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Day: 8 October 2021

New football collector cards for girls

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/10/2021

Monaco-based association SheCanHeCan has launched a series of collectable football cards featuring only women players to mark the annual International Day of the Girl on 11th October.

SheCanHeCan is a Monegasque organisation that aims to inspire and support girls to take leadership roles, and it is presenting its first series of all-female collectable football trading cards.

Each pack has 24 cards featuring a selection of the 100 highest-ranked women players in international football. Five hundred packs in French will be available for €10 starting on 11th October, which is also the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl.

Trading cards featuring male athletes have been a staple for decades, but less common are cards featuring the most popular female stars. This lack of representation, says SheCanHeCan, means that “children do not value female football as much as male football, which is reflected through a lower participation in this sport, even though research has shown that playing football increases self-confidence in girls.”

With this new initiative, the charity hopes to increase the visibility of women in sport and challenge the long-held norms.

The Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights and the ASM Female Football Team are partners in this project. By focusing on female sports and athletes, they aim to encourage young girls to take up or continue sports to bust the stereotypes and show that women athletes can prove to be just as sought after as their male counterparts.

For more information on the charity or to purchase cards, contact the Director of SheCanHeCan, Vibeke Thomsen at vibeke@shecanhecan.org

 

Latest budget “more in line with reality”

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/10/2021

Thursday’s amendment by the National Council to the State’s doom and gloom budget of June shows not the forecasted deficit, but a fairly healthy one that is nearly balanced.

Monaco’s fiscal future is looking far brighter than had been anticipated back in June, when the first version of the 2021 budget was revealed showing a deficit of €71.5 million.

The National Council meeting held on Thursday evening disclosed the latest figures, which gave a rosier picture than previously imagined. Compared to the original budget, revenues are up €249.4 million on the year, a +17% increase, and despite expenditures of €143.7million, the budget has a manageable €8.8 million total shortfall.

Even this amount may not give the full picture, though. National Council President Stephane Valeri said in his speech to the Council: “Today we are at only about eight million, which, with close to nine million added to a special treasury account, ultimately represents a 2021 budget in balance.

“This is both more in line with reality, and it gives a signal of justified confidence in the good shape of our public finances and our economy. This budget presentation, more in line with reality, was a strong request from the National Council.”

The significant readjustment is attributed to strong growth in activity during the summer months. Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue saw a revised increase of €145.5 million, with real estate providing €30 million of that figure alone.

An increase in the financial sector also helped with income coming in at €58.1 million more than predicted. This is mainly due to the increase in financial products and securities and income from securities, which were up €41 million and €16.7 million respectively.

Additionally, transfer taxes were up €20 million giving another added boost to the economy.

On the expenditure side, there were also increases. Equipment and investment were revised upwards by €82.3 million. This corresponds in particular to the delivery of a much larger part of the forecourt of the Larvotto complex which came in at €16.7 million, and to an increase in certain posts for Pasteur Island at €12 million. 

€10 million each were also earmarked for the finalisation of Cap 2 at Cap Fleuri, for the matching deposit account dedicated to the new hospital construction fund and for additional work at Testimonio II and II bis.

Spending on the public was up by €57.5 million with the health crisis racking up an extra €9.2 million in expenditures alone. Other extra monies were dispersed due to the situations exacerbated by the pandemic and include €27.7 million for the Princess Grace Hospital and related entities, and €8.9 million for the Automobile Club of Monaco for losses at automobile events due to the limitation of the number of spectators.

The country’s special treasury accounts, 12 of which are affected by amending entries, saw their debit balance increase, but only by a small amount, from €184.5 million to €185.5 million. The main increase concerning the CST came from the ‘Covid relaunch plan’ which came in at €22.8 million.

 
 
Photo source: National Council of Monaco