– A trend in the last two to three years is that more and more people are unable to pay. That’s according to the chairman of Steinkjer Football Club, Hermod Fledsberg. Both the unpaid membership fee and the training fee for the football club make up the nearly 200,000 kroner that remains unpaid from last year. These are sums the chairman does not believe will be paid. – No one should be thrown out In recent years, the sum of unpaid fees to the sports team has increased sharply. – Now after the pandemic, there has been a far too big jump in the unpaid sums, explains Fledsberg. This has consequences for the sports team, which has to pay for pitch hire, equipment purchases and equipment around sports. – Then there will be less money I can spend on creating activities, says Fledsberg. Nevertheless, the club is concerned that this should not affect the children who want to play football. – It should not affect young, promising footballers. No one should be thrown out of the club because they themselves or their parents do not get paid, says the chairman. Unsettled for the future Kjell Bjarne Helland, head of organization in Trøndelag sports circle, says that what Steinkjer FK is experiencing is a known problem. When several families had tighter personal finances during the pandemic, they noticed that several cut spending related to children’s and young people’s leisure activities. – There should not be children who do not have the opportunity to receive an offer, says Helland in Trøndelag sports district. He therefore encourages struggling sports teams to contact those in Trøndelag sports circle for help in finding support schemes. Photo: Sunniva Skurtveit / news – We had to make new choices and then maybe leisure activities were one of the first things we chose away, explains Helland. And the increasing price increase in society means that many cannot afford to pay for their children’s leisure activities. – I am terribly afraid that 2023 could be even more demanding, says Helland. Growing concern The Norwegian Sports Confederation is painfully aware of the problem that applies to the whole country. Sports president Berit Kjøll wrote to news that sport has prioritized work against the economy as a barrier for many years. – Now we are worried that this challenge will only increase. Several families face financial challenges, and there will be more children who cannot afford to play sports. We must have good relief measures for those who need it, and be prepared to increase efforts – and spend more money – on this. Berit Kjøll is concerned that the challenge will only increase. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Kjøll points out that the state and voluntary organizations have signed the Leisure Declaration. There, the parties undertake to work to ensure that all children have the opportunity to always participate in at least one organized leisure activity together with others. She has previously asked the government to step in. – I experience a strong positive will on the part of both the Minister for Culture and Equality and the Minister for Children and Families to meet the challenges facing society. But it requires a real joint effort where the ministries and municipalities around the country contribute together with us in sports and volunteering, writes the sports president. Must stand together to find solutions Steinkjer FK has, through various schemes, been able to cover around half of the unpaid sums from last year. – We will continue to provide equipment, football boots, shin guards and clothing so that those who are not used to this way of doing sports can join. Therefore, they have their own inclusion group that works with applying for support schemes. But the expenses and possible support schemes vary depending on which country the club is located in. In some places, the club has to pay to rent the pitch and hall. In other places, the club owns the hall itself, or can borrow it free of charge from the municipality. And with what they see as a demanding year ahead, both Trøndelag sports circle and Steinkjer FK hope that the sports association, the municipalities and the private business community can come together to find new solutions. – We hope that there can be arrangements that make it easier to get families with poor finances to be able to pay and participate in this type of activity, says Fledsberg in Steinkjer FK.
ttn-69
More and more people are struggling to pay training fees to sports teams, Steinkjer FK is one of them – news Trøndelag
