Filenews 18 January 2025
In the 26,220 words of the budget of the Cyprus Sports Organization (CSO), only 13 are dedicated to tackling violence in stadiums, while out of a total of €62,641,400 there is provision for spending a few tens of euros.
Of course, there is a budget of about half a million euros for the installation of surveillance cameras, but this covers only two indoor stadiums (Eleftheria and Lefkotheo) and not the football stadiums, where the authorities in some cases prohibit the movement of fans to prevent incidents. More specifically, for the Eleftheria stadium, €295,000 will be spent for the installation of a CCTV system for surveillance/recording. For the installation of the same CCTV system in Lefkotheo, €195,000 is expected to be spent.
It is worth noting that CMO spending soared last year, which is predicted for the coming years as well. Specifically, regular management expenses from €14.6 million in 2022 and €14.5 million in 2023, 2024 reached €25 million. And the same goes for 2025.
Regarding the chapter "Other Expenses", from €27.1 million in 2022 and €26.7 million in 2023, they jumped to €35.2 million. in 2024 and will climb to €37.3 million this year. Regarding the total CMO budget, from approximately €42 million. in the years 2022-2023 it jumped to €60.6 million. in 2024 and will reach €62.6 million in 2025.
It is noted that the amount of state funding for the current year amounts to €52,658,000.
Of interest in the expenses of 2025 are the legal & legal expenses which amount to € 3,350,000. This amount includes an amount of €3,100,000 as part of the settlement with the Municipality of Strovolos for the entertainment tax, which will ultimately be paid by taxpayers, whether they attended football matches at GSP or not.
For insurance (covering buildings, sports facilities of the Organization, furniture and equipment) €200,000 will be allocated.
€2,839,020 will be allocated for the operation of privately owned and other sports venues. As stated in the budget, the above amount is expected to be spent for the operation of the following sports venues of the CSO: Makario Stadium, Lefkotheo Gymnasium, Stelios Kyriakides Stadium (Pafiako), Limassol Swimming Pool, Paphos Swimming Pool, Nicosia Olympic Swimming Pool, Limassol Sailing Centre, Aphrodite Paphos Indoor Gym, "Tassos Papadopoulos – Eleftheria" Indoor Gym, Kition Sports Centre, "Evangelos Florakis" Polygymnasium, Agros Sports Centre "Glafkos Clerides", Larnaka Swimming Pool, Larnaka Olympic Swimming Pool, Limassol Sports Centre "Spyros Kyprianou", for six months only (due to Eurobasket), Limassol Indoor Swimming Pool and the auxiliary football fields of Makarios Stadium.
From the above, significant amounts will be allocated for Stelios Kyriakides (Pafiako) €900,000 and Makarios €1 million. Especially regarding the Makarios Stadium, works will be carried out that are necessary for the restoration of static adequacy of the west stands of the stadium so that a safety certificate can be issued by the Stadium Licensing Authority for category A stages.
The same text also mentions that the Electromechanical Service, during the audit carried out in July 2023, requested that the Organization immediately proceed with upgrade and modernization works of the electrical installation. The existing stadium certificate from the Electromechanical Service was valid until March 2024.
It is worth noting that CSO revenues from a total of 23 sports venues are limited to approximately €1.3 million. A typical example is Makarios Stadium with annual revenues of €64,530 in 2023 and €48,838 in 2024. This year, revenues from the stadium are expected to reach €52,658. Makarios is used by four groups. Most of the revenues of €400,000 per year come from the new stadium in Limassol.
