E. Germany Cuts Off Funding to National Sports Federation

The national federation that helped make East Germany an international sports power is about to lose its state funding.

Sports Minister Cordula Schubert said the East German Sports Federation will no longer receive state support because the organization hasn’t kept up with political change in the country.

“Not one more pfennig will go to the (federation),” Schubert said Tuesday.

Under the former Communist government, the federation received generous state subsidies. But Schubert said the new democratic government won’t continue the funding because the federation maintains a “centralistic structure” and is heavily influenced by former Communists.

“We do not want to support functionaries,” Schubert said. “We want to allocate funds as directly as possible for the benefit of sports.”