The boom in sports infrastructure in Canelones: who pays for the works and what is the “sponsorship law”

Last October 2023, on the 100th anniversary of its birth, Club Atlético Juanico Inauguration of the new stadium “Gloria de un Pueblo”an ambitious project that aims to overhaul the entire sports center. Liberty Athletic Club yes Dear Atletico Madridtwo other historic clubs Canelones Provincial Unionhave also taken the same approach and are renovating their grounds and venues using methods similar to those used in the first settlement project.

The project of the three clubs in the Canary Islands is part of a financing mechanism of companies and institutions, such as through Sports Committee （Comprod), created by Law No. 18,833 Commonly known as “Sponsorship LawIt allows a legal person (or IRPF In category 1) contribute to the development of sports as sponsors, in exchange for which their contribution is counted as payment anger Egypt Wealth Taxalthough there is a limit of 70% of its total contribution.

Even though the company still makes a genuine contribution to the work of a particular club, which involves “generating corporate social responsibility”, it usually wins because “95% of the companies that donate are associated with the club or have long supported the sport. That is, if it had not been for the law, they would have made the same contribution, or would have already done so. Thanks to the law, they have won Tax Refund“, he explained applaud Diego Portillo, Director and Founder of Polos, a company specializing in coaching for sports development.

“What we do is to advise sports clubs or institutions on what they want in terms of infrastructure: we propose sustainable business. That is: first build the stadiums that generate income and then move on to the rest of the plan,” he said. Portillo.

Furthermore, he insists, you should start with a “master plan”, even if it’s very ambitious, and that “reality will eventually get to you”. The point is, however: “You don’t build a dressing room and then have nowhere to build the futsal pitch you wanted. Work in stages, but follow the plan.”

“For example, we are working with the Universitario de Salto club, Alianza de Florida, Estudiantes de Tacuarembó, Esparta de Colonia and dozens of other clubs throughout the country. Our goal is to create opportunities for the development of football and sports in the interior,” said Indio.

“When I became president of the club in 2019, we learned about the Sponsorship Law and started presenting projects and calling companies that could work together,” said Antonio Bazzino, the club’s leader. Juanico. In this sense, he explains, to complete a hundred years of works, they had to set up three trusts and now they are setting up a fourth. Because the work is carried out in phases according to plan, so that one work does not hinder the next and presents the results required by the law itself. “More than 20 companies are involved in our project and not all of them contribute the same, but what they are able and willing to do,” he says. There is a limit though: 5% of your declared net income.

The same financing provided by Comprode is free Butler Park reforms, which include a “master plan” that includes Synthetic grass Across its 11 pitches, new lighting, new access roads and car parks, paddle tennis courts and the remodelling of the changing rooms and headquarters were installed. However, the first step was to lay the artificial grass so that a sustainable plan could be followed and the club could only generate income during the first phase of the project.

In addition to the artificial turf, the Libertad macro project also includes: a new entrance, stands on the stands, numbered seats, a broadcasting booth, a new additional building, the transformation of the old headquarters, a paddle tennis court, a parking lot and a vehicular street, the renovation of the three dressing rooms (home, visitors and umpires), a perimeter fence and new lighting.

Photo: CAL

In Darling’s case, it received a donation from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Motorcycle) – Juanico also participated – in exchange for providing facilities to schools, CAIF centers and other social purposes as compensation. The club is building a Poli de Portivo At the other end of the city (relative to its stadium) there is a 5-a-side football field, a 3×3 basketball court and a social headquarters.

In addition, Darling received a budget from OFI, which many clubs in the interior receive to carry out smaller works, equivalent to about 500,000 Uruguayan pesos.

According to the president of the club, Jorge González, to implement the project, a subcommittee independent of the football club’s board of directors was created to “invest time and energy so that the club continues to develop”.

Photo: DAC