The meeting was also attended by Honorary President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee-Member of the International Olympic Committee Pál Schmitt and Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office Balázs Fürjes. As part of the talks, the parties evaluated the LEN European Swimming Championships currently being hosted by Budapest which is the biggest European swimming event since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Mr Havasi’s information, at the meeting, FINA’s new initiative – as part of which they would like to provide support for young swimmers and young adults considering options of further training in preparation for life after their careers as professional athletes – was also on the agenda. In this regard, the plan is to set up a scholarship programme, within the framework of which the sports federation would like to conclude agreements with several countries’ leading universities in the near future.
Concerning the state of swimming in Hungary, Mr Orbán said from among the selected 16 priority sports, swimming receives the highest level of subsidisation as regards subsidies awarded towards operations and development.
Since 2010, the government has spent HUF 163 billion on the development and construction of swimming pools, including the training pool programme. At the same time, parallel with the introduction of daily physical education, in 2013, the Hungarian Swimming Association launched the programme ‘Every child should learn to swim’ as part of the Swimming Nation Programme.