Kulbergs orders review of funding for Riga bridge championships

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has asked the Ministry of Education and Science to review the allocation of state funding for international sporting events, including €147,366 awarded to the Latvian Bridge Federation after two supported bridge championships had ended, LSM reported.

Kulbergs requested all documents related to the distribution of €225,000 in state funding for seven international sporting events, as well as a legally grounded explanation of the payment to the bridge federation, his communications adviser Elīna Šverna said.

“I did not support state funding specifically intended for the Bridge Federation,” Kulbergs said. He said the Cabinet decided on June 16 to allocate €225,000 to an open competition in which all sports federations were to have equal opportunities, with funding awarded according to clear, previously known and verifiable criteria.

“Neither the Cabinet nor I separately approved the allocation of €147,000 to the Bridge Federation,” he said.

The Latvian Bridge Federation received 65.5% of all funding available in the competition. The decision was made after the two bridge championships had ended on July 15, while the competition was announced on July 22.

Kulbergs said the Cabinet’s decision was intended to support the organisation of international championships in Latvia, not to reimburse expenses for events that had already taken place in one particular sport.

“The aim of this decision was to help Latvia attract the organisation of international sports championships, not to cover the costs of events that had already taken place. The bridge championships ended a week before the competition was announced on July 22,” he said.

He also questioned why the completed events had been allocated €147,366, or 65.5% of all available funding, which was more than the other six supported events received combined.

Kulbergs said that awarding state support to an event that ended before the competition was announced raised legitimate questions about the purpose of the competition, fair competition and equal treatment of other applicants.