More than 40 percent of Brazilians have, at one point in their lives, dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. That dream is more common among low-income families (46 percent), compared to the richest (34 percent), as a career in sport is seen as a way to social mobility.
However, factors such as lacking financial incentive (32 percent of those who played sports in childhood and adolescence) and money (27 percent) prevented many from chasing this dream.
The findings come from a recent survey carried out by the company Serasa, in partnership with research institute Opinion Box, and reflects a well-known reality in the country.
At each edition of the Olympic Games, public attention turns to the various cases of Brazilian athletes who need to resort to online fundraising campaigns, or who hold down second jobs while competing at the highest level of their sports.
In the private sphere, clubs often pay athletes only with allowances or limited-term contracts, without all the labor rights of regular employees, as shown by a podcast published by the Superior Labor Court.
In the public sphere, from the 2000s onwards, legislation began to provide three main mechanisms for financing sportspeople. Since 2001, a law has allocated around 1.7 percent of the amount wagered in all federal lotteries in the country to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), in addition to smaller transfers to other entities, while a 2006 law provides tax exemptions for funding sports projects.
This tripod is completed with the Bolsa Atleta (Athlete Scholarship) program, which has been in force since 2005 and is considered one of the largest sports support programs in the world. More than 8,700 athletes currently benefit, receiving monthly payments ranging from BRL 410 (about USD 70), for youth athletes, to BRL 16,600 for those who hold prominent positions in world rankings.
But the value of these monthly payments went 14 years without being adjusted for inflation. In 2024, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a 10.86 percent increase in Bolsa Atleta grants.
And in 2023, Lula enacted the General Sports Law, regulating the profession of athletes, previously restricted to footballers. The legislation brought long-awaited changes, such as the provision of maternity leave for female athletes.
The measures occur at a time when the country seeks to regain its prominence on the international sports scene, after major events held in the mid-2010s.
In 2025, Brazil will host the rhythmic gymnastics World Cup for the first time, and also the BRICS Games. In 2027 there will be the women’s football World Cup, which for the first time in history will be held in South America.
At the Paris Olympics, 98 percent of the 276 athletes on Team Brazil have received support from Bolsa Atleta at one point in their careers — and 87 percent still do, according to the Sports Ministry.
Boxing is the standout, with all ten of Brazil’s Olympic team in the highest tier of the Bolsa Atleta program, aimed at athletes with the greatest chance of winning Olympic medals. This so-called “Podium” tier pays monthly transfers ranging from BRL 5,500 to BRL 16,600.
According to the Sports Ministry, among the 39 sports with Brazilian representatives, 27 have all athletes receiving scholarships.
The numbers are still timid, however. In 2024, Bolsa Atleta encompasses around BRL 160 million, allocated to both Olympic and Paralympic sports. Individually, most Olympic athletes receive BRL 3,437 per month — approximately 2.5 minimum wages.
With funding and sponsorship scarce for Brazilian athletes, the Armed Forces have become an important source of funding. Since 2008, the military has run a program for high-performance athletes, investing around BRL 6 million annually.
Currently, 533 military athletes have all the benefits of a military career (even if they are not active service personnel), such as salary and medical assistance, as well as specialized training facilities.
In the Tokyo Olympics, 91 of Brazil’s 302-strong delegation represented the Armed Forces, spread across 21 sports. They included silver medal-winning boxer Beatriz Ferreira (who competes for the Navy). In 2024, the Armed Forces are taking 98 athletes across 21 sports to Paris.
In return for the benefits, Armed Forces-sponsored athletes usually give a military salute while on the podium.
The program selects members based on their results in domestic and international competitions. Therefore, only elite athletes are brought into the military fold.
The project was initially designed as preparation for the 2011 Military World Games, in which Brazil topped the medals table with 114, including 45 golds. Even during a period of cost-cutting and reduced investment for the public and private sectors due to the Covid pandemic, funding for military athletes remained untouched before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The Lula administration has gloated about the effects of pouring public money into funding athletes. Since 2000, federal investments in sports have amounted to BRL 28.2 billion. Between 1920 and 2000, Brazil won 66 medals in 15 Olympic Games. In the five games that followed, the country earned 84 medals.
In 2023, the Sports Incentive Law raised more than BRL 948 million, benefiting projects that serve one million people. Almost BRL 200 million was allocated to high-performance athletes.
Through the Lottery Law, approximately BRL 400 million were transferred in 2023 to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), and a quarter of that to the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC).
COB will pay BRL 350,000 to each gold-medal winner. Silver medalists take BRL 210,000, and bronze medalists get BRL 140,000. Amounts change for team sports. In some disciplines, confederations themselves also promise prizes.
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