Sport as part of the Galician brand

In 2009, the Plan Galicia Saudable was born, a project launched in 2009 by the General Secretariat for Sports, a pioneer in Spain, which promoted better health through the acquisition of healthy lifestyle habits, mainly through sports.

Today, no one is surprised to associate the word health with sport. It is not surprising that Galicia is a benchmark in the policy of promoting sports to improve health, as well as in the promotion of federal sports.

The success of Galician athletes at the last games (39, who won 6 medals and 10 Olympic diplomas and 5 medals and 15 Paralympic diplomas) is added to the increase above the national average in the number of federal members, as well as in the indices of the spread of practice outside the federative sphere.

This growth is greater in women’s sports. In 2009, there were 42,000 female licenses in Galicia out of a total of 232,000 (18%), while today there are 73,228 out of a total of 292,477 (25%).

The increase in the number of licenses in Galicia between 2018 and 2022 is one point more than what is happening in Spain. In addition, Galicia rose from eleventh to fourth place in the ranking of autonomous communities in terms of the number of permits in relation to the number of inhabitants.

A detailed analysis of the variations in the number of licenses per federation leads us to see different realities that, even if there is a general upward trend, would need an individualized explanation. However, it is clear that the pandemic affected the number and distribution of permits. Therefore, outdoor sports such as surfing, hiking, fishing, hunting or underwater activities increased the number of chips, many of which remain.

Apart from the number of licenses, the good health of Galician sport is multifaceted. The work of clubs and associations, of many people who are in the daily life of athletes, is titanic and never sufficiently recognized. Also from various administrations, mainly the General Secretariat for Sports. Thus, since 2005, top athletes have enjoyed scholarships that are among the best in Spain, and pioneers are on an equal footing with Paralympians. There is a plan to sponsor non-professional top competition teams, with a special program for women’s sports. Grassroots clubs have an objective and transparent helpline and federations have seen their support consolidated following the crisis of 2010. Sports accident insurance is free for all athletes between 6 and 16 years of age. In addition, the regulatory framework for Galician sport has been updated, publishing a new Galician law on sport, a new high-level sports regulation and, also, a pioneering order regulating electoral processes in sports federations, generating more electoral processes. transparent and guaranteed. It should also be noted that during the pandemic, the successful implementation of the Fisicovid protocol made it possible for Galician sports not to stop.

It is important to assess the progressive involvement of graduates in physical activity and sports science in different fields. The sports system has matured towards its professionalization and is already an economic sector in which not only non-profit entities participate, but also a consolidated business structure, which was recently visualized through the Galician cluster of the sports industry.

But despite this good data, there is still work to be done. I would like to mention five measures, although most of them are under the jurisdiction of the state. First, it is necessary to expand the hours of physical education in the educational plan and program, which the current general secretary for sports has been working on for years. Second, it is necessary to improve tax incentives for companies that support sports, as well as to eliminate state taxation of regional scholarships for athletes (Galicia’s personal income tax section already provides for a deduction). Third, sport must play a greater role in the allocation of Next Generation EU funds, with the possibility of creating a special sub-measure for the modernization of performance centers and modernization that goes beyond investments in energy efficiency. Fourth, it is fair to return the reduced VAT rate for the provision of sports services. Fifth, a framework agreement must be sought for the sustainable financing of sports through financial solidarity between professional and non-professional sports.

Sport is one of the best companions in life and is already part of the Galicia brand, kudos to everyone who makes it possible.