From world champion footballers to tour-winning cyclists,Spain's sportsmen give the country a rare cause to smile in a recession. Butthe economy is catching up with many of them and harming their game.
While top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona thrive offtelevision rights and ticket revenues, smaller rivals and other sports relianton subsidies or sponsorship are struggling due to spending cuts in the economiccrisis. "It is the fall in public subsidies from the local or regionalauthorities that is affecting them," said Jose Maria Gay de Liebana, aneconomics professor at Barcelona University who specialises in sports.
Stark evidence of how the financial crisis is affecting thesporting world came with news that no Spanish television station would show theworld cup qualifier in Belarus.
As Spain chops public spending, less money for local schoolsinevitably means less investment in finding the next Rafael Nadal, Spain'sworld number four tennis star, or its next cycling champion like AlbertoContador. "We are seeing other cuts in grassroots sports. Where beforethere were 40 coaches for a school of kids, now the town hall can only afford20," Gay de Liebana said. “It means Spanish sport is going to lose power.I think you could see in the Olympic Games that it had lost some power. We aregoing to depend on just a few individuals, like the Nadals or Contadors."
While the stars of Madrid and Barcelona shine under thefloodlights of their vast stadiums, players in other sports and leagues equallysuccessful in their field are in the economic murk. In the top league ofSpain's second-favourite sport, basketball, the teams' overall budget hasfallen by 42 million euros in two years. Basketball clubs Estudiantes andValladolid survived in the top league despite a poor season since the promotedteams that were supposed to replace them could not afford to do so. The sportsministry has suffered budget cuts of 35 percent over two years as thegovernment tries to lower its deficit, meaning fewer subsidies for sport.
Sports Minister Miguel Cardenal said his ministry has cutsubsidies to sport by 34 percent from 48 million euros to 31 million euros lastyear. Meanwhile private sponsorship is being choked off by the worseningrecession. But the crisis has not lessened Spain's appetite for sports. It isdue to host the Handball World Championship next year, the Basketball World Cupand World Road Cycling Championship in 2014 and has applied to host theOlympics in 2020 in Madrid.
