Survey on the current financial situation of Paralympic sports organizations

Abstract

National Federations (NFs), which are sports umbrella organizations, are important in the promotion of sports in a country, as they are responsible for the development of athletes and the promotion of sports at the grassroots level. Therefore, public financial support is provided to NFs. In recent years, however, NFs have been encouraged to acquire financial resources without relying on public funds to sustain their operations. The debate on the financial independence of NFs also applies to Paralympic sports organizations. In order for Paralympic NFs to engage in domestic and international promotion programs and in athlete training programs in a sustainable way, they will be required to accurately assess their current financial situation and implement strategic management measures.

To ascertain the actual financial situation of Paralympic NFs, this study analyzed the income and expenditure accounts based on publicly available financial statements. In addition to providing an overview of the trend of the financial situation, the study focused on the independent revenue raised by the NFs themselves, which have been discussed in terms of financial independence, and examined the relationship between independent revenue and the scale of the NFs’ operations. The term “independent revenue” here refers to the amount obtained by subtracting subsidies, grants, etc. from ordinary revenues.

The survey covered Japanese NFs of summer Paralympic sports. Organizations that have been integrated with NFs for abled-bodied people were excluded, and 23 NFs were examined.

Data on revenues and expenditures were collected from financial reports of the NFs for fiscal years 2017 through 2021, all of which showed a steady increase until FY 2019. A downward trend began in FY 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In each year, there was a difference between the average of all NFs’ revenues and expenditures and the average when excluding the NF with the largest figures, indicating that very few NFs were pushing up the overall revenue and expenditure amounts.

In addition, correlation analysis was conducted between the amount of ordinary revenue and independent revenue, as well as between the total expenditures and operating expenses, and both showed positive correlations. These results showed that the larger the amount of ordinary revenue, the greater the amount of independent revenue secured, and the larger the amount of expenditures, the higher the operating expenses.