In light of the municipal elections in March, the National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) on Tuesday submitted an “application” to the Association of French Mayors to make sport a “major urban destination”, with proposals in particular for “better” investment.
“The support of the municipal government was decisive, they were the first sports investors in France and invested almost ten times the amount of the Ministry of Sports’ budget”, summarizes Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, president of CNOSF, which represents the French sports movement, and in particular the federation, on the national territory.
Due to the “difficult budgetary and economic context”, there is a “risk of decreasing the commitment of the municipalities” but “we tell them ‘don’t give up on sport’ because sport is a giant of society and is also an asset for the success of other policies”, added Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, former Minister of Sports.
“Building a new territorial sports pact”
At the Mayors’ Exhibition running through Thursday in Paris, he submitted an “application” to the Association of French Mayors containing ten proposals to “make sport the main objective of the city”.
The aim is to “establish a new territorial sports pact” with the mayors: “we are not at all involved in a list of recommendations or even less orders, but in sharing ideas for action,” said the CNOSF president.
“70% to 80% of the steps we take cost nothing, the aim is not to spend more but to invest better and increase the effectiveness of our collective measures,” he added.
Among the ten proposals was the announcement of “a new partnership with the Banque des Territoires, Sport’Rénov, which will allow communities to have access to long-term loans at subsidized rates as well as free technical techniques to be able to renovate their clubs and adapt them to climate change, with the EduRénov model” for school buildings, said Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
Regarding the tariff levels, “it is still in the development stage but the spirit is to have something very close to Livret A with very little extra premium”, he explained.
This “application” also supports “access for 100% of students to practice sports in clubs”, by providing school transportation and “social pricing”, but also thanks to “a small extension of extracurricular time”, namely leaving classes at 4 pm instead of 4:30 pm.
It is also proposed that city governments “better rely on local economic structures from the business world” or even “systematically consider the issue of sports practices in city planning strategies”.
