Puconci adopts rules to co-finance municipal sports infrastructure investments

The Občinski svet Občine Puconci has adopted the Pravilnik o sofinanciranju investicijskih vlaganj v športno infrastrukturo v Občini Puconci, a regulation that fixes the conditions, criteria and procedure for awarding municipal budget funds to investment in sports infrastructure on municipal territory. The council approved it at its 33rd regular session on 10 September 2026, and it was published in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije No. 1430/2026 of 16 September 2026 (official reference EDA 2026-5883237000-0017).

The rulebook is issued under the Zakon o športu (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia Nos. 29/17, 21/18 – ZNOrg, 82/20, 3/22 – ZDeb, 37/24 – ZMat-B and 10/26), the Zakon o lokalni samoupravi and Article 17 of the Statut Občine Puconci (Nos. 91/15 and 128/21). It is signed by the mayor, Uroš Kamenšek, under act No. 671-0035/2026, and takes effect on the fifteenth day after publication, that is, on 1 October 2026.

Who may apply and for what

The regulation defines the beneficiaries as non-profit legal persons that apply to a public call and are granted the right to co-financing by decision or contract. Applicants must:

• have their registered office or carry out their activity in the municipality;
• be entered in the register or record prescribed by sports regulations, where the applicant is a sports club or association of sports clubs;
• own or co-own the property on which the investment is carried out, or hold another adequate legal basis such as a building right, a long-term lease or the owner’s consent;
• have secured the financial structure of the investment;
• have settled all due obligations towards the municipality;
• not be in compulsory settlement, bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings;
• meet any other conditions set by the public call.

Eligible investments cover the construction, reconstruction, adaptation, extension or upgrading of sports facilities and outdoor sports areas, investment maintenance and renovation of existing sports infrastructure, and the purchase of equipment permanently installed as part of the investment. Eligible costs include construction, craft and installation works, that equipment, and project documentation and professional supervision directly linked to the investment. Current maintenance and operating costs such as energy and utility services, land purchases, costs already co-financed for the same purpose from other public sources, and value added tax where the applicant may deduct it are not eligible.

How the funds are awarded

Money is provided in the municipal budget for each budget year on the budget line intended for co-financing the construction of sports and accompanying facilities; the amount available is set by the municipal budget ordinance and specified in the public call. Investments in sports infrastructure form part of the annual sports programme adopted by the municipal council.

• The public call is published by the mayor on the municipality’s website and in the municipality’s official gazette, and must state the subject, the funds available, beneficiaries, eligible purposes and costs, conditions, evaluation criteria, the content of applications, the deadline and manner of submission, the notification deadline, and where the tender documentation may be collected.
• A commission appointed by the mayor conducts the procedure, opens and examines applications, assesses them against the criteria and prepares a proposal of beneficiaries in a record.
• Applicants whose application is incomplete are invited in writing to complete it within eight days; applications not completed in time are rejected by decision, and applications failing the conditions are refused.
• Criteria may take into account the importance of the investment for the development of sports infrastructure and its compliance with municipal development documents, the number of users and public accessibility, the share of own and other funding sources, the readiness of the investment, and its economy and rationality.
• If available funds are insufficient, they are allocated according to the rule set in the call — order of receipt of complete applications, proportionally to recognised eligible costs, or by points scored. No beneficiary may receive more than requested or more than the maximum permitted co-financing share.
• The competent municipal administration body issues the decision; an appeal lies to the mayor, and a co-financing contract regulates the purpose, amount and payment of funds, the deadline for carrying out the investment, proof of eligible costs and the consequences of breach.

Supervision and recovery of funds

The competent municipal administration body monitors the earmarked use of the funds and may at any time require evidence of use and access to documentation on the investment. A beneficiary that uses the funds for other purposes, fails to meet contractual obligations, states untrue data, or does not carry out the investment as agreed must repay the funds with statutory default interest from the date of payment to the date of repayment. In such cases the beneficiary also loses the right to take part in the municipality’s next public call for co-financing sports infrastructure investment for a period set in the call, but no longer than three years.

The regulation gives Puconci a standing legal framework for sports investment grants, replacing ad hoc decisions with published conditions and criteria. For local clubs and associations it means a predictable route to municipal money, but also tighter controls: incomplete applications, unsecured funding or unpaid municipal obligations will disqualify a bid, and misuse of funds carries repayment with interest and a multi-year exclusion.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, No. 1430/2026, 16 September 2026, Section I (official reference: EDA 2026-5883237000-0017).