Brazil grants allowance to 7,215 athletes in six categories
The Ministry of Sports on Monday (Aug. 21) released a list with the names of the 7,215 athletes who signed the government’s Bolsa Atleta agreement for the 12-month allowance.
In all, BRL 78,701,750 was handed out to pay grants under the categories Grassroots Athlete and Student, with a monthly BRL 370; National Athlete, BRL 925; International Athlete, BRL 1,850; Olympic or Paralympic Athlete, BRL 3,100; and Podium Athlete, ranging from BRL 5 thousand to 15 thousand a month.
The Bolsa Atleta program was created in 2005 to sponsor high-performance sportspeople boasting good results in national and international competitions. The last Olympic Games, in 2021, showed the positive impact of the policy, with 90.4 percent of Brazilian podium positions being occupied by its beneficiaries. At the Paralympic Games, this percentage stood at 94.4 percent of the total 72 medals.
This year, 7,887 athletes were accepted—a 20 percent increase from 2022. The list disclosed today only shows the athletes who have confirmed their participation by signing the agreement.
The funds for the grants had been earmarked in the 2023 Federal Budget by the Ministry of Sports, which estimated that BRL 120.5 million would be spent on the initiative by the beginning of 2024.
