Sports grants

• Rental grant for sports facilities from 1 July to 31 December 2022

• Basic grants: sports activities and special groups

• Rental grant for sports facilities 1 January to 30 June 2023

• Young athlete´s grants 
• Grant for coach training
• Grant for producing orienteering maps

The Sports and Exercise Committee may award grants to sports clubs registered in Espoo that are members of a national sports organisation, or to any association with activities that focus primarily on sports and exercise.

A basic grant may also be awarded to an association that engages in extensive activities relating to sports and exercise.

A club/association may receive a grant if it has been registered by the end of June in the previous year. The majority of the members must be Espoo residents. Grants are not awarded to workplace clubs that organise sports activities for company personnel. A grant may be awarded for the physical education of schoolchildren to fund competitions organised abroad.

Grant applications must be submitted to the Registry Office of the Education and Cultural Services or to the city’s Service Points the deadline stated in the public notice. Grants awarded to an association are paid into the association’s bank account, which is indicated on the form describing the organisation.

The Sports and Exercise Committee decides on basic grants. Targeted grants, awards for success and young athlete´s grant for young people are decided by the Sports Director in accordance with the allocation criteria approved by the Committee.

The grant is for covering expenses incurred from organising sports and exercise activities. The grant awarded for activities during an operating term on the basis of a financial statement and an annual report.

 The following documents must be attached to the application:

1. the strategy
2. the budget*
3. a form describing the organisation
4. the annual report
5. the financial statement
6. a statement/report from the financial auditor

* The expenses of the sports and exercise activities must be broken down in the budget (expenses incurred from training, competitions, coaching and practice).

The attachments to basic grant applications must be submitted to the Sports and Exercise Services by the end of November. If the required attachments are not submitted by the deadline, any supports that have already been awarded to the association are revoked and allocated instead to the targeted grants at the end of the year.

Application period from 24 January to 3 March 2023

Applications should primarily be submitted through the online service.  Supported browsers: Chrome and Firefox.

The following items are considered in the order of importance when deciding on the grant:

1. Number of children and adolescents under 20-year-olds in regular more than 3 months practice sessions and the number of licences.
2. The expenses incurred by sports and exercise organised for children and adolescents under 20-year-olds.
3. Number and proficiency of coaches and instructors for children and adolescents under 20-year-olds.
4. Operational changes.

In addition, the following matters are considered when deciding on grants: 

1. In what way the clubs take into consideration the activation of immigrants and young people of limited means to engage them in sports and exercise
2. In what way the clubs take into consideration that young people who are about to drop out from a team or a club, will find another opportunity for sports and exercise in another team or club
3. Partnership with the City of Espoo, e.g. sport clubs
4. The club is involved in the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Tähtiseura programme for children and young people. 

The club is involved in the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Tähtiseura programme for children and young people.

Moreover, in order to be eligible for a grant, the club/association must have at least 20 individuals under the age of 20 who take part in regular practice sessions. The smallest grant that can be awarded is EUR 200. The grant may be no higher than one third of the expenses incurred from sports and exercise.

Application period  from 30 January to 3 March 2023

Applications should primarily be submitted through the online service.  Supported browsers: Chrome and Firefox.

The following items are considered when deciding on the grant:

1. Regular sports and exercise activities
2. Camps.
3. Individual sports events or similar activities organised by the association.

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.

Go to web service(external link)

Grant for renting sports facilities for 2023 will be open for application from 3 July 2023 to 25 August 2023. Grant for renting sports facilities from 1 January to 30 June 2023. Grant for renting sports facilities should primarily be applied for through the online service. Go to the online application start page(external link)

The grant can be awarded to clubs that have regular practice sessions that last an entire season in private or communal sports facilities in the municipalities of the Metropolitan Area. The practices must be instructed, and the young people must be under the age of 20. Grant may also be awarded to adult teams (Ltd or registered association), if the Sports Services can't offer training facilities. The grant is not awarded for expenses incurred from sports facilities rented from the city. The grant is awarded while considering the circumstances of the type of sport in question, the availability of sports facilities and the disposable allowance. The grant is meant to be allocated for the activities of young people.

Application period 20 October 2023

The grant is for covering the training expenses of the coaches and instructors of sports clubs in Espoo.  Grants for education in the field of sports are granted to coaches and instructors for training courses that are part of the training programmes of federations and the Sports Federation of Southern Finland (ESLU). When awarding the grants, the City of Espoo will take account of the actual costs of training courses that have taken place in the current year.

Please note! Grants for the whole year, also for courses that will be held in November and December, must be applied for by the deadline. 

Application period 20 October 2023

The grant is for covering the expenses incurred from acquiring and preparing orienteering maps for clubs. If new maps are prepared, 10 copies must be delivered to the Sports and Exercise Services.

Application period 20 October 2023

The grant is for 15–22-year-old or turning 15–22 during the calendar year athletes from Espoo who are involved in individual or team sports for their success during the year, including at least a Finnish Championship and/or representing the country as part of a national team.

Scholarships are granted the athlete for covering the expenses incurred from practices and competitions in the upcoming season. If requested, the club must report on the use of the scholarship to the Sports and Exercise Services.

Please note! Grants for the whole year, also for November and December, must be applied for by the deadline. The young athlete’s competition results must be sent to the following address as soon as they are confirmed: 
liikuntapaikkavaraukset@espoo.fi

The receiver of the scholarship must reside in Espoo and, if the circumstances of the type of sport in question are adequate, represent a club from Espoo. Teams are eligible for the scholarship if they represent a club from Espoo that fulfils the general instructions concerning the allocation criteria of grants.