as the number of registered sportspeople. The third sample included ali sports o rganisations (clubs, institutions, i .e. legal entities from the field of physical culture and sports as well as commercial asso- ciations from the sports arena) which filed financial re- ports in 1995 with the institution responsible for su- pervising financial management. Some 1,579 sports or- ganisations were included in the analysis and repre- sented by the fol lowing variables: budget subsidies - public sources (includes the budget for sports from ali central ministries and local governments), income from ow n activi ties - private sources (sponsors and TV rights, gambling, membership fees, sporting services con- sumption, also for sports events - excluding the con- sumption of sporting goods. RESULTS The ratio of finance that Slovenian sports organ isations obtain from the ce nt ral government and from local governments is 1 : 3.8 (Table 1 ). According to Andreff (1 ), a similar ratio also exists in Portugal, Belgium, ltaly, Spain and France. In certain other states, state-level public funding is significantly lower than at the local level. These states are Germany, Switzerland (typical federal countries) and Scand inavian countries: Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Quite the opposite (1) holds for Hungary where the central »budget« is larger than the local. This is probably the consequence of the previous sports ideology and the type of financing. Table 1: D ISTRIBUTION OF SPORTS FU NDING SOURCES IN EUROPEAN COMMUNITY STATES ANO SLOVENIA (%) The table showing European Community is a summary taken from Andreff (1 ). Data for Slovenia are ab- stracted from sport organisations' financial reports presented to the Slovenian institution supervising f inan- cia l management (third sample) . . DEN FIN FRA CER ITA POR SWE SWI UK HUN SLO % % % % % % % % % % % State budget 6.3 4.3 8.9 0.6 8.2 9.9 2.2 0.4 0.8 30.2 5.5 Local authorities 32.5 24.7 29.5 26.6 11.0 11.6 20.4 5.2 15.1 16.6 20.8 Public financing total 38.8 29.0 38.4 27.2 19.2 21.5 22.6 5.6 15.9 46.8 26.4 Private f inancing total 61 2 71.0 61.6 72.8 80.8 78.5 77.3 94.4 84.1 53.2 73.6 total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Total financim1 CDP (%) 0.56 1.1 3 1.1 1.28 1.04 1.77 0.8 3.47 1.49 0.6 0.6 Public financing CAB (%) 0.22 0.33 0.42 0.35 0.2 0.61 0.18 0.2 0.24 0.28 0.16 Percentages are calcu/ated from the total of defined sources eva/uated within an individual s tate, butare not necessarily the actual ta- ta/s: - pub lic sources -budget subsidies -inc/udes the budget for sports from al/ central ministries and /oca/ governments (1). For 5/ovenia, alf funds from the sta te budget obtained by sports organisations, exc/uding finance schools get for their sports activities, are consid- ered. - private_ sources, i. e. income from own activities - inc/udes sources of sponsors and TV rights, gambling, membership subscriptions, ut1/1sat,on of sports serv,ces (,nc/ud,ng sport,ng event v,s,ts) and goods (1), ,n 5/ovenia these sources are those which sport organisa- tions create by own activities (sources from household consumption of sporting goods is not inc/uded). Rajko Šugman, Jakob Bednarik CLUBS-THE BRIDGE BETWEEN EASTERN ANO WESTERN EUROPEAN MODELS OF SPORT 57 Slovenian sports organisations finance themselves mostly through their own activities (Table 1 ). Financing where private sources have a 70% share is characteris- tic of Western Europe, but not for post-socialist states, such as in the example of Hungary (Table 1 ). Sports subsid ies from public financi ng and own activi- ties cannot be d irectly compared between states in ab- solute sums due to their differentsizes and levels of de- velopment. However, comparisons of income levels in the context of gross do mestic product (GDP) do make sense. Compared to Western Europe, total fund ing in- tended for sport (measured as o/o of GDP) is lower in Slovenia than in those states, but parallel to this Slovenia also obtains a lower level for sport from pub- lic finance (in terms of GDP). Compared to Hungary, the amount of ali subsidies for sport (in terms of GDP) is the same, w hile the amount of public funding in Hungary is much greater than in Slovenia. We believe that a comparison with other former socialist states would reveal relatively similar resu lts. In Slovenia the foundations of sport, having the main aims of participating, competing and achieving top re- sults are clubs established under the Clubs Act (ac- cording to data from the Slovenian Olympic Com- mittee - Association of Sport Unions there are 2,500 registered sports clubs). These clubs are vertically con- nected ·into national sport unions and the Olympic committee of Slovenia - Association of Sport Unions, primarily regarding their interests and sport-branch af- filiations. There are 88,227 registered competitors w ithin these associations, representing 4% of the na- tion's populatio n (data fro m the Insti tute of Sport). Given its population size (2 million), Slovenia can eas- ily compare with Western Europe and former soc·1alist states as regards the number of its registered competi- tors and their achievements (Table 2). Slovenian competitors have so far won 50 medals at the Olympic Games, and another 359 at world cham- pionships in member categories. The number of top sportspeople, i.e. those achievingat least 16th place in the last two years at World Championships orat the Olympics, at least 12th place at European Cham- pionships, orat least 3rd at World Cups increased in 1996. In 1995, the numberwas 251, while in 1996 it grew to 305. Considering the number of registered competitors and data gathered from the sample of the adult population of Slovenian citizens, we can estimate that approxi- mately 320,000 citizens are members of sports clubs, representing 16 o/o of the total population (in Germany almost 30% (3 )). According to the percentage of the population active in sports, Slovenia is equivalent to Western European countries, noti ng that the percentagf' :~ higher than for other post-socialist countries under comparison (Table3). Table 2: Number of medals won at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, relative to the number of inhabitants in individual states States No.of No.of No.of ran k medals i nhabitants inhabitants permedal Hun11.arv 21 10588000 504190 1. Bul2aria 15 8990000 599333 2. Denmark 6 51 46469 857745 3. Czech Reoublic 11 10362000 942000 4. Slovenia 2 1972227 986114 5. Switzerland 7 7040119 1005731 6. Sweden 8 8778461 1097308 7. Romania 20 23181415 1159071 8. Germanv 65 80293000 1235277 9. Finland 4 5029002 1257251 1 O. Kazakhstan 11 16700000 1518182 11. France 37 56681000 153191 9 12. ltalv 35 57103833 1631 538 13. Ukraine 23 52100000 2265217 14. Poland 17 38645561 2273268 15. Russia 63 149608000 2374745 16. U.S.A. 101 255600000 2530693 17. Kenva 8 25241000 3155125 18. G.B. 15 57384000 3825600 19. Portugal 2 10524000 5262000 20. DISCUSSION In light o f the results obtained on the sample of Slovenian sports organisations, we may conclude that Slovenia has a model of sports funding which is typical of European Community states. Top sporting achievements and activities of the Slovenian population are today at an equal, or even higher, level than during the socialist period and in comparison with European states. The reason for this state of affairs can also be found in the fact that SI oven ia is economically more developed compared to certain other former social ist states. However, we are of the opinion that the main reason lies in the fact that cl ubs are and have been the major pillars of Slovenian sport. Sports clubs also existed in other socialist countries. But the difference was that in socialist Sloven ia the clubs were organised and fi- nanced in such a way thatno major changes were nec- essary in adapting them to the newdemands of the free market economy. In the former socialist regi me, clubs were financed from public funds and other sources. Other resources obtained by clubs often included the resources of enterprises. Albeit they were politically dictated but, all the same, they were treated as sponsor donations. Clubs can be identified within the Chelladurai (2) clas- sification of sports organ isations. They are a partof civ- i l society which, based on law, may be founded by Slovenian citizens. Their income comes from publ icly 58 Rajko Šugman, Jakob Bednarik CLUBS-THE BRIDGE BETWEEN EASTERN ANO WESTERN EUROPEAN MO DEL$ OF SPORT Table 3: Percentage o f active sports population in in- dividual states States % sports active Slovakia, Russia • 8% Bulgaria* 10% Ukraine, Po lanci* 12% Croatia* 15% Estonia* 18% Spain** 35% 1 XW, 1 S to 60 ltaly** 22% 1 XW, 3 to over 65 Portugal•• 27% 1 XW, 15 to 59 Hungary•• 19% 1 X W , 1 S to 4 9 Germany•• GDR 34% par., 28% 1 XW, over 16 FRG 69% par., 44% 1 XW, over 16 France•• 4 7. 7% par., 20% 1 X W, 14 to 80 Denmark•• 60% par., over 15 Finland** 82% par., 15 to 65 Sweden•• 57.7% par., 16 to 74 Belgium•• 67.5% par., 1 S to 64 Switzerland** 74% par., 1 S to 74 United Kingdom** 65% par., 16 to 70 Slovenia*** 50. 9% par., 33.4% 1 XW, over 18 • Ref. J. Palp in ref. Z. Krawczyk (4), no data availablc on age limits and what kind of sports activities are defined by the percentages, ex. periodically or regularly. Ref. Andreff (1 ), 1 XW means percent of the at-least-once-weekly active, par means self-declaration of sports activity, i.e. periodical sport activity, the numbers following clefine the age lirnits of thc populat1on inclucled. ••• Ref. Pelrovic (6), 1 XW means the percent of the ilt-least-once- weekly active, par. means self-cleclaration of sports activity, i.e. pe- rioclical sport activity, the numbers following definc the age limits of the population included. finance, their own activities, and donations from pri- vate sources. Club property is categorised as private property. Clubs are non-profi torganisations which use the remainder of their funds for their own activities. The key objective of marketing isto turn customers in - to markets (5). Other sports organisations are privately funded enter- prises but reta in the option to apply for public funding. They engage in service activities in the sports field, are available to ali, they organise sporting events and deal with sports marketing. With few exceptions (for exam- ple, tennis), they do not partici pate in activities whose main aim is to nurture top competitors and make a profit from their results. In Slovenia, very few public sports bodies are owned by the sta te and financed solely by public funds. They perform activities for the needs of local communities and for the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. Sports education in Slovenian schools occurs within in- d ividual classes, while outside of school it is offered as classes of interest activities. In school there are no sport- ing activities distinctly competitively oriented and able to produce the foundations for top-level sports. Yet the strong relationship between sport and the education system is clearly significantsince some 2,800 sports ed- ucators are employed to teach children basic sports proficiency and the meaning of sport. At present, there are very few private enterprises in Slovenia employing sportspeople with the intent of profit-making. This is no doubt a consequence of the socialist past which did not allow such sporting activi- ties. But it is expected that such organisations, typical for America and also fou nd in Western Europe (7), will appear in the near f uture, fi rst in team-sports and the commercially attractive sports - basketball, football (soccer), and handball. CONCLUSIONS We believe the main reason for Slovenian sport's rela- tively successful transition from the socialist model to the Western European model has been its pattern of club organisation and financing, which was not mere- ly in the public (sta te) sphere during the socialist period. Sports organisations were and remain a significant part of civil society and have accordingly managed to adapt to the new conditions of work more easily. Reo r- ganisation of at least some of the larger sports clubs cul- tivating the professional sports (basketball, football , handball), i.e. through establishment of new private or- ganisations (for example, joint-stock companies) em- ploying professional sportspeople will bring the Slovenian model of sports organisation nearer to that which is typical for Western Europe, whilst remaini ng significantly different to the American model. We may conclude that, notwithstanding certain specific details, Slovenia's model of sports financi ng and organisation, is very close to the Western European model. REFERENCES 1. Andreff W. The Economic lmportance of Sport in Europe: Financingand Economic lmpact. Brussels: Committee for the Development of Sportof the Council of Europe, 1994 2. Chelladurai P. Sports Management, macro perspectives. Victoria: Sports Dynamics, 1985 3. Horch HD. Resource Composition and O ligarchisation: Evidence from German Sports Clubs. European Journal for Sport Management 1994; 2(1 ): 52-6 7 4. Krawczyk Z . The lmage of Sport in Eastern Europe. Kineziologija 1997; 28(2): 76-83 S. Kotler P. Marketingmanagement, analiza, načrtovanje, izva- janje in nadzor. Ljubljana: Slovenska knjiga, 1995 6. Petrovič K. , Ambožič F., Sila B. , Doupona M. Šport- norekreativna dejavnost v Sloveniji 1996. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za šport, Inštitut za kineziologijo, 1997 7. Verhoeven M., Laporte W., De Knop P., Taks M., Bolleart L., Van Bunder D., DuystersA. VoluntaryWork in the Changing Environment of Sport: Empirical Study on the Development of Professional Expertise in Sports Federations and Sports Clubs. In: Proceedings of the sth Congress o f the European Association for Sports Management. Glasgow: EASM, 199 7: 3 78-387