Sports to receive less in development

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 will see the sports arena receive less allocation for development as it has been cut down by more than Tk 100 crores.

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports allocated Tk 393.8 crore for development.

A senior official of the sports ministry told The Business Post, seeking anonymity, that the allocation for the development of sports in the upcoming fiscal year will be Tk 286.6 crore.

The proposed budget of the ministry for the 2022-23 fiscal year is Tk 1,281.6 crore. Of that, Tk 875.9 crore is in organisational expenditure, and Tk 352.8 crore allocated for development.

In the organisational expenditure, almost all sports entities have been allotted more money in the proposed budget.

The BKSP has been allocated Tk 80.4 crore compared to previous years’ Tk 72.4 crore; the National Sports Council has been allocated Tk 34.9 crore compared to Tk 30.6 crore in the outgoing fiscal year; Bangabandhu Krirasebi Kalyan Foundation has been allocated Tk 4.5 crore, improved from last year’s Tk 3.2 crore; and the Directorate of Sports has been allocated Tk 50.7 crore compared to last years’ Tk 48.04 crore.

The only curtail from last year’s budget is Tk 9 lakhs provided to the Bangladesh Olympic Association, which will not be provided from this year.

Except for these, the Sports Association Grant has been allocated Tk 35.2 crore, while the budget for the maintenance and development of the country’s stadiums has been Tk 12.6 crore.

Other than that, Tk 35 crore has been allocated for the organisational costs of sports development, and Tk 1.2 crore has been allocated for the National Sports Award.

Tk 30.2 crore has been proposed for international competitions, while Tk 5 lakh has been set aside for World Anti-Doping Association.