The background of Finnish National Elite Sports Development Program

In year 2008 The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture set a working group with a goal to renew the strategic and functional responsibilities of high performance sports aiming for international success. The goal is to have an ethical foundation for Finnish high performance sports and an internationally competitive coaching-system. 

The working group suggested on new methods of action, which include the following:
-    the athlete to be placed in the center of decision-making in sports
-    strong co-operation between organizations acting in the field of high performance sports
-    development of knowhow and its distribution
-    professionals working also in children’s sports
-    all actors of high performance sports to have a common managerial system and an enriching, interactive and skillful culture of activity
-    additional resources allocated directly to the development of elite sports
-    influential communication which aims to improve the appreciation of high performance sports  
-    reformation of the Finnish Olympic Committee    

In addition, the working group suggested that a project group leading the change in high performance sports should be formatted. The Finnish Olympic Committee established a group of 4-6 professionals in co-operation with Finnish Paralympic Committee, which will lead the transformation process during the next 3 – 4 years. The transformation process will be executed in co-operation with sports federations and is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture.