Several hundred million – The Federal Council wants to lend a hand to sport – sport

Crown measures threaten Swiss sport. The Federal Council promises a remedy.

After the Federal Council’s new measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, which are decisive for Swiss sport, Sport Minister Viola Amherd met with representatives of Swiss Olympic and leagues for a round table.

The parties stressed the importance of sport, on which some 100,000 jobs depend. At the same time, everyone stressed that they should support general efforts to contain the pandemic, for which regulations and solutions at Swiss level for the organization of amateur and professional sport are central.

Several hundred million francs

Amherd expressed his understanding for the difficult situation. The Federal Council is aware that many areas and sectors have suffered significant losses and are structurally threatened.

To mitigate the consequences in sport, the Federal Council and Parliament have decided on an aid package of several hundred million francs. Almost CHF 100 million is available in popular sport for 2020 and another CHF 100 million is planned for 2021.

Interest-free loans

The Covid-19 law also created the legal basis for granting interest-free loans to clubs in the professional and semi-professional sectors of football, ice hockey, floorball, handball, volleyball and basketball. This year 175 million Swiss francs are available for this and another 175 million are set in the estimate for the 2021 budget.