Highest individual sponsorship program in the world, the Athlete Grant invested half a billion reais in nine years
In the 2012 Olympics in London, Brazil was represented by 259 athletes. Of these, 111 received Athlete Grant funding, the largest individual sponsorship program in the world. One of them, judoka Sarah Menezes from Piauí, returned to Brazil with a gold medal shining on her chest.
Created in 2005 by President Lula, the program benefits high performance athletes who obtain good results in national and international competitions.
The goal is to ensure minimum conditions for them to devote themselves exclusively to training and local, South American, Pan American, World, Olympic and Paralympic competitions.
The Ministry of Sports grant is offered in six Athlete sports categories: Base, Student, National, International, Olympic/Paralympic and Podium. The priority is for those who practice Olympic and Paralympic Games sports. Since 2012, the grant beneficiary has been allowed to have other sponsorships, as well. Thus, successful athletes can count on more than one source of funding.
The program invested R$ 521 million through the awarding of 43,000 grants between 2005 and 2014.