16 Aug 2016
Question marks over the Paralympic Games following funding confusion
BY Matthew Campelli
Several athletes from as many as 60 nations may not be able to compete at the Paralympic Games in Rio next month due to confusion over the status of government funding.
With the Games due to kick off in three weeks, BRL150m (£36.3m, US$47.1m, €41.8m) worth of funding committed by Rio’s mayor has come into question following a court ruling last week which forbids the use of any more public money without transparency.
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Sir Philip Craven said that if the organisation could not get its hands on the extra funding it would “have to implement further cuts” to the Games, which would “impact on the services to athletes” and potentially stop them from competing.
Money that is currently being withheld was earmarked to go towards the travel costs of a number of the athletes and their support staff. The funding – which is more than two weeks overdue – was also expected to cover athletes' food.
According to the IPC as many as 60 nations may not participate, with nations with smaller delegations – from Africa, Asia and the Americas – most at risk.
While Craven admitted that the “situation is pretty precarious”, the reports that the Paralympic Games may not go ahead are “totally unfounded and not true”.
“The hurdle to this solution is that there is currently an injunction on any further public funding from municipal and federal governments going towards the Games unless the Rio 2016 organising committee makes available full financial spending details,” he added.
“Clearly, the simplest and easiest way round this is for the Rio 2016 organising committee to be open and transparent with its financial records in order to allow this additional funding to come in.”
Craven met with the government yesterday in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. He said the organisation was a “step closer to the payment of support grants” to National Paralympic Committees and that it was committed to paying the grants “by the end of the month”.
Budget cuts had already been made for the Games, which have impacted arrangements around media centres, media transport and hospitality.
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