Sports grants

Grant applicants and partners must follow good governance, the ethics guidelines of the sports community, and the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in all their activities. Applicants and partners must commit to the ethics policy of the City of Espoo Sports and Exercise Unit and the principles of a safer space. Violation of the aforementioned principles may result in the termination of the grant or the partnership. Matters are decided by the Sports and Wellbeing Committee after a separate preparatory process.

Applicants and partners of Sports and Exercise grants agree to Follow the Espoo Sports and Exercise Unit’s principles of a safer space:

Principles of a safer space

• We afford equal and friendly treatment to everyone, regardless of their background, abilities, fitness or other characteristic. We let everyone exercise and do sports in their own way and do not judge the performance of others.
• We respect everyone regardless of their background or characteristics. We are considerate of other people. We consider everyone’s individual needs.
• We are approachable, friendly, and helpful. Attitudes that are friendly, polite and helpful create a pleasant and safe environment for everyone. We create a positive environment where everyone feels welcome.
• We offer a helping hand to anyone that needs it. We make sure that everyone has a good, safe experience.
• We provide clear rules and instructions. We make sure that they are easy to find and understand.
• We don’t hesitate to stop inappropriate behaviour.  If we see inappropriate behaviour, we stop it. We make sure that everyone follows the rules.
• We create a cosy environment. We make sure that the premises are clean after we’re done. We make sure that our premises and services are as accessible as possible for all customers.

Follow good governance(external link, opens in a new window), the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,(external link, opens in a new window) the Fair Game principles(external link, opens in a new window) of the sports community, and their sports federation/umbrella organisation’s responsibility programme(external link, opens in a new window). 

Grant applicant and partner

1. Creates the process and instructions for stopping inappropriate behaviour and names an anti-inappropriate behaviour/anti-harassment contact person. Makes this information openly available to the members and participants.
    
2. Creates rules for everyone to follow (participants, volunteers, coachers, instructors, administration, management etc.)
    
3. Checks the criminal record extract of anyone working with underage children when their employment begins.
    
4. Guides key sports actors to visit the You are Not Alone service You are not alone - Väestöliitto.fi(external link, opens in a new window) and instructors, coaches and their supervisors to take the Finnish Olympic Committee’s free Responsible Coaching course Front page | Finnish Olympic Committee(external link, opens in a new window)

The Sports and Wellbeing Committee may issue grants to sports clubs registered in Espoo that are members of a national sports federation, or to associations that primarily provide sports activities. To receive a grant, the club or association must have been registered in Espoo by the end of June of the previous year. A majority of the active participants under 20 years old must be from Espoo, and the club or association must have at least 20 regular members under 20 years old. Associations that provide applied exercise services are an exception. Their operation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis regarding their applied exercise services.

Grants will not be issued to a workplace sports club whose activities are intended for the personnel of the company.

The grant amount may be reduced for 2026 if the applicant does not have a process and instructions in place for stopping inappropriate behaviour and a named anti-inappropriate behaviour/anti-harassment contact person. This information must be publicly available for the members and participants. If the applicant has not corrected these issues by 2027, they will become ineligible for the grant.

The city retains the right to review the community’s administrative documents and accounting records insofar as required by its grant use controls.

Applications for rental, sports services, applied exercise services and education grants and young athlete stipends are filed through the electronic grant system in accordance with the deadline of the public notice.  Grant applications for orienteering maps must be submitted to the city’s registry office or service points by the deadline as specified in the public notice.

Sports activity grant decisions are made by the Sports and Wellbeing Committee. Decisions on targeted grants and rewards for success are made by the Sports Director pursuant to the Sports and Wellbeing Committee-approved allocation criteria.

Sports services grants are intended for covering the costs of organising U20 sports services. These grants are issued based on financial statements and the annual report for activities in the operating period.

Electronic sports services grants must include the following documents:

1. club’s commitment to ethical guidelines
2. action plan​
3. budget​
4. annual report​
5. financial statements​
6. audit report​
7. basic information form

In its application, a club must demonstrate that it follows the ethics policy by attaching its instructions and process description for anti-inappropriate treatment as well as the information of its anti-harassment contact person as a link to where they are made available to the club.  

The budget must specify the expenses of U20 sports services. The attachments must be added to the electronic grant system when the sports service grant application is filed. It is possible to include missing attachments either in the grant system or by delivering them to Sports and Exercise Services by the end of November at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@espoo.fi. If the attachments are not delivered by the deadline, existing grants issued to the association will be revoked and used on late-year targeted grants.

The minimum grant is EUR 200. The grant may not exceed one third of the club’s U20 sports services expenses.

Allocation criteria

Grant decisions take the following into account, in order of priority:

1. The number of active U20 members who have been a part of regular exercise activities for at least three months.

2. The club’s operational expenses for U20 services:

Practice/coaching services; e.g. coach/instructor pay/compensation, coach training expenses, club’s camp expenses, administrative expenses; for the U20 group.

Competition services; e.g. judges’ fees, club’s share of travel expenses, event organising expenses; for the U20 group.

Facility rent from city, U20 group.

Facility rent from private providers, U20 group.

3. Changes in the club’s activities, such as expansion/reduction of activities, changes in focus, changes in price.

Additionally, the following are considered for the grant

1. How the club includes immigrants and young people from low-income households in its activities.
2. How the organises its activities to make sure that, when a young team member drops out of either the team or the club, they find an opportunity to stay in the sport with another team or club.
3. Partnerships with the city, such as low-threshold exercise groups.
4. The club is a member in the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Tähtiseura programme for children and young people.
5. Organising free-of-charge exercise groups (impact support).

Impact support

– effect of organising free-of-charge exercise groups on sports services grants

Sports services grants include an impact support. The focus areas of the impact support change in autumn 2025. The grant considers advance agreements on the club’s free-of-charge exercise groups in accordance with the focus areas.

In autumn 2025, the impact support focuses on services for people aged 12–20.  For spring 2025, the impact support focuses on free-of-charge groups for people aged 7–20. There is an exception: applied exercise services, which considers services for people aged 7–20 for the whole year.

Impact support

• Impact support is based on the number of free-of-charge groups that has been agreed in advance. Support for 2026 will also consider the activities in 2025. For autumn, the focus area will change to the number of groups for people aged 12–20. Support for 2026 will consider the number of free-of-charge groups in 2025 that meet the criteria. Groups for 7–20-year-olds will be considered for spring and groups for 12–20-year-olds for autumn. If the groups have been active for at least three months with at least five participants, a group that was active for the whole year can receive EUR 5 000 and a group that was active for one season can receive EUR 2 500.  Applied exercise groups are an exception: services provided for 7–20-year-olds will be considered for the whole year. Applied exercise groups may be approved for shorter periods of regular activity, if necessary.

Sports services grant criteria for impact support in 2026

• Weekly regular activity during the semester/academic year (at least 3 months).
• Average group size during the semester must be at least 5 participants/session
• The amount of support is based on the groups for 7–20-year-olds in spring 2025 and groups for 12–20-year-olds in autumn 2025.
• Participation lists must be delivered monthly to the Sports and Exercise Unit by the 15th of the following month.
• The club commits to creating an opportunity for participants in the impact support groups to transfer to an affordable exercise group at the club.
• The activities are free of charge for participants.
• Services for 7–20-year-olds are considered for the applied exercise groups.  Applied exercise groups may be approved for shorter periods of regular activity, if necessary.

Payment criteria

• Impact support is a part of the sports services grant.   Groups that meet the criteria are considered for this support.
• Impact support requires the club/association to apply for a sports services grant.

Sports services grants for applied exercise are intended to cover costs of organising applied exercise groups. These grants are issued based on financial statements and the annual report for activities in the operating period.

Electronic grant applications for sports services in applied exercise must include the following documents:

1. action plan​
2. budget​
3. annual report
4. financial statements​
5. audit report​
6. basic information form

Grant allocation criteria:​

1. Number of participants in the applied exercise group
2. Regular exercise group held by a club/association (e.g. number of groups, type and duration of activity, target groups)
3. Their focus is on groups for children and young people (U20) and older people.

The budget must specify the operating costs of the applied exercise services. The attachments must be added to the electronic grant system when the sports service grant application for applied exercise is filed. It is possible to include missing attachments either in the grant system or by delivering them to Sports and Exercise Services by the end of November.  If the attachments are not delivered by the deadline, existing grants issued to the association will be revoked and used on late-year targeted grants.

This grant is available to cover rental costs for guided exercise services for U20 groups. The club must have held regular practice for the full season in private or public-owned sports facilities, mainly in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.  This grant may also be issued to a company or association after consideration, if Sports and Exercise Services does not have a facility it can offer for practice. The conditions of the particular sport, the availability of sports facilities and available appropriations are considered for this grant. This grant is not available for costs arising from using the city’s rental facilities. The applicant must specify the share of rental costs that is allocated to the U20 groups to be considered in the grant.

This support is available to cover education costs of Espoo-based sports club coaches and instructors of children and young people. Clubs can receive education support to improve the quality of their coaching and instruction.  Applications for education support are for all training courses and further education during a year (including November and December). The actual courses taken during the current year are taken into account in the grant.

Stipends are granted to the club based on the individual or team success of an Espoo-based athlete who turns 15–22 during the calendar year. This success must be in a sport under the federations that are members of the Finnish Olympic or Paralympic Committees during the year.

Stipends can be granted for a medal in the Finnish Championships, Nordic Championships, and points ranking and medals at top-level competitions. The best result of the year counts towards the stipend.

The stipend is granted to the club to cover the successful athlete’s training and competition costs in the following season. Upon request, the club must provide a report of how the stipend was used to Sports and Exercise Services.

Clubs can apply for stipends based on results achieved by the deadline. The application must also include potential success in November and December competitions. The club must report its competitive results to liikuntapaikkavaraukset@espoo.fi​ as soon as they are known.

The successful individual athlete, team, or an individual team member must be from Espoo, based in Espoo, and if the sport so allows, represents a club from Espoo. If the club has received a grant from another city for said athlete, it becomes ineligible for a stipend.

This grant is intended to cover the clubs’ purchasing and manufacturing costs of orienteering maps.

The City of Espoo Sports and Exercise Unit may reward adult athletes from Espoo who succeed at international competitions. Athletes that win a medal at an Olympic or Paralympic sport are eligible. Olympic and Paralympic sports are those officially confirmed for the previous or next Olympic or Paralympic Games and those confirmed for future Games. Summer and winter sports are considered on a four-year cycle.  Rewards can be given for medals won in the Olympic or Paralympic Games and in the World and European Championships for these sports.

This system does not apply to senior, child, or young athletes. Clubs can apply for a young athlete stipend based on sports achievement of 15–22-year-old athletes based on the criteria determined by the Sports and Wellbeing Committee.
 

An eligible athlete must be from Espoo during their performance and on the day of receiving the reward. 
 

Reward decisions may be made by the Sports Director or the Head of Sports and Exercise Services.

For rewards, contact liikuntapaikkavaraukset@espoo.fi.

Go to web service(external link, opens in a new window)

Applications for rental, sports services, applied exercise services and education grants and young athlete stipends are filed through the electronic grant system in accordance with the deadline of the public notice.  

Supported browsers: Chrome ja Firefox. You must log in to the service using your online banking credentials or the Mobile Certificate.

If you are applying as a registered sports club in Espoo, during your first log-in, enter the basic information about the organisation and the personal information of the responsible person as well as the community rules and board information as mandatory appendices. After this, you can fill in, sign and submit the application through the system. The sports club is responsible for the correctness of the information and its updates.

Please Note! Banking Protection may prevent the uploading of attachments when you add the information about the community. You must disable the protection before uploading attachments.

Advice is provided by e-mail at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@espoo.fi and by phone at +358 9 81652103 on Mondays and Wednesdays at 12.30-15.00 and on Thursdays at 9.00-11.00.

Grant applications for orienteering maps must be submitted to the city’s registry office or service points by the deadline as specified in the public notice.