The state will allocate five times less to football than to basketball © EuroFootball.com

On Tuesday, the Department of Physical Culture and Sports approved the sports funding budget for the year 2007. Football, among 99 sports, ranks only seventh in terms of funding and will receive only a fifth of what the most supported basketball will get.

Out of the 117 federations that submitted all necessary documents on time, 99 will receive 8.8 million litas - one and a half million more than in 2006.

According to the approved program, football will receive 224.6 thousand litas. Basketball, the most popular sport in Lithuania, will receive more money (1.2 million litas), followed by athletics (970 thousand litas), modern pentathlon (586 thousand litas), swimming (422 thousand litas), cycling (391 thousand litas) and dancesport (261 thousand litas).

Sports such as handball, motor racing, and canoeing will receive less funding than football.

Indeed, it is worth mentioning that the Lithuanian Football Federation, receiving these funds, also gets additional funds from UEFA for the achievements of national teams and clubs.