On Friday, the Minister of Culture visited SF Grei to give the Oslo club the good news.

– This means they get back all the VAT they paid for goods and services. Clubs and teams across the country will have more money to spend, for example on children and youth, Trettebergstuen told NRK.

It is Monday that the new state budget of the Jonas Gahr Støre government will be presented. In other words, sports and culture will receive 150 million, which will cover VAT compensation. So the total package is 1.9 billion, said the Minister of Culture and Tourism to NRK.

– It is important to support sports, culture and volunteerism across the country. Then VAT compensation is an accurate way to do it, by saying that what you buy, you get a VAT refund. That means more money for club and association football activities across the country, said Trettebergstuen.

NIF has been working on this case for a long time

150 million ensures that the VAT compensation is 100 percent covered. In practice, this means it will be cheaper to buy materials and do charity work at the club. Now this fee can be applied to other things.

It will be felt across the country, said Trettebergstuen.

This applies, for example, to Grei, which I visited today. This applies to all corps, volunteer organizations, scouts and all associations that can crawl and walk, said the Culture Minister.

The Secretary General of the Norwegian Sports Confederation, Nils Einar Aas, was among those who rejoiced at the move in the new state budget. He points out that it will now be cheaper to be a part of the sport and that larger funds can be used for activities.

– I am very happy that the sport received full VAT compensation. This has become one of the most important problems in sports. “Now it looks like there’s going to be full coverage, and we’re really excited about that,” Aas said.

The Secretary-General further said that this is something the NIF has been working on for several years. Monday will finally come true.

– We are pleased that we are right on target and there are also clear signals that it should be rights-based and thus predictable, said Aas.

Aas, who became secretary general of the NIF in September, believes that sport is now becoming cheaper and more accessible.

Oslo club cheers

The financial benefits come in handy at SF Grei, located in Groruddalen in Oslo. This informed the club’s administrative manager Sondre Moripen.

– For us as a sports team, it means we get an increase in our revenue side from the goods we buy. We see that the money we want to save can be used for better activities especially for children and youth in our area, said Moripen.

And the numbers are not small for Grei, who can offer both soccer and floorball.

– We’re talking about 100,000 or 200,000 extra kroner a year. “While most of what we do is volunteer work, all of these kroner are essential to providing the best deals we have at the club,” said Moripen.

He rejoices that they are in a slightly new situation, given that the club is used to having to cover some of the VAT itself. He naturally thought that it was great that Trettebergstuen and the government seemed to be investing in the sport.

– For us, this is fantastic. This is the most important sport for us. It allows us to make better activities, and that’s fantastic. We are very happy, he said.