Special sporting activities

Anti-doping work

The Ministry and The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NOC) created Anti-Doping Norway (ADN) on June 3, 2003 to ensure that control and prosecution in doping cases are organized independently of the NOC and the government.

The Ministry gives an annual grant to Anti-Doping Norway. The overall objective is to help maintain and develop Anti-Doping Norway as an independent control and enforcement agency for anti-doping work in organized sports. The grants contribute to Anti-Doping Norway being able to fight doping and promote an honest and doping-free sport through its activities.

Grants for social inclusion in sports teams

Several of Norway’s biggest cities face heightened difficulties in recruiting children and young people to sports teams. Studies show that children and adolescents with an immigrant background, especially girls, are less likely to be a member of a sports club when compared to the population as a whole. This underlines the need for measures aimed specifically at this group.

The overall objective of the Social inclusion in sports teams grant scheme is to facilitate the inclusion of children and young people who face economic and/or cultural barriers that may preclude participation in sport/exercise as part of a sports team. Grants must be used for measures targeting children and adolescents with an immigrant background, with a particular emphasis on girls, as well as children and young people from financially disadvantaged families.

The grant scheme is administered by the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. As of 2022, the grant may be awarded to initiatives under the auspices of sports teams in 30 municipalities throughout Norway that have been selected on the basis of their high juvenile populations and their prevalence of residents from minority backgrounds, and/or their high rate of children in financially disadvantaged families. The municipalities that have been selected are Kristiansand, Arendal, Gjøvik, Ålesund, Bodø, Oslo, Stavanger, Sandnes, Haugesund, Tromsø, Trondheim, Sandefjord, Skien, Larvik, Tønsberg, Porsgrunn, Bergen, Drammen, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Lillestrøm, Moss, Indre Østfold, Ullensaker, Bærum, Lørenskog, Asker, Nordre Follo, Halden and Ringerike.

The grant scheme was subject to assessment in 2020 and the Ministry expanded and prepared new scheme regulations during the course of August 2021:

• Regulations for social inclusion in sports team - regjeringen.no (in Norwegian)
• Grant scheme for social inclusion in sports teams - idrettsforbundet.no (in Norwegian)

Grants for measures concerning groups with special needs

The Ministry has set aside annual funds for grants to special groups since the fifties. Today, NGOs, registered foundations and government agencies can apply for grants for initiating new sports and activity measures. In addition, the Ministry supports the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee's efforts to integrate disabled people in Norwegian sports.

Outdoor recreation for children and adolescents  

The Ministry’s role in outdoor recreation is to allocate grants for construction of facilities, for activities, and for projects run by outdoor activity organizations.

Outdoor recreations are connected to the government through the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Norwegian Environment Agency. Outdoor recreation is one out of several areas in the environmental policy. When it comes to construction, it is possible to apply for grants for hiking trails, walking paths, overnight cabins and trail initiatives in the mountains. 

The grant scheme for outdoor programs for children and adolescents was established in 1993. The prerequisite for this subsidy has been that funds will be used for the implementation and execution of initiatives and projects that are intended to increase the range of recreational activities among children and adolescents.