Extremadura announces 840,000 euros in Pódium grants for elite athletes

The Regional Government of Extremadura (Junta de Extremadura) has announced the grants for the “PÓDIUM” Program for the year 2026, with a budget of 840,000 euros, intended for those who already hold the qualification of high-performance athlete or high-performance sports technical staff of Extremadura. The call is formalized through the Resolution of October 21, 2026, of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE) number 214, dated November 6, 2026, with official reference 2026062795.

A regulatory framework with a two-year track record

The program is based on Decree 81/2024, of July 23, which regulates high-performance sports in Extremadura (DOE no. 146, of July 29), and Decree 139/2024, of November 5, which establishes the regulatory bases for the Pódium grants and approved the 2024 call (DOE no. 225, of November 19). The call is signed by the general secretary, Isabel Gutiérrez de la Barreda Mena, and its summary is published simultaneously with reference 2026062790 and code BDNS 938759.

The procedure is one of direct award through an open call: grants are awarded as they are requested until the credit is exhausted, without competitive bidding. The instructing body is the Sports Promotion and Entities Service of the General Directorate of Sports, which submits the proposal through the general director; the final resolution corresponds to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sports.

Amounts: from sports level to the amount in euros

The amount is calculated automatically based on the qualifications provided by the applicant:

• Total allocation: 840,000 euros, with 340,000 euros charged to the 2026 budgets and 500,000 euros to those of 2027, under budget application 150040000 G/274A/48000/20240500/CAG0000001.
• Level requirement: only qualifications with a sports level equal to or greater than 3 are admitted.
• Limit per application: up to six qualifications, summing their sports level.
• Formula: the sum of levels is multiplied by 100 euros per point.
• Maximum cap: 30,000 euros per application.
• Compatibility: the grants are compatible with other prizes, subsidies, scholarships, or income from public or private entities, whether national, European, or international.
• Exclusion: another Pódium grant must not have been previously received for the same qualification.

The allocation may be increased if new budget availability arises; if the credit is exhausted, the call will be closed via an announcement in the DOE and on the Grants Portal, and subsequent applications will be inadmissible.

Ten business days to submit the application

The deadline is 10 business days from the day following the publication of the call and its summary in the DOE. Each person may submit a single application, in their own name or as a legal representative, through the electronic procedure enabled at the Headquarters of the Junta de Extremadura (https://www.juntaex.es/w/5374), the General Electronic Registry, or the offices of the Single Registry System.

Along with the application, the third-party registration—unless the account is already registered—, certificates of being up to date with State Treasury, Social Security, and Regional Treasury, and a responsible declaration of not incurring the prohibitions of article 12.2 of Law 6/2011 must be provided. If the aid is equal to or less than 3,000 euros, the responsible declaration is sufficient.

The managing body has three months from the submission to resolve and notify; the lack of an express resolution is understood as a rejection by administrative silence. Payment is made in a single installment and does not require prior acceptance. An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against the call and against the resolution before the Counselor of Culture, Tourism, and Sports within one month.

Counterparts and assistance office

Beneficiaries must communicate any modification of their data, submit to checks by the General Comptroller (Intervención General), and assign their image to the Junta de Extremadura for sports dissemination programs, except in cases of exclusive sponsorship. They may also authorize the transfer of data to the Youth and Sport Foundation for the Extremadura Athlete Assistance Office. The subsequent loss of high-performance qualification requires the reimbursement of the corresponding aid.

The call arrives with a tight schedule—ten business days—and an objective calculation of the amount, which reduces discretion but requires athletes and technicians to have already resolved their qualification according to Decree 81/2024. For Extremaduran clubs, federations, and athletes, the program consolidates a stable channel of direct financing linked to the accredited sporting level.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE), no. 214, November 6, 2026, section III, page 43512 et seq. (official reference: 2026062795; summary: 2026062790).