Spain

During the last 20 years, sport participation has increased significantly in Spain. This evolution has been closely associated to the significant increase of the number of sport facilities. In a similar way, during the last decades the economic importance of sport in Spain has also seen a significant increase and now accounts for 2.4 % of gross domestic product with Spanish people spending EUR 595 per capita on sport in 2006. This chapter describes the Spanish national system where sport policy is developed simultaneously by national, regional, and local authorities. The Spanish High Council for Sport (CSD) implements the national sport policy based on the development of the national sport system and improvement of high performance sport. Regional and local authorities focus their attention on the promotion of sport for all at the regional and local level, respectively. The financing of sport and the impact of the recent economic crisis on public investment in sport in Spain, which has experienced a significant reduction in the last few years, are also considered. Finally, the evolution of sport participation in Spain is analyzed, with a clear development of new sport activities and a more nonorganized way of participation. The relationship between sport participation and sport infrastructure is also described.