Home / Advice and subsidy / Subsidy for sports lighting
As of 2026, energy saving has been removed from the BOSA grant applications in advance. For LED pitch lighting, DUMAVA is the route, and it literally lists sustainable sports pitch lighting as a measure. Furthermore, the BOSA application window for 2026 is already closed.
Most supplier pages still state that you’ll receive the 40% BOSA rate for LED lighting. That has never been a BOSA rate, and as of this year, it no longer includes any energy savings at all. Below is what does apply, with the source included, so you don’t base your budget on a program that no longer exists.
The DUMAVA desk is closing October 16, 2026, 5:00 PM. In order of arrival, and a mandatory sustainability advice is required before you can apply.
“With advance applications based on Article 12 or 13, you can no longer apply for subsidies for energy-saving measures in 2026. Amateur sports organizations that own a sports accommodation can turn to the DUMAVA subsidy scheme for energy-saving measures starting in 2026.”
There is one transitional rule: for retrospective applications, amateur sports organizations can receive a one-time subsidy in 2026 for energy-saving measures implemented in 2025. If you replaced your field lighting last year and have not yet applied for anything, that is the only BOSA route still available for lighting. For retrospective applications, invoices may be a maximum of twelve months old.
For everything you still need to implement, DUMAVA is the scheme. It is open until October 16, 2026, and RVO explicitly mentions sustainable sports field lighting as an example measure. Running the same measure through both schemes is not allowed.
Still exists, but energy saving is excluded in advance for applications. The budget is running down to approximately €19.9 million in 2029.
For owners of social real estate, with amateur sports clubs explicitly in the target group.
Sustainable Social Real Estate is intended for owners of social real estate, with amateur sports clubs explicitly included in the target group. The percentage depends on how you structure the project: a single standalone measure yields less than an integrated sustainability upgrade.
| Characteristic | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Opening 2026 | June 1 from 09:00 to October 16 at 17:00 |
| Budget | €405 million |
| Still available, early August | over €283 million |
| Loose measure | 20% |
| Comprehensive sustainability upgrade | 30% |
| High energy performance | up to 40% |
| Minimum loss measure | €2,500 |
| Minimum integral project | €25,000 |
| Maximum per applicant | €1.5 million |
| Advance payment | 70% |
| To request | before awarding the contract |
| Ticket window | in order of arrival |
Status as of August 13, 2026, source RVO. Percentages and budgets are determined per opening.
RVO requires that you implement the measures based on a suitable sustainability advice. That advice comes from an energy advisor and is therefore not the same as a lighting plan. In practice, this is the bottleneck of every application in 2026: the advice must be in place before you apply, and you must apply before you award the contract.
An example of an investment of €50,000 including VAT, to show what the percentages do. This is a calculation example and not a commitment: RVO determines which percentage applies in your case based on your application.
| Route | Percentage | At €50,000 |
|---|---|---|
| BOSA basis, no longer for lighting | 20% | €10,000 |
| DUMAVA, loose measure | 20% | €10,000 |
| DUMAVA, comprehensive sustainability upgrade | 30% | €15,000 |
| DUMAVA, high energy performance | up to 40% | €20,000 |
Pay attention to the VAT base. BOSA calculates with amounts including VAT for a non-VAT-liable organization. With DUMAVA, the base depends on the applicant's VAT position; if the municipality is the owner and applicant, that is a different story than with an association with its own accommodation.
The subsidy reduces the initial investment once. It lowers the energy bill every year. At the five sports clubs where we replaced the field lighting, the measured savings range from 68 to 80% on lighting consumption.
For a competition pitch at 200 lux, we calculate with eight poles and one luminaire per pole: 12.0 to 14.4 kW, at 500 operating hours per year and €0.30 per kWh including VAT.
Those two figures combined, the investment and the annual savings, are also precisely what a sustainability advisory report and a DUMAVA application need.
The program is in effect and will continue, but you can no longer apply for 2026: the application window opened on January 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. and closed that same day. Applications totaled approximately €109 million against a budget of €43.5 million. The application window closes as soon as 155% of the budget has been requested; in 2025, this happened on April 15, and in 2026, it happened within a single day.
| Base rate, since 2024 | 20%, including VAT |
| Increased percentage | 30%, Accessibility, Circularity, and Climate Adaptation Only |
| Energy-saving measures | no longer eligible for subsidies upon advance applications |
| Transition rule 2026 | subsequently, for one last time for measures implemented in 2025 |
| Minimum eligible costs | €2,500 |
| Maximum per applicant per year | €2.5 million |
| Budget 2026 | €43.5 million |
| Target audience | VAT-exempt amateur sports organization, member of an NOC*NSF federation or POS participant |
40% has never been a BOSA rate. The maximum was 30% and still is, but since 2026, that increased rate has applied only to accessibility, circularity, and climate adaptation. If you see 35, 40, or 45% listed by a lighting supplier, that number is completely made up.
| Afterwards | In advance | |
|---|---|---|
| Article | 10: €2,500 to €25,000 · 11: €25,000 to €125,000 | 12: €25,000 to €125,000 · 13: from €125,000 |
| Decision period | 22 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Payout | suddenly upon discovery | 80% advance payment, balance due upon completion |
| Invoices | maximum 12 months old | not yet relevant |
The DUS-I application links contain the year, which causes old links to break. Therefore, always go through the DUS-I arrangement page and not via a link from an old document. For questions: bosa@mincws.nl or 070 340 5566.
At DUMAVA, you apply before awarding the contract, and the sustainability advice must already be in place by then. Anyone who reverses those steps is not too late for the subsidy, but has fallen outside the scheme. This is the sequence that follows from this.
For a VAT-registered operator or a company with its own premises, BOSA and DUMAVA do not work, but a tax route does exist. That can be found on EIA and LED lighting, with the codes from the Energy List and the corresponding payback period.
We supply lighting and lighting plans, not subsidy advice. That means three different things, depending on where you stand.
Everything we know about these schemes is on this page, including the source. No login screen and no form first. We answer short questions within two working days; if it is about the scheme itself, we refer to DUS-I or RVO, because that is the source.
A lighting plan with calculated light output, wattage, operating hours, and the energy comparison of old versus new. That is the input for the sustainability advice and for every application. We do not say what percentage you will receive; RVO determines that.
If JEL implements the project, we will manage the subsidy process from beginning to end: which route, which documents, in what order, and submitting them on time. We do this as part of an assignment, not as a separate service.
The sustainability advice for DUMAVA is the work of an energy consultant. We supply the lighting side of it, but the advice itself is not ours.
“I am happy to help you with the practical side of the subsidy application and will answer your questions within two working days. For brief questions, I can also be reached by phone.”
If your question is not listed, ask it via the form. If it is about the scheme itself, DUS-I and RVO are faster than us, and they answer questions from everyone.
No, and that was never possible through the BOSA either: 40% has never been a BOSA rate. The maximum was and remains 30%, and since 2026, that increased rate has applied only to accessibility, circularity, and climate adaptation. With DUMAVA, a rate of up to 40% may apply in cases of high energy performance; the RVO determines which rate applies in your specific case.
No more applications for 2026. The application window opened on January 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. and closed that same day, after approximately €109 million in applications were submitted against a budget of €43.5 million. The application window closes as soon as 155% of the budget has been requested.
Well, under DUMAVA. That scheme is open until October 16, 2026, and RVO explicitly mentions sustainable sports field lighting as a measure. There is one BOSA exception: if you carried out the lighting project in 2025 and have not applied for anything yet, you can still do so once retrospectively in 2026.
RVO requires for DUMAVA that the measures are implemented on the basis of a suitable sustainability advice. This comes from an energy advisor and looks at the building or accommodation as a whole, not just the lighting. Without that advice, you cannot apply. We supply the lighting figures that belong in it, but the advice itself is not from us.
Amateur sports clubs have been explicitly included in the target group since 2026, but it is about the owner of the real estate. If you own the facility, you can apply. If you rent from the municipality, the municipality is usually the applicant. That is the first question you want to figure out.
Replacing the lighting alone is a standalone measure: 20%, starting at €2,500. Lighting, when combined with other measures, can be classified as an integrated sustainability improvement: 30%, with a minimum threshold of €25,000, and up to 40% for high energy performance. The RVO makes this distinction based on your application and expert advice.
Not for the same measure. What is new in 2026, however, is that DUMAVA may be combined with non-federal subsidies to cover the full cost; previously, the maximum was 50%. Provincial or municipal programs may therefore be added on top of DUMAVA.
With DUMAVA before awarding the contract. That is fundamentally different from the tax-related EIA, which you must apply for within three months after entering into the commitment. If you want to pursue both tracks, you need to plan the moment of awarding the contract consciously.
At DUMAVA €2,500 for a single measure, reduced from €5,000, and €25,000 for an integral project. At BOSA €2,500 in eligible costs. For field lighting, the lower limit is almost never the problem.
At BOSA, the decision-making period is 22 weeks for retroactive applications and 13 weeks for advance applications. At DUMAVA, an advance payment of 70% is issued upon approval. So don’t expect to receive the funds in the same month as the application.
At the five sports clubs where we replaced the field lighting, the measured savings range from 68 to 80% in lighting consumption. These figures were measured, not modeled. Your specific savings will depend on your current lighting system and your operating hours.
For clients, we guide the process from start to finish. For everyone, we explain how it works and answer practical questions within two business days. We are not a subsidy agency, and we don't think it would be fair to pretend to be one.
Because those pages have not been updated. Out of sixteen supplier pages investigated, two had processed the transition to DUMAVA; the median age of the figures was around 2021 to 2023, and not a single one reported that the 2026 BOSA desk is closed. Therefore, we attach a date and a source to every figure.
We do not assess subsidy applications and do not provide tax advice. What we do: tell you which regulation applies to your situation, which documents you need, and what we can provide. Reply within two business days.
Official sources
DUS-I, BOSA
RVO, DUMAVA
NOC*NSF on the opening of the BOSA desk
JEL Products supplies lighting and lighting plans, not tax or subsidy advice. The final assessment of an application rests with DUS-I, RVO, and your own advisor. This page was updated on August 13, 2026; regulations, percentages, budgets, and application dates change annually.
