Response to interpellation 2025/26:277 on the accessibility of sports for persons with disabilities
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that the sports movement should be inclusive and open to everyone 1. KD argues that the government has taken measures such as the leisure card and investments in assistive devices to promote participation 1. KD emphasizes the importance of supporting people with neuropsychiatric disabilities through leadership training and research 2. KD argues that Parasport Sverige's report does not provide the full picture of all initiatives 2. KD emphasizes that the dialogue with Parasport Sverige is working well and that movement-promoting organizations outside of competitive sports should also receive support 3. KD is making a major investment in sports facilities where state funds shall act as catalysts for accessibility adaptations 3. KD emphasizes the importance of movement for people with support via LSS 3 and wants to facilitate for people to find community and develop through sports 4. S considers that sports is a lifeline for health and self-esteem and that lack of access to sports for people with disabilities is a political responsibility 5. S wants a society where participation is a right that is not determined by functional ability or economy 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! Anna Wallentheim has asked me what measures I intend to take so that more children, young people and adults with disabilities shall have equal access to sports and physical activity throughout the country.
The Government considers it important that the sports movement is inclusive, accessible, and open to everyone. People with disabilities participate in sports to a lesser extent than the rest of the population. It is important that different types of disabilities do not limit people's opportunity or will to participate in sports.
I agree with Anna Wallentheim that more children, young people, and adults with disabilities should be able to find their way into movement and community. The Government welcomes the sports movement's work in creating an activity that enables more people with disabilities to participate.
The Government has taken several measures, among others, aimed at promoting increased participation in sports for persons with disabilities. The Government allocates just over 2.1 billion kronor in support for sports for 2026. The funds are used, among other things, to develop interest in sports among children, young people, and persons with disabilities and to promote opportunities for versatile training according to each individual's physical and mental conditions.
The Government gave the Swedish School of Sport and Exercise, Centre for Sport Research, CIF, a mandate on 22 January this year to carry out an in-depth analysis during 2026 of the conditions for participation in recreational and elite sports for persons with disabilities. The mandate also includes an analysis of how comparable the conditions are in comparison to the conditions for persons without disabilities, as well as what differences exist between different sports and types of disabilities. The Government has previously also given CIF a mandate to follow up on disability policy within the sports area, as part of the strategy for systematic follow-up of disability policy.
The Government introduced the leisure card on 15 September 2025 to promote children's and young people's active participation in sports, culture, outdoor life, and association life in community with others. The leisure card is a support for a child's costs for leisure activities. In the work with the introduction of the leisure card, the disability policy goal has been particularly considered. The Government has, for example, decided that the leisure card shall be able to be used for costs for equipment or aids – both those without a connection to the disability and specially adapted aids.
As a complementary measure ahead of the introduction of the leisure card, the government allocated special funds during 2024 to promote participation in sports for persons with disabilities. Fritidsbanken, which exists in over 40 percent of the country's municipalities, was allocated 10 million kronor during 2024 to, among other things, create a broad and needs-adapted range of leisure aids and parasport equipment.
The Swedish Sports Confederation, RF, also received approximately 155 million kronor during 2024 and 2025 to, among other things, carry out measures that contribute to increasing the opportunities for children and young people with disabilities to find and participate in club sports. Of these funds, 20 million kronor have been allocated specifically to, among other things, investments in material and equipment required for activities aimed at children and young people with disabilities.
In addition to this, the government allocated 130 million kronor during 2024 to promote access to more facilities and areas for sports. It is important that places where sports are practiced are accessible for persons with disabilities. The government is also investing half a billion kronor in 2026 and 2027 for strengthened support for facilities and sports environments.
The Government is also implementing a special initiative to promote participation in sports for persons with neuropsychiatric disabilities, NPF. For 2025 and 2026, the Government has granted a total of 20 million kronor to RF for work on increased inclusion in sports of persons with NPF. For 2025 and 2026, the Government has also granted special funds to the Swedish School of Sport and Gymnastics, Centre for Sports Research to strengthen research on sports for persons with NPF.
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Madam Speaker! In about a week, the world's eyes will be turned towards Milan and Cortina. I do not think I am exaggerating when I say that the Winter Olympics are a major highlight for many Swedes, and in March, the enjoyment continues in the form of the Paralympic Winter Games. The 2026 Winter Games will be something quite special, not least because the Paralympic Winter Games will then celebrate 50 years. It is five decades of struggle for visibility, participation, and equal conditions.
Between March 6 and March 15, approximately 600 Paralympians in six sports will gather at five venues over eleven competition days to compete in 79 medal events. It is world-class elite sport. It is also a clear proof of what people can achieve when the conditions actually exist. We know that the Swedes who are going to travel down and fight for Swedish medals are important role models who can encourage more children and young people to seek out sports.
Mr. Speaker, for our Swedish medal hopes, these games do not begin on an alp in Italy. They begin in Sweden – in local associations and para-sports groups that struggle to gather enough leaders and in families that struggle to manage everyday life. That is where a gap occurs.
In Sweden, over 1.5 million people live with some form of disability. This corresponds to almost 15 percent of our population. At the same time, Parasport Sverige's analyses show that only 2.5 percent of the state's sports grants go to persons with disabilities.
I agree with the Minister's words that sports should be inclusive. But, Madam Speaker, inclusion requires more than good intentions. It requires resources that reflect reality. We know that para-sports cost more as it requires equipment, transport, adapted premises and a higher density of leaders. It is not a choice but a necessity for these people to be able to practice sports. Nevertheless, associations and athletes are often left alone to bear this responsibility and also the cost.
If we are serious about sports being for everyone, we must dare to say it as it is: The conditions today are not equal. For every krona invested in sports for people without disabilities, 14 öre goes to people with disabilities. These are not just abstract figures. It is children who never get to start with sports. It is young people who quit sports far too early. It is adults who, after an accident, perhaps never find their way back to a life in motion.
The government is aware of this imbalance; I know that the minister, just like me, has received the report on para-sports. Therefore, I would like to ask the minister: How does the minister view the distribution, and how can we increase equality?
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! I also look forward to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I think we have fantastic Swedish athletes, both in the Olympics and in the Paralympics, for example Ebba Årsjö, who in a fantastic way has described how she found her home in para-sport, gained self-confidence and truly found her place in that context and how this has affected her as a human being. She is one of all the fine role models that exist among the different athletes and within the different sports.
It is incredibly important that more people with disabilities find their way into sports. We have seen that it has recovered quite a bit after the pandemic, but for people with disabilities, there are still great challenges in the opportunities. That is about resources but also about an attitude towards these issues – that everyone should have the opportunity to participate.
I accounted in my very long answer for the various initiatives that the government is taking in this area, not least to try to provide functional assistive devices. There shall be an opportunity to borrow and test and to receive help with the costs for this in different ways.
The second thing, and it is what I am particularly proud of, concerns the investments we are now making which have not existed before for young people with neuropsychiatric disabilities who come to sports and sometimes do not quite find their place because there is not quite enough knowledge or capacity to receive them in a good way. It may be some of them who benefit the most from being in sports communities and getting to move on their own terms in a good context where one is welcomed and included for who they are, not for the abilities they do not have.
It feels very good that we are now increasing the support for leadership training, that we ensure that there is an opportunity to educate and develop material on this, and that we research how we can become even better at meeting people with NPF so that they also find their place in sports. They actually constitute a very large part of the 1.5 million people that Anna Wallentheim described. I do not think we have done enough earlier in that regard, and I am very happy about the investments that we are making now.
More can be done, and further actions need to be taken. That is why we have, among other things, given the assignment to CIF to deeply analyze what we could do further. Are there sports where special efforts are required? It is also good for the sport itself to receive a basis for how to work with these issues in an even better and more structured way than is currently being done.
There is no doubt that more initiatives are needed in different ways regarding these issues. Anna Wallentheim describes Parasport Sverige's report. I share the view that more can be done for this group, as they do not have the same opportunities as others.
Then one can discuss the exact figures, because they do not quite capture everything that is done within sports for people with disabilities. I also think that should be said. The report sends a clear signal, but it does not give the whole picture of all the initiatives that associations, the Swedish Sports Confederation, and sports take for people with disabilities.
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Madam Speaker! Sometimes I find it extra interesting to stand here in an interpellation debate. I also think it is important for those listening in the gallery and at home. It is not always that one, as an opposition Member of Parliament, is here to have a major conflict, but sometimes it is actually about highlighting issues that I know we both are passionate about. It is also not the first time that I and the Minister stand here to speak specifically about the conditions for para-sports.
I would, of course, like to thank the Minister for the answers I have received so far and for the review of the various initiatives being undertaken. I hope the Minister knows that I both share and recognize the commitment the Minister has for these issues. But something that is also important to highlight, despite the initiatives and measures, is that we must have an ambition to change the structures that are the major obstacles.
Parasport Sverige's report *Parasport förändrar liv* shows with great clarity that people with disabilities participate in sports to a lesser extent, more often leave sports at a young age, and face obstacles that actually are not about motivation. It is about, for example, accessibility, economy, and organization. The report points out that in practice, parasport is expected to bear significantly higher costs per activity while resources are fewer. Specially adapted equipment and transport, smaller groups, and higher coach density cost money. Both the associations and the parents know this. Against that background, it is not enough to just analyze the issue further. We know that people are living their lives now. Children are growing up now. Associations are struggling now.
Madam Speaker! I know that the Minister and the Government are enthusiastic about the leisure card, which we heard about in the first answer. I can understand that it can be a support to some extent, even though I myself have been critical of the card and see that the money could be used better. But one must be aware that it does not replace the lack of coaches, premises, and long-term funding. A card does not help if, for example, there is no activity to participate in. Now the Minister gave an answer on how activities could be expanded, premises adapted, and so on. That will, of course, be very important. Equality does not arise by itself. It requires political priorities.
Madam Speaker! In conversations with Parasport Sverige, I unfortunately receive reports of tough economic conditions that hit the federation hard. Even though we of course know that all of Idrottssverige shall take responsibility for para-sports, I hope and believe that the Minister and I agree on how important the parasport federation is to highlight these important issues and to meet active individuals, leaders, and associations and provide support in important issues concerning para-sports.
Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister: How are the talks between the Minister and Parasport Sverige regarding their conditions as a federation progressing? And if the reports and analyses to be carried out during 2026 show that a different distribution is required, how does the government view that?
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! My conversations with Parasport Sverige are going very well. It is an excellent conversation partner. We have a very good dialogue regarding the conditions for their members and so on, and it will continue. It is incredibly important that we see what we can do from our respective roles so that more people get the chance to become elite active, but also so that more people get into these activities. It is extremely important.
When discussing this, one should also not forget that not everyone wants to compete. Therefore, I am extra happy that we are now also providing a contribution to movement-promoting organizations that do not deal with competitive sports, where people get to participate and move around together with others. This concerns, for example, people with disabilities and gives them the opportunity once a week, once every other week, or once a month to meet others and move in a way that suits them. It also feels very urgent, as they have not had any support previously.
We are also now, just as was mentioned here, making a major investment over two years on sports facilities and sports areas to renovate, rebuild, and build new. In that regard, the municipalities have the greatest responsibility. I hope that the state funds can be somewhat catalytic, also to adapt facilities for accessibility, for example. That is such a thing that plays a very large role in whether people can participate at a sports facility or not.
It is also about municipalities and regions weighing these things in when decisions are made regarding transport services, accompaniment, or whatever it may be. This is not just any leisure activity. These are very important parts of people's lives. There are also things to weigh in, I think, when one sees how people should be able to get there and from there.
Another thing concerns movement in general. It is very important that people with disabilities have the same opportunities. We highlight this particularly in the movement initiative in schools. We have given a specific government mandate concerning people who receive support via LSS so that they shall be given the opportunity for daily movement because we see that it is important in the long-term health-promoting work. Being able to do this is also something that – most often, at least – grants people great joy. We are talking about the joy of movement, and it should be shared by very many.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Anna Wallentheim for her commitment to these issues. It is very important that more people get the chance to participate in sports in community with others and find a sense of belonging and a place where they can grow, flourish, and come into their own, regardless of how they happen to be in terms of different functions. Then we get a better society.
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Madam Speaker! Yes, one of the most common prejudices I encounter when I speak with people about the quality of life for people with disabilities is that it is believed that their health and their shortened life expectancy are linked to their disability, when it is rather a matter of people who suffer from a lack of movement.
Just as the Minister mentions, it is important that we get people moving. It is more important than the elite initiative itself – there I completely share the Minister's opinion.
The municipalities' important work must also be highlighted. I have had conversations with many municipalities regarding the conditions for people with disabilities. There are deficiencies here that really need to be addressed.
Madam Speaker! Sport is not a luxury. For many children and young people, it is a lifeline and a path to community, health, and self-esteem. When people with disabilities systematically receive poorer access to sport, it is not about the individual's choice but about a political responsibility.
The Social Democrats believe in a society where participation is not something one earns but something one has a right to, and where children's opportunities are not determined by functional ability or the parents' wallet. If the state is serious about sports being for everyone, this must also be reflected in political decisions.
When the Paralympians step onto the Olympic arenas in Milan and Cortina, I hope that we will be able to be proud – not only of the performances or the possibility of any medals but also that Sweden has done its part of the work. It is this equality I demand, and it is the policy Sweden needs.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! It is a privilege to be involved in working on these issues. I believe that both I and Anna Wallentheim feel that.
It is about seeing people get what they deserve and getting a chance for something that they did not have last week but that they have now, and where they get to develop, move, and find a community with others. It is fantastic when it happens. There we shall try to be involved and facilitate in different ways, and we shall do this even more actively than we have done until now.
It is few meetings that have touched me as much during these years as when I have met people – not infrequently with neuropsychiatric disabilities – for whom it has not worked either in school or in association life. But when one has found a sport and an association that understands who you are and what you need, you have gone from being silent and not really knowing whether you dare or not to being a leader in the association and helping others into the activities.
I see some associations that are working in a fantastic way with this and with people with disabilities. This gives something to these associations that they didn't really have before. I think that many could take on the task of always considering: Who do we not include in our association, and why are they not here? It would be good to devote some time to this as well. I know that there is a lot that demands the associations' attention, but it would be good to reflect a little on that.
There are also good resources available from the Swedish Sports Confederation and others. One can receive plenty of support to develop their activities so that more children – and more adults – can get a chance at a life of movement and community.
We need to do more. I promise to do more from my horizon, and I hope that many want to be part of that work.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.