Taiwan’s governing soccer body has failed to provide adequate support for national squads, despite receiving the largest funding subsidy among all national sports associations, a Control Yuan report released on Saturday showed.
The investigation into the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) has uncovered anomalies in spending and shortcomings in carrying out programs, with the body failing to fulfill its duties as stipulated in the National Sports Act (國民體育法), while government agencies failed to provide proper oversight of its financial control systems, Control Yuan member Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said.
The then-Sports Administration (now the Ministry of Sports) and the National Sports Training Center (NSTC) provided a combined NT$595.7 million (US$18.66 million) in subsidies to the CTFA from 2022 to 2024, the report showed.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
The subsidy was the biggest among the nation’s 44 sports associations, with the aim of cultivating soccer talent and improving the nation’s development in the sport, Chi said.
In addition, the CTFA received about US$1 million annually in financial assistance from the global soccer body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, a legislative inquiry found.
The CTFA exceeded its budget for broadcasting fees by 200 percent and did not provide proper documentation for equipment procurements, Chi said, citing a National Audit Office investigation conducted last year.
Along with poor oversight and a lack of financial accountability, the Sports Administration and the NSTC also failed to ensure that the CTFA applied for changes in operating plans, as required by law, while the audit mechanism for Taiwan soccer broadcasting fees lacked stringent controls, making it difficult to evaluate budget allocations, the report showed.
Some CTFA programs, run under the government’s Sports Development Fund, had budget overruns for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024, exceeding NT$200 million, with an overspending ratio surpassing 50 percent, Chi said.
The Executive Yuan and the National Audit Office had previously called on the Ministry of Education, which oversaw the Sports Administration, to improve oversight of the CTFA budget, while stating that funding was improperly allocated and failed to assess the actual needs of sports associations, the report said.
Government authorities failed to provide proper oversight and supervision, as mandated by the National Sports Act, and the NSTC was negligent in its dealing with the CTFA, it said.
Government agencies and the CTFA must take steps to ensure that national resources and funds are used effectively to assist athletes in improving their skills and elevating Taiwan’s development in the sport, with proper support for training and upgrading facilities, it said.
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