[Giorgos Kydonas/Intime Sports]
The Education Ministry is considering tighter rules for high school athletes seeking preferential admission to universities, with greater emphasis on sustained achievement, officials say.
The proposal would change how the General Secretariat of Sports assesses applicants, moving beyond their performance in a single championship and examining athletes’ progress over time. Officials also want stricter certification. “With just two or three competitions and a medal, someone does not become an athlete,” one ministry official told Kathimerini.
The debate follows allegations of match-fixing in Greek basketball and school competitions. The allegations say some student athletes were nominally enrolled in schools and took part in rigged events to win distinctions and university admission points. In 2025, 952 applicants with national or international sporting distinctions entered Greek universities.
Of those, 309 were admitted without exams after international results. Another 643 received additional points and sat national exams. Athletes compete for 20% of places in physical education and sports departments and 3% in other departments. Those receiving points must meet minimum admission thresholds before and after the points are added.
Athletes are the largest of nine special admissions categories. In total, 8,202 applicants entered through special categories, against 63,609 admitted through the general route.
