Local governments’ financial support for sport during the covid-19 pandemic based on the example of toruń municipality

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the functioning of Polish society and economy. The pandemic has also significantly worsened the finances of local government units. The decline in own-source revenue, combined with the need to spend funds to combat the effects of the pandemic, has made it necessary for local governments to revise their plans for financial support of sport-related activities. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduced activity of society resulting from the need to observe social distancing onthe amount of financial support for sports activities provided by the City of Torun. The analysis of the budgets of the City of Torun shows that in the years 2017–2019 there was a dynamic increase in revenue as well as expenditures, including in the area of sport funding. In the years 2020–2021, the amounts of realised and planned budget revenue and expenditures were relatively high, but especially in the case of expenditures, lower than those included in the Long-Term Financial Forecast of the City of Torun for the years 2020–2050. In addition, in the said years, the share of own-source revenue in total revenue has decreased significantly compared to the earlier years of the analysis. This has resulted in reduced opportunities for funding investments, including in the physical culture section. The significant reduction in capital expenditures for sports facilities and a drop in the amount allocated to funding physical culture tasks has resulted in a decline in sports spending budgeted for the financial year 2021 to a record low of 3.3% of the city’s total budgeted expenditures. As a result of the research, a conclusion was formed that the decreased expenditures in Torun’s budget in the physical culture section observed in the years 2020–2021 should be associated with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has negatively impacted the city’s finances and ability to fund property expenditures in the area of sport, and has limited the opportunities to play sports and participate in sporting events. © JPES.