The impact of the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union on the croatian sport - analysis of financing of projects in the field of sports from European funds and of programmes from 2013 to 2023

The paper presents the results of research on financing of projects in the field of sports from European funds and programmes. The purpose of the research was to investigate how much economic gain was realized from the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union through contracting of financial resources for the field of sports. As part of the research, resolutions on the financing of projects at the national level were analysed within the framework of various calls for the allocation of grants, which are carried out by sports organizations. The research also included financing of projects for the construction or reconstruction of sports infrastructure at the level of the Republic of Croatia. The first part summarizes the position of sports in the context of the European Union and briefly explains the possibilities of financing sport projects. The main part of the paper presents the results of the analysis of specific public calls as a part of national operational programmes and centralized programmes of the European Commission for the period from 2013 to 2023. In particular, the total number of financed projects and the amounts of grants are presented. In addition, previous investments in local sports infrastructure as part of the Rural Development operational programme were analysed. The results show that during Croatian membership in the EU, certain opportunities for financing sports projects have been used, but that these funds are extremely low compared to all other areas. Investing in sports by increasing the number of competitions might result in a more stable sports sector and overall economic and social growth at the national level. This paper contributes to research results that may aid in shaping future policies in the field of sports at the national level, while currently there is no similar research on the financing of sports from EU funds at the level of the Republic of Croatia in the literature.