Every year, local councils and regional governments set aside large sums to promote sport, and much of that money reaches clubs and sports associations as subsidies and free use of facilities. Yet when a member asks to see the accounts, they often find that transparency stops at the changing-room door. That silence comes at a cost to everyone.
Public money, opaque management
Promoting sport is a duty of the public authorities, and they largely fulfil it through the voluntary sector: neighbourhood clubs, sports schools and federated organisations that receive direct grants, agreements, reduced fees or free use of municipal facilities. For many clubs, this public funding makes up a substantial share of their income. However, control over how that money is spent tends to be weak: administrations settle for formal justifications, and day-to-day management is left to boards that rarely give a detailed account of themselves.
In theory, a federated club should submit its financial statements once a year and its general assembly should approve the accounts. The question is simple: does this really happen? And who checks?
What the law says
The legal framework does not leave members or taxpayers defenceless. It is worth knowing:
- Organic Law 1/2002 on the Right of Association (applicable to clubs generally or on a supplementary basis): it requires accounts that give a true and fair view of the association's assets, requires the assembly to approve the accounts each year and grants every member the right to be informed of the state of the accounts and the course of its activities (Article 21.b), as well as the right to be heard before any disciplinary measure (Article 21.c).
- Law 38/2003, the General Subsidies Act: the beneficiary must prove that the purpose for which the aid was granted has been fulfilled and must repay the funds in the cases provided for by law.
- Law 19/2013 on transparency: private entities that receive public aid or subsidies of more than 100,000 euros in a year, or where such aid accounts for at least 40% of their annual income with a minimum of 5,000 euros, are subject to proactive disclosure obligations.
- Law 39/2022 on Sport: it extends the requirements of financial control, good governance and transparency to sports federations.
When half of a club's budget is everyone's money, its accounts are no longer the board's private business.
The member who asks, the member who annoys
Reality falls far short of the rules. A member who asks for the invoices may be met with evasions, delays, incomplete minutes or the reply that the information "is not available". If they insist, they risk being labelled a troublemaker and, in the worst cases, being expelled for "disruptive behaviour" through disciplinary procedures of doubtful fairness.
The courts are no bed of roses either. As in other disputes within associations or between co-owners of a building, it is not unusual for a member to have to go through several levels of appeal before their right to see invoices is recognised, even though, as a member of the organisation, they were entitled to examine them from day one. Meanwhile, the board carries on running the club and time works in favour of whoever is hiding something.
What you can do
- Request in writing, with proof of receipt, the annual accounts, the budget and the minutes of the assembly, citing Article 21 of Organic Law 1/2002.
- Ask the administration that granted the subsidy for the documents justifying it; this is public information.
- Check whether the club exceeds the thresholds of Law 19/2013 and, if so, demand that it publish its financial information.
- If disciplinary proceedings are opened against you, insist on being heard and on being informed in writing of the facts alleged against you.
- Get in touch with other members: a collective request is much harder to ignore.
Grassroots sport is too valuable to be left to opacity. Demanding clear accounts is not an attack on the club: it is a way of protecting it. If you know of cases of irregular management of public money in sports organisations, tell us about them and join ACCYDED.