CROATIAN GOVT. SENDS BILL ON SPORTS INTO PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

ZAGREB, Jan 30 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday sent into parliamentary procedure a new bill on sports which regulates the legal status of this domain and its organisational forms. The bill stipulates that the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) should be accountable for its work to the education and sport ministry and the government instead of the parliament, which has been the case so far. The document regulates the set-up of professional clubs and their ownership structure. It envisages that professional sports clubs should be established as joint stock companies. The definition of the ownership structure should introduce more order in this segment and prevent "various managers" from exercising their interests. To prevent the transformation of amateur clubs into professional ones, restrictions have been introduced with regard to the acquisition of shares, namely in the first two years no shareholder can own more than 25 percent of votes in the general assembly, i.e. sports societies should have at least four owners (each with 25 percent of votes at the most). The lowest amount of basic capital for the set-up of a sports society is one million kuna. (hina) ms