With a 63% increase from 2010 to 2011, sport is the area of federal government spending that has increased the most according to the latest Brazilian budget, in a further sign of the country’s intention to invest heavily in its sporting future.
The budget forecast for the Ministry of Sport, focused heavily on preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2014 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has jumped from R$1.5 billion at the beginning of 2010 to R$2.5 billion in 2011. In comparison, other key spending areas such as health and education have seen more modest increases of 16% and 25% respectively.
Incredibly, the increase is largely thanks to major additions to the original 2011 Ministry of Sport budget, additions demanded by senators and federal deputies during National Congress, with the original R$1.3 billion almost doubled thanks to “parliamentary amendments”. The latter primarily apply to specific sport infrastructure projects in the jurisdictions of particular congressmen, with the Ministy’s initial R$68 million set aside for such works increased to well over R$1 billion; a massive boost to Brazil´s long-suffering public sport system.