Austria’s Ministry of Sports is facing mounting criticism after a series of parliamentary inquiries revealed that hundreds of thousands of euros in taxpayer money were funneled to asylum-related NGOs and foreign projects. According to an inquiry submitted by FPÖ MP Markus Leinfellner, the NGO Asylkoordination Austria received more than €371,000 from the sports budget for projects nominally linked to physical activity.
Between 2022 and 2023, nearly €97,300 was allocated to a project called “Combated extremism—Prevention Program Sport.” A second initiative running from 2024 to 2025 received an additional €274,135, with only vague descriptions of its purpose, such as supporting regional partners in referring participants to sports clubs.
The funding exposed troubling issues in how taxpayer money is being distributed, because the same NGO has repeatedly positioned itself against deportations, including the removal of convicted extremist terrorists.
Part of the funding was approved under the previous government, when the sports portfolio was overseen by Werner Kogler (Green Party), but payments continued into 2025 and were confirmed in responses given by current Sports Minister and vice-chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ).
Further scrutiny has revealed funding of foreign projects, with the ministry supporting NGO projects in India, Bangladesh, and Malawi. Documents show that more than €78,500 was allocated to physical education programs, sports competitions, and festivals in the Global South—despite long-standing budget complaints from Austrian sports clubs and youth programs at home.
The reports come amid a broader European debate over the growing influence of NGOs financed by tax funds. In October, conservative leaders from across Europe gathered in Vienna’s Austrian Parliament for a conference organized by the Patriots for Europe group. Participants included Austria’s FPÖ, Germany’s AfD, Hungary’s Fidesz, and Poland’s Konfederacja, all warning these non-governmental organizations, while claiming to promote civil society, operate as instruments of ideological pressure, benefiting from billions in taxpayer money from Brussels.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl accused NGOs of no longer acting as “a check on power, but part of it,” describing them as a “controlled opinion industry” and a “political shadow apparatus” financed by taxpayers. Since 2019, Austrian ministries have transferred €4.3 billion to NGOs with limited transparency. FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz confirmed that 725 organizations are now under review.
