The 2027 Pan American Games, whose organization was withdrawn to Barranquilla This Wednesday, is one of the events that were going to be in Colombia, but in the end they were not, as happened with the 1986 World Cup wave 2020 Copa América.
It may be of interest to you: Official: Barranquilla and Colombia lose venue for the 2027 Pan American Games
On this occasion, Panama Sports announced that it removed the headquarters from the Caribbean city considering that it failed to comply with the signed contract. The parties had reached an agreement in October to fulfill the contract, which included the payment of four million dollars for the “right of organization” of the Pan American Games, an amount that had to be disbursed on July 30 of last year.
Neven Ilic, president of Panam Sports
Panam Sports Press
Four million dollars corresponding to “the granting of media rights” also had to be paid. In that sense, Panama Sports stated in a statement that it decided to remove the headquarters from Barranquilla for “the innumerable breaches of current contract.”
With this, the Andean country lost the opportunity to organize for the second time in its history a Pan American, since he had already welcomed the 1971 Games in Cali, main city of southwestern Colombia.
He world failed. In 1974, the Fifa appointed Colombia as headquarters of 1986 World Cup thanks to the work promoted by the then president of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), Alfonso Senior.
The country, however, was not prepared and did not have the funds to pay for the organization of one of the largest sporting events in the world. That was why in 1982, the then president of the country, Belisario Betancur, announced that the World Cup “will not be held in Colombia” because “the golden rule” was not fulfilled, which was that “The World Cup should serve Colombia and not Colombia the multinational World Cup.”
“Here we have other things to do, and there is not even time to attend to the extravagances of Fifa and its partners,” he said. Betancur. So, the 1986 World Cup ended up playing in Mexico and consecrating Argentina and Diego Armando Maradona as one of the best players in the history of football.
The Cup that was not even in Colombia nor in Argentina for 2020. Colombia and Argentina They were going to organize the America Cup that for the first time it was going to be played in two venues.
The highest national team competition in America was going to be played in two countries: Argentina and Colombia.
The experiment of Conmebol It was going well until the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, forcing the organization to postpone the tournament for a year. In 2021, the coronavirus crisis continued, and a social outbreak in the Andean country added to it, which led to the Government Colombian to ask the regional body to postpone the tournament just weeks before the games started.
“The government of Colombia will formally request the South American Football Confederation, through the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), the postponement of the America's Cup”, The then Minister of Sports expressed in May 2021, Ernesto Lucena.
The Conmebol did not accept Colombia's request and then Argentina gave up organizing the tournament, after which the venue was Brazil and the tournament was played with strict sanitary measures due to the pandemic.
SPORTS
With information from EFE.
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