SpoFo-Map - Sponsoring Map for Elite Athletes
Project Description
The framework conditions and structures for sports funding in Germany are constantly under review. In recent years, greater attention has been paid to the needs of elite athletes. Both in the 2016 elite sports reform and, to an even greater extent, in the most recent competitive sports reform—which was provisionally concluded with the “detailed concept” of September 2023—the need for structural adjustments in athlete support has become clear. As part of the ongoing development of these reforms in working groups, a mandate has been established to address the urgent need for a systematic overview of the diverse and complex funding opportunities in German elite sports.
German sports funding is highly diversified and encompasses numerous organizations and stakeholders that support athletes financially, materially, and ideologically. This complexity stems not least from Germany’s federal structures, the principle of subsidiarity, and the close cooperation between the state and civil society in the field of competitive sports. However, there are currently no generally accessible tools that provide athletes with comprehensive assistance and systematic access when searching for funding opportunities in elite sports.
The project addresses the identified gaps and the described mandate and aims to address five specific goals as a timely service, to be realized through sequential steps. The plan is as follows: 1) a scoping study on existing funding programs in German elite sports to assess the current situation; 2) the presentation and provision of the data and results of the inventory in an interactive web application (“Funding Map”); 3) the integration of the Funding Map with existing applications and services for athletes; 4) the presentation of the inventory and the funding map at accompanying public expert events to incorporate stakeholder needs, facilitate discussion, and present service offerings and analysis results; 5) the development of reform and further development options in a final report.
Research Period: April 2025 – March 2026
Final conference and report, 9 March 2026, Senatssaal, GSU
On March 9, 2026, the German Sport University Cologne hosted the final conference of the “SpoFo-Map – Funding Map of Competitive Sports” project. The aim of the event was to present the findings of the research project and discuss prospects for the further development of athlete support in Germany. Since April 2025, the project has been addressing the question of how the multitude of support programs in German elite sports can be made more transparent and accessible.
Background and Objectives of the Project
Support for elite sports in Germany is characterized by a complex interplay of various stakeholders. The federal government, states, municipalities, sports federations, foundations, and other organizations provide a variety of support programs, the diversity of which has evolved over time. They thus reflect the federal structures of the German sports system. At the same time, however, the multitude of funding institutions and programs makes it difficult to get an overview of the available support.
Against this backdrop, the development of a so-called funding map was approved as part of the elite sports reform. The goal is to create, for the first time, a systematic overview of existing funding opportunities for elite athletes. The “SpoFo-Map” project takes up this mandate and pursues several key objectives: an inventory of funding opportunities in German elite sports, the presentation of this information in an interactive web application, and the development of proposals for reforming and further developing the funding system.
The cooperation partners within the framework of the service research conducted by the Federal Institute of Sports Science (BISp) are Athletes Germany and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), while the scientific implementation was carried out by the Institute for European Sports Development and Leisure Research at the German Sport University Cologne. The project will run from April 2025 to March 2026. The IESF project team is led by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag. Dr. Maximilian Seltmann is responsible for the implementation of the project in collaboration with Ivana Pranjić.
The Sponsoring Map as a Key Project Outcome
A key outcome of the project is the development of an interactive digital funding map modeled after funding databases and search tools used in other sectors or areas of society. This custom-designed and developed web application brings together information on numerous funding programs in German elite sports for the first time and makes it available to athletes in a structured and easily accessible format. The application makes it possible to identify suitable funding opportunities based on various criteria—such as national team status, age, place of residence, or educational background—while also providing an overview of the entire funding landscape for everyone involved in sports. In addition to financial support, the platform highlights programs for professional training, employment opportunities compatible with elite sports, and other support services. The goal is to help athletes better navigate the complex funding system and facilitate access to relevant funding opportunities.
The funding map is publicly accessible in its current stage of development and can be accessed online at foerderlandkarte-sport.de. Finalization and handover to the cooperation partners will take place after March 31, 2026. The conference gave attendees the opportunity to offer suggestions for finalizing and sustainably developing the application, which may be relevant both for its completion by the end of March and for future use.
Key Findings of the Final Report
The final report of the project, which includes an analytical assessment of existing support structures, was also presented at the closing conference. The analysis shows that the German system of athlete support is highly fragmented. Various funding institutions have developed their programs independently of one another, resulting in overlapping responsibilities and differing eligibility criteria in some cases. This structure means that funding opportunities are rarely coordinated and can be difficult for athletes to navigate. Consequently, a significant amount of effort is required to find one’s way, which is supported, among other things, by career counseling at the Olympic training centers or through federations and coaches. At the same time, it was emphasized that the federal organization of the sports system also offers advantages, such as broad institutional involvement and diverse support offerings at various levels, which potentially increase the total volume of athlete support compared to a centralized system.
A key component of the closing conference was the panel discussion on the future of athlete development. Representatives from the worlds of sports, politics, and academia discussed key challenges and potential approaches to reforming existing support structures. The discussion focused on issues such as the design and targeting of support, access to support services at different stages of an athlete’s career, and taking into account the diverse life situations of athletes. Among other things, the discussion addressed the role of the social environment, particularly in youth development, as well as structural issues related to elite team support and the allocation of available resources. Overall, the discussion highlighted the need for more differentiated and needs-based support models that take both athletic development and social conditions into account equally.
Outlook
The closing conference made it clear that the funding map can make an important contribution to transparency within the German elite sports system. By consolidating information on funding programs, it provides, for the first time, a structured overview of the wide range of support options available to athletes. At the same time, the discussion made it clear that a sustainable improvement in athlete support cannot be achieved through an information tool alone. Rather, it requires the continuous development of existing structures as well as greater coordination among the various stakeholders in the German sports system. In this context, the planned establishment of a new independent agency for elite sports is also viewed as a potential catalyst for structural changes in the funding system.
An audio report on the funding map and the discussion regarding German sports funding is available on the Deutschlandfunk website: www.deutschlandfunk.de/sportfoerderung-foerderlandkarte-soll-mehr-klarheit-bringen-100.html