Andorra Rejects Paid Sports Federation Boards

Andorra's State Secretary for Sport, Alain Cabanes, has dismissed suggestions that federation board members could receive payment, insisting no such changes are under consideration.

The comments follow a public back-and-forth with the Andorran Cycling Federation. On Monday, its president, Carolina Poussier, stated during a presentation of the federation's national teams that the issue remained "on the table" with the government. She emphasised it was not a cycling-specific matter and any progress would require joint work with the executive within existing legal limits.

Cabanes responded firmly: "There is nothing on the table." He reiterated that current legislation permits remuneration only for a federation's general secretary, while other board roles—including president, vice-president, and treasurer—must be performed on a voluntary basis.

The State Secretary stressed that the government is not pursuing any regulatory amendments. "We are not focused on changing this issue," he said, underlining Andorra's associative sports model rooted in volunteerism.

Cabanes outlined a narrow scenario where the debate might reopen: if federations struggled to find candidates for board renewals. "If the time comes when no one steps forward, we would have to consider this proposal," he noted.

He also highlighted that federations already receive a portion of subsidies for operating costs. Allowing board payments would require increasing that share, potentially disrupting the current resource balance.

For now, Cabanes' stance appears to close the door on immediate reforms, cooling the controversy sparked by the cycling federation earlier this week.