We are Sportland Number 1!

We are 18 million. We love and live sports. As players and as fans, as coaches and volunteers. In the arenas and on the pitches, from world-class events to community and Paralympic sports. And we fund sports with a restructuring programme of 300 million euros. That's a German record!

Approximately 18,000 sports clubs

Nearly twelve million people regularly play sports in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around five million athletes are active in the more than 18,000 sports clubs, in addition to a half million volunteers. Every single individual enriches the community, creating an all-star team that makes itself visible.

In the thick of it instead of on the sidelines: the North Rhine-Westphalian state government funds sports in the state in all their many facets.

We like hosting the world

The state shines on the world stage with top events that enjoy a stellar reputation around the globe. The Yellow Wall in Dortmund Stadium was named by an English newspaper as the best home fans section in the world. The CHIO in Aachen is the best and most premium location for equestrian sports. The Final Four in indoor handball is at the arena in Cologne, where the kings of the continent are crowned every year. And the Biathlon in Schalke, an event founded in North Rhine-Westphalia. Hockey in Mönchengladbach, rowing in Duisburg-Wedau, sledding and bob running in Winterberg, and many more. That is our calling card for the major sporting events. And for every single one of them, we like hosting the world, including stars from around the globe.

Funding programme "Modern Sports Complex 2022"

We are supporting our local everyday stars, in the cities and towns, the administrative districts and villages, with the "Modern Sports Complex 2022" programme. In this way we support investments in modernisation, upkeep, renovation, amenities, development, and alteration and new construction of sports complexes and facilities. The "Modern Sports Complex 2022" programme has a total of 300 million euros at its disposal.

"I am very happy that we can actively support our clubs with these funding decisions," says State Secretary for Athletics and Volunteering, Andrea Milz. "We have made it our goal to make a palpable contribution to the modernisation of our sports complexes in North Rhine-Westphalia. With this funding programme we have succeeded. Now we can significantly reduce the renovation backlog."

Four strong partners

Four strong partners – the Landessportbund, the Sportstiftung, the Olympiastützpunkte and the state government – ensure that the road toward targeted support for professionals and rookies is laid early on and correctly so that a world-class elite can continue to develop on sporting grounds in North Rhine-Westphalia. Everything has to be just right, starting with the selection and promotion of potential talents, to the unification of performance sports with schools, studies and career, and the integration of science in the training process for optimal results, in order to make the dream of participation in the Olympic or Paralympic games come true.

Sports in all their diversity

But Sportland.NRW focuses not only on performance sports, but also sports in their many forms: community sports for everyone, club and school sports, and inclusive sports for people with disabilities and the integrative promotion of disadvantaged groups. Strong clubs and targeted measures are much more than an athletic measure. They teach how to work with rules and they sensitise players to sportsmanship. In this way, sports and their many facets make a major contribution to social cohesion. No matter who coaches, watches, celebrates, processes defeats or gets involved when, how, where, alone or with others – this all strikingly illustrates the importance of sports and the position it rightfully enjoys in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Integrative and inclusive

Sports are part of the diverse lives led by people in our state. It permeates all aspects of life and all cultures, and is integrative and inclusive. Nowhere else is teamwork so self-evident. Coupled with the high number of clubs and sporting opportunities, the many top-class athletic performances rendered here, the immense level of volunteer engagement and the burning enthusiasm among the population for large sporting events, something special is created: the fascination for sports that is firmly established in the regional identity of North Rhine-Westphalia, where people from all around the world feel at home and where hospitality is the embodiment of solidarity. This shared fascination unites the land, making it strong and ever prepared for athletic competition.

We love and live sports

With this unique confluence of circumstances, the state government and the Landessportbund have formed a close network for athletics in order to give the social added value more room for growth. This includes reinforcing engagement among the population and promoting athletic services, infrastructure and sporting facilities specifically for community and elite sports. That's because we love and live sports, and we support it in every part of North Rhine-Westphalia. Welcome to Sportland Number 1!