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SINGAPORE: Key sports companies are eligible for a new grant of S $ 13.5 million to defray operating costs under the latest relief measures for the sports sector affected by COVID-19.
The Sports Resilience Package operating grant will help up to 150 of these companies, including private clubs and academies, as well as league and facility operators, continue to operate as they explore and shift to new business models.
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) will award a grant equivalent to approximately 25 percent of the total operating expenses of said businesses, capped at $ 15,000 per month, from October 2020 to March 2021.
The grant is part of additional aid measures for the arts, culture and sports sectors announced by Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong in Parliament on Thursday (April 15).
“This grant will also ensure that our critical sports businesses that contribute to the development and training of our line of athletes do not close due to the pandemic, not marginalizing the programs that are available to athletes, allowing athletes to benefit from the best programs in training, ”Mr. Tong said.
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MCCY said in a newsletter Thursday that companies must demonstrate that they have been working closely with National Sports Associations (NSAs) to contribute to the development of the portfolio of athletes, and / or is a key player in this ecosystem to be eligible for the grant.
“In addition, the company must demonstrate that its revenues have been and will continue to be severely affected by COVID-19. To receive the grant, the company must commit to preserving jobs and improving the skills of its workforce, ”he said.
“BEING DIGITAL IS A PARAMOUNT”
Singapore $ 9 million will be set aside for capacity development, including financial support for more companies who want to host hybrid online and offline sporting events and enhance their digital skills.
It will enable eligible event operators, event management companies, as well as private academies and clubs to more frequently develop hybrid programs that allow more Singaporeans to participate in sports.
“The last few months have shown that digitization is paramount. It enables our companies and freelancers to reach existing, new and broader audiences, allowing for higher quality content to be developed and also a degree of interactivity even though it is communicating through two screens, ”said Mr. Tong.
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MCCY said it aims to support more than 100 projects, involving around 450,000 participants, over the next six months.
“In addition, these measures will also support sports companies and freelancers to improve the quality of their digital productions and expand their reach by hosting their content on the virtual platform ActiveSG Circle,” he said.
“This will help sports companies produce new content on a monthly basis and expand the range of content to meet the diverse needs and interests of the community.”
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Beyond that, Mr. Tong said that MCCY is working with health authorities to pilot the resumption of spectator sports and mass participation sports events in the “near future.”
“In particular, we will have to look for new modalities of mass participation events to avoid large concentrations of people in one place and also consider the use of mixed models in some of these events,” he said.
MORE INCENTIVES FOR COACHES
Under the same capacity development initiative, S $ 2.5 million will be set aside to provide registered coaches with a S $ 10 per hour training allowance when taking CoachSG courses beyond the required continuing education hours for coaches.
Additionally, up to 80 pairs of registered Level 2 and Level 3 coaches can participate in CoachSG’s structured mentoring program, where mentees and mentors will receive S $ 400 and S $ 600 per month respectively.
Application details for these support measures will be posted on the SportSG website on November 2.
These additional measures are in addition to a S $ 25 million package announced in June to provide immediate relief from COVID-19 and ensure business continuity in the sports sector.
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Tong said that Singapore’s sports ecosystem is made up of a wide range of different institutions, including the NSAs, private academies and clubs, private leagues, sports facility operators and coaches.
“They all play an important role in our collective efforts to build a strong line of athletes to mold and shape and support them in their pursuit of competitive success on both the national and international fronts,” he said.
“Many private academies and clubs in particular complement the efforts of our NSAs; they enrich the training and development of talent, and they also offer a range of different competitive opportunities.
“We understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on these private academies, leagues and facility operators, and we understand the challenges they go through. Many of them need some support, if nothing else, to get through the period. “
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