Kingston, 27 March 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says athletes who had been in training for the Olympic Games will receive financial support from the government next week.

Minister Grange had announced financial support, under the Athletes Assistance Programme, to offset expenses while athletes prepare for Tokyo 2020.

“We have finally signed off on the list of eligible athletes with the local governing bodies and we can now move to make direct deposits to the accounts of each of the approximately 150 athletes,” said Minister Grange on Friday.

Athletes representing seven disciplines — track and field, karate, gymnastics, rugby, canoeing, aquatics and boxing — will benefit from the Athletes Assistance Programme.

Each athlete will receive $J80,000, which represents the full commitment for the month of March during which athletes had to put their training programmes on hold in light of the decision to postpone the Olympic Games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister Grange said in light of the developments, she had asked the Athlete Assistance Programme Committee, led by Mike Fennel, to review the initiative in discussion with the local governing bodies and make recommendations on the way forward.

END