KUALA LUMPUR – The Youth and Sports Ministry is reintroducing a systematic financial management system for national sports associations (NSA), aimed at providing them with a more structured financial allocation from the National Sports Council (NSC).
Minister Hannah Yeoh explained that this system was previously used for the Kita Juara Programme from 2017 to 2019, before it was discontinued.
For the initial phase of this programme, it will involve athletes from the Podium and national back-up programme for 2024, encompassing 19 NSAs and 23 sports.
NSAs will receive funding through the four-month payment method, aimed at ensuring they can manage finances efficiently concerning athlete management, coaches, performance, development programmes, and support services.
However, they must establish a separate account for receiving the financial allocation from the NSC to facilitate easy auditing of the account.
Additionally, they must allow this account to be audited by auditors appointed by the NSC.
“We have a committee tasked with making these decisions. Therefore, the management cannot allocate these funds to any competition of their choice.
“All decisions will be made collectively within the committee alongside NSC. Before this method is implemented, it operates on a claims basis. Consequently, delays in claims result in delayed repayments, without the option for rollovers.
“Moreover, early approvals necessitate costly bookings for flights and tickets. This system allows for better self-management.
“With this assistance, what we are asking for is for them to establish a second account to receive these funds, making it easier for us to audit.
“The money they receive from the private sector will go into their existing account, which we won’t interfere with,” Hannah told reporters after the signing ceremony of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the NSC and NSAs at Bukit Jalil today. – June 11, 2024