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Awards and decorations The Ministry of Education and Culture grants awards and decorations to Finnish athletes in recognition for a distinguished career in sports or for a major athletic achievement. Athlete pensions A supplementary athlete pensio...

Sports institutes Finland has nine national and three regional sports training centres, i.e. sports institutes (colleges of physical education). The Ministry of Education and Culture provides support to the operation of these institutes. Sports in...

Performance sports By providing elite athlete grants and developing the conditions for coaching, the Ministry of Education and Culture promotes performance sports geared toward the achievement of international success. The Ministry does not provid...

Legislation: sport This page lists key acts and decrees that govern sport and physical activity. The statutes can be found in the Finlex database in Finnish and Swedish. Act on the Promotion of Sports and Physical Activity (390/2015) The purpose o...

Awards and decorations The Ministry of Education and Culture grants awards and decorations to Finnish athletes in recognition for a distinguished career in sports or for a major athletic achievement. Athlete pensions A supplementary athlete pensio...

Financing of sport The task of sports administration and services is to promote sports and physical activity. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the general direction, coordination and development of sports policy and for ens...

EU and international cooperation The Ministry of Education and Culture participates in various international organisations in sport-related cooperation between different countries, as well as in the preparation of sport-related matters in the Euro...

EU and international cooperation The Ministry of Education and Culture participates in various international organisations in sport-related cooperation between different countries, as well as in the preparation of sport-related matters in the Euro...

16.2.2026 | Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity Mika Poutala will visit the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics between 17 and 22 February.

12.11.2025 | The Sports Ministers of 33 countries and the European Commission have expressed their grave concern about the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in September to discontinue the partial suspensions of the National Paralympic Committees of Belarus and Russia from the Paralympic Games.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its effects in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture On this page, we will update information on the impacts of the situation in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education a...

21.2.2023 | In their statement published on 20 February, the ministers of sport from 34 countries state that the International Olympic Committee should not change its decision of 28 February 2022 concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sports. According to the ministers, the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated over the past year.

9.5.2025 | The topics on the agenda include the joint European degree label and the role of education in preventing inequality. The Council will also discuss the impact of disinformation, manipulation and cyber threats on young people and delve into the future strategic priorities for the cultural sector in the EU. Council conclusions are expected on the promotion of sport and physical activity in the educational context.

19.6.2025 | MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE P.O.Box 29, 00023 Government, Finland okm.fi/en Tel. +358 295 16001 OPETUS- JA KULTTUURIMINISTERIÖ PL 29, 00023 Valtioneuvosto okm.fi p. 0295 16001 Ministry of Education and Culture Privacy Notice to Data Subjects...

4.5.2023 | Ministers of sport from 36 countries have issued a fourth collective statement on the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from international sports.

11.3.2025 | Sandra Bergqvist, Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity will be travelling with the Finnish Paralympic Committee to Italy and visit the Special Olympics World Winter Games for athletes with disabilities between 12 and 14 March 2025.

1.11.2022 | The EU Ministers responsible for Sports, submitted a letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee Mr Thomas Bach, have expressed their concern about the deteriorating situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing Russian war of aggression supported by Belarus. In the letter, the Ministers reiterated the requirement to exclude Russia and Belarus from all international sports activities.

12.6.2024 | Sandra Bergqvist, Minister responsible for sports, visited Rome between 10 and 12 June. The visit included meetings with ministers and sports organisations as well as supporting Finnish athletes.

8.7.2022 | On Thursday 30 June, the sports ministers of 35 like-minded countries issued a second joint statement stating that the national administrative bodies of Russian and Belarusian sports should be suspended from international sports federations. The collective of like-minded countries issued their first statement in March.

26.8.2024 | Sandra Bergqvist, Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity, will attend the Paralympics in Paris from 28 to 30 August, and Sari Multala, Minister of Science and Culture, will be there from 5 to 6 September. The ministers will follow various sports that Finnish Paralympic athletes will be competing in, such as para archery, wheelchair sprint events and para equestrian.