As part of its wide and inclusive Development strategy led by FINA President Captain Al-Musallam, FINA launched on Monday September 6 the FINA Scholarships Programme 2021-2022 as well as the new Olympic Aquatics Support Programme (OASP) 2022.
FINA Scholarships Programme
Endorsing FINA President’s pledge upon his recent election, FINA is proud to provide a wide range of new opportunities to young aquatic talents around the world.
In addition to the various educational activities, grassroots programmes, support to the National Member Federations and other initiatives aimed at promoting aquatic sports across the globe, FINA is offering an ambitious and robust Scholarships Programme to prepare and qualify a limited number of athletes for the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and the 19th FINA World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN).
With a total of 140 Scholarships available for three of FINA’s aquatics disciplines - swimming, diving and open water - this edition will record the highest number of Scholarships since its creation in 2015.
The Scholarships are primarily opened to athletes from the National Federations where financial support can be significant to improve the athletes’ training conditions for their participation at international competitions.
FINA Scholarship holders have the possibility to choose their training location: one of the FINA Development Centres or another training environment of their choice.
The one-year-Scholarships are renewable for the next edition (2022-2023).
The successful FINA Scholarships Programme has largely increased the chances for athletes from smaller National Federations to qualify for major international events over the years, as was seen at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when 62 Scholarship athletes became Olympians (57 swimmers and 5 divers).
The application process for the Scholarships Programme opened on Monday, September 6 and will accept applications for 20 days, until September 26.
Olympic Aquatics Support Programme (OASP)
Under FINA President’s leadership, FINA is launching a slightly revised version of the OASP, with the goal to encourage National Federations to optimise their governance and structure. Through this programme, FINA will redistribute up to 70% of the IOC TV Rights share received in relation to the Olympic Games, a maximum total of US$ 5'225'000.
All National Member Federations will be eligible to apply and are encouraged to ensure that athletes are provided with the highest possible support.
FINA President Captain Husain Al-Musallam said: "FINA is committed not only to increase the support to its members that need it the most, but to ensure that all of them comply with the minimum standards of good governance that will strengthen and optimise their organisational capacities and potential. The new format of this programme will encourage our members to make sure that their organisation is up to date while offering a higher level of support to be redistributed among our athletes."
For any additional information or questions, please contact FINA Development department at: development@fina.org.