The government has named Milan Hnilička (ANO), a former star ice hockey
goalie elected to parliament in 2017, head of the newly created National
Sports Agency.
Hnilička, who proposed creating the agency, has been serving as the
government’s commissioner for sport. The body will gradually take over
responsibility for distributing state subsidies now handled by the Ministry
of Education.
The Czech Union of Sports, which backed the idea, argued a more transparent
and less complex system for allocating subsidies was needed.
Most opposition parties voted against it, with the TOP 09 deputies’ club
leader calling it an attempt to legalise corruption in sport. Hnilička
argued the change was necessary due to what he called the critical state of
sports infrastructure in the country.