Dozens of leading Dutch athletes have called on the new government not to cut spending on sport, saying if the plans go ahead, it will be disastrous for sports at a local and therefore national level.

In total 67 Olympic and other champions have signed the open letter in the AD, including football coach Guus Hiddink, equestrian Anky van Grunsven, gymnast Epke Zonderland, kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, cyclist Tom Dumoulin and speed skater Suzanne Schulting.

According to the Dutch sports association NOC*NSF, Dutch sports clubs will lose €45 million in financial support a year if the plans go ahead.

The bulk of the spending cuts are likely to come from the increased tax on gambling which is set to go up by 7.3 percentage points. Lotteries are required by law to hand over some of their proceeds to community projects, but experts suggest the tax increase will cut lottery earnings and therefore donations, by €12.5 million a year.  

Lottery organisation Loterij 77 currently supports 25,000 sports clubs nationwide.

The increase in btw on sports from 9% to 21% will also have an impact across the board, as will cuts in local authority spending, the NOC*NSF says.

Sport, the signatories say, is of great community benefit. “It is good for health, mental health included, for building connections between people, for youngsters, for lonely elderly people, and helps create thriving neighbourhoods and villages.”

They also point out that for a small country, the Netherlands is a big player internationally. This is largely down to its massive network of sports clubs and associations, run by volunteers and that feed through into top sports organisations.

The sportsmen and women argue that local sports clubs and associations are crucial to nuture talent and create more champions. Every child should be able to take part in sport, “a sport which fits them and is affordable for every family”, the letter states. “From football to sailing, from free-running to skating.”

Pointing out how many Dutch teams and athletes are in action this summer, the letter concludes that if the cuts are not reversed “Dutch society will pay a high price in terms of euros, pleasure in sports and national pride.”