National Federations
The national sports federations are the governing bodies of the sports they organise. The national federations organise tournaments, competitions, international matches and training of referees, coaches and leaders at more sports specific and specialised levels. In the larger federations many of these tasks are solved in co-operation with the district federations of the national federations.
The national federations use the main part of their resources on services to clubs and members and elite sports activities. But although the elite of the national federations gets the most attention, the main part of the national federations have an impressive "Sport for all"-tournament and competition structure in which thousands of Danes of all ages and abilities participate every single week.
As an example, every year 190,000 tournament matches under the Danish Football Association are arranged for football players of all ages and at all levels. Under the Danish Handball Association 92,000 tournament matches are played every year, and even in the smaller federations the tournament and competition activity is extensive. Tournaments and competitions are organised for so many age groups and at so many levels that it is only natural for the sports clubs and their many athletes to be members of the federations.
The financing of the national federations varies from one federation to another. Some federations, typically the smaller ones, are almost solely financed by DIF’s funds from the Danish Football Pools Company. Other federations also have large private incomes from sponsorships or membership fees. The Danish Football Association also has considerable income from TV-broadcasts. The main part of football’s income from television goes to the professional Super League clubs which are run separately from the amateur football but still within the Danish Football Association.