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Cyprus is set to double state funding for the preparation of its Olympic and Paralympic athletes, with €700,000 earmarked for preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, President Nikos Christodoulides announced on Wednesday.
The new allocation is twice the €350,000 provided for preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The increased funding is due to take effect from January 1, 2027, through the Cyprus Sports Organisation.
Christodoulides said the €700,000 provision has already been included in the first draft of the state budget approved by the Cabinet.
The announcement came during an event at the Presidential Palace marking 40 years of sports cooperation between Cyprus and Greece.
More funding for LA 2028
The President said support for elite athletes was among the priorities of his administration, with the increased allocation intended to strengthen preparations ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Other measures announced or referenced by Christodoulides include an updated professional rehabilitation programme for Olympic and Paralympic athletes after their sporting careers, regardless of their ranking.
The government also plans to upgrade and build sports facilities, bring benefits for athletes with disabilities into line with those available to other athletes, and introduce measures aimed at tackling violence and improving safety at sporting events.
New council to shape sports policy
Alongside the funding announcement, Christodoulides said the Cabinet had approved the creation of a National Sports Council earlier on Wednesday.
The body is expected to bring specialist expertise and scientific knowledge into the development of sports policy. One of its main tasks will be to prepare a detailed proposal for establishing a Deputy Ministry of Sports, an institution Cyprus does not currently have.
The council is therefore expected to examine how responsibility for the country's sports sector could be organised at government level.
Four decades of Cyprus-Greece cooperation
The announcements were made as Cyprus and Greece marked four decades of uninterrupted cooperation in sport.
The partnership dates back to 1986, when the two countries signed their first Sports Protocol. Christodoulides recalled that the agreement was established during a particularly difficult period for Cyprus, following the 1974 Turkish invasion.
He said the framework is now being developed into a new Sports Cooperation Protocol, intended to provide a stronger institutional basis for continued cooperation between the two countries.
The President also expressed the state's gratitude to Greece for its support and praised Cypriot and Greek athletes for representing the values associated with the Olympic movement.
