In fresh days, the ultimate Chamber of Control (NIK) has published a study on the functioning of the Ministry of athletics and Tourism. The paper reveals a number of irregularities and inconsistencies in the implementation of tasks included in the ministry's programs for Polish sports unions. As it turns out, the ministry led by the Minister of athletics did not work decently either.
According to the study of NIK, the implementation of tasks included in the programs of the Ministry of athletics and Tourism for Polish sports unions was in part incorrect and unreliable. It has besides failed to deliver results and achievements. The audit was undertaken on the own initiative of NIK, following the proposition of the Sejm Committee on Physical Culture, athletics and Tourism.
The deficiency of sports improvement strategies was 1 of the main problems that NIK revealed. After 2020, a fresh strategical paper on the improvement of athletics in Poland was not drawn up, although according to the Government Administration Act, the Minister is obliged to initiate and make the policy of the Council of Ministers in relation to the ministry he directs.
The actions taken after 2020 to make a fresh strategical paper were, according to the NIK, unreliable and ineffective. Only the current minister has taken action to make a fresh document. He commissioned the external entity a comparative analysis of the operational model in the field of sports policy management, and in the ministry he established a task squad to cooperate in its preparation.
The study besides reveals the detected financial irregularities. In 2023, the erstwhile head of MSiT Kamil Bortniczuk granted PLN 186 million to the Polish Football Union for an investment called the National Centre for Football Training, investigation and Training in Otwock, which according to NIK was incompatible with the assumptions of an investment programme of peculiar importance for sport.
The decision, according to NIK, was taken against the negative assessment of the investment application team. In view of the grant of co-financing to PZPN for this task, although the investment proposal did not meet the formal requirements and should be rejected, In November 2024 the NIK sent a announcement to the D.A. of suspicion of a criminal offence by a erstwhile minister pursuant to Article 231 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, i.e. the breach of powers by a public officer.
The current minister withdrew the decision to grant the grant and rejected the PZPN's application for investment. Furthermore, according to the report, during the years under control, the Minister was incorrectly reporting on the principles of the allocation of funds allocated to support Olympic sports and the backing of sports training and youth competition.
NIK considers that the existing rules for the allocation of public funds should be transparent and transparent. Controlled sports unions have besides identified irregularities in the implementation of competition, youth and universal sports programmes, including the usage and settlement of grants, the award of contracts from grants, the keeping of accounting records and the description of accounting evidence and monitoring of tasks.
From 26 October 2021 to 9 September 2024, no individual cases were conducted in the field of mobbing, harassment or sexual exploitation of players and trainers in Polish sports unions. Although the Minister has developed and adopted a Code of Good Management for the Federation, a crucial part of them has not implemented government on women's participation in decision-making bodies and action to combat mobbing and discrimination in sport.
In the post-control conclusions, NIK recommends, among another things, that the ministry should intensify its work in order to make and introduce a strategical paper on the improvement of athletics in Poland in areas of competitive, youth and universal sport, as well as introducing for co-financed tasks carried out by Polish sports unions goals to measure the medal and point representation of Poland. On the another hand, sports union presidents should be more effective in overseeing the implementation of the obligations arising from backing programmes and contracts and pay more attention to the timely return to the Ministry of unused funding.
According to data published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in 2022 the rate of physical activity among Polish residents was 34.1%. This means that only all 3rd Pole regularly sports or participates in physical activities. In turn, according to the data of the Polish Chamber Association, in 2022 the number of swordsmen in Poland amounted to about 2.5 1000 people, which represents only 0.006% of the full population of Poland.
The conclusions of the NIK study are clear: the Ministry of athletics must change to meet the requirements of modern sport. This means that it needs to change so that it can effectively support the improvement of athletics in Poland. Only in this way will we be able to accomplish better results and keep our position in planet sports.
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Sport in Poland: fresh study NIK Reveals Irregularities in the athletics Resort
