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At a press conference the secretary in chief of sport Panos Batsaktsis informed about the liquidation of 32 working groups and committees of the Secretary General of sport and about a new plan for the year 2010 affecting 7 sports federations.

The changes which the secretary’s office introduces affect the sports: boxing, badminton, skiing, ice skating, tennis, field hokey and triathlon. From now on from a sport which belongs to B group, which means that the government engages in supporting financially its already existing level the boxing passes one category behind in group C, where the main supporting factor for the sport will be the private initiative. The government could support financially the boxing federation, however only if this is in its powers and the eventual support will mainly mean securing the building of the federation. The tennis passes one category ahead (from group C to group B) and from a sport in which the federation has to count mainly on the private initiative, it transfers under the protection of the government which will support its already existing level of advance. In a higher sports group is also passing the skiing. The skiing federation will continue to rely on private financing, however the government engages to assist when this is in its powers. From a sport whose advance depends entirely on the private initiative, and where no financial assistance is provided for by the government, (very rarely it engages in helping for the securing of the building of the federation), ice skating passes to one category ahead (from group F to group E), in which even though there is almost no financial participation, it could help with certain activities. The same category (from group F to group E) are joining also the sports: triathlon, field hockey and badminton.

As Batsaktsis explained the greater participation on the part of the government in the financial support of the field hockey, triathlon, badminton and ice skating is requested by the Greek Olympic committee and the reason for this is the fact that the specific sports are Olympic disciplines. Batsaktsis explained that “the government is not obliged to finance a certain sport only because it is an Olympic sport”.

In relation to the liquidation of 32 committees and working groups of the Secretary general he said that since 2005 until today they cost the government about 14 million euro…

In his statement Batsaktsis did not forget to express his great dissatisfaction of the present situation in the Greek stadiums which regardless of the recently undertaken measures for prevention against the aggression continue to be a place for vandalistic activities. He said he will take part in the meeting of the Super league on February 18^th and regarding the dialogue which the secretary in chief of the sport had with the football he said: “Every dialogue has its beginning and its end as it has to have certain results”.