Colombia has not yet passed the bitter pill of having lost the headquarters of the Pan American Games 2027after failure to make payments to Panam Sports.
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Last week Panam Sports confirmed that Colombia was losing its headquarters, as it had notified it since the beginning of January, and announced that Lima and Asunción were the only candidate cities.
The news fell very hard in the Colombian sports and political environment, due to the impact of losing the venue of the sporting event.
Gustavo Petro and Ciro Solano.
The president of the Colombian Olympic Committee, Ciro Solanoreacted with frustration to this country's defeat.
“The Games were lost on January 2. For all the non-compliance we had, they were taken away from us. In August we received an ultimatum from Panam Sports with the responsibilities of the contract of October 31, 2021 and the truth is that I don't know what happened,” said.
“Panam Sports was closed due to the economic issue, which is reprehensible. The money was in Mindeporte. We made payment agreements in October with my signature, the mayor of Barranquilla and the Minister. She was always firm to transfer the resources. until the day December 21 that the first bell was rung. They tell me that there would be no agreement with the COC and that they found legal arguments to turn directly to Panam Sports and they informed Neven Ilic,” he added.
In addition to analyzing the failures that led Colombia to lose the venue, the sports leader expressed his discomfort with Paraguay, a country that launched the race for the venue even when Barranquilla It stood as headquarters.
“I never understood why Paraguay aspired to host if Colombia was the host,” said Solano.
Paraguay's response
The reactions from Asunción were immediate. Camilo Pérez, president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee he responded to Colombia.
In statements to the television program Unión TV, he noted about Colombia's complaint that ““It is nonsense in the sense that the rules are very clear, we are campaigning against another venue, there are two countries, a candidacy was opened for all the Olympic committees in Latin America to show their intention.”
Bogota. January 9, 2024. In the Nariño Palace, the President of the Republic of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, held a meeting with the Governor of the Atlantic Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, the Mayor of Barranquilla, Alex Char and president of the Colombian Olympic Committee, Ciro Solano, to look for an alternative to recover the 2027 Pan American Games
Sergio Acero Yate / El Tiempo
“Paraguay has long stated that Asunción 2022 (Odesur Games) opened a very important door to any mega-event that can be held on the continent because we realized, like the Government, that sports games are not only multi-sports, they are an impulse to the economy and a show of nationalism, of work, so if they can accuse us of anything, it is that we are willing to face any mega-event that is supported by the national government,” he added.
To the specific question of why Asunción was interested in being the venue since 2023, Pérez explained that there was never an agreement with Panam Sports to keep the Pan American Games.
Astris Rodríguez, Minister of Sports
“The conclusion is simple: if there had been an arrangement, we would be the only candidate and I say that I am working day by day to get the votes. If one wants to take responsibility by blaming others, I can't do anything,” he stated. “I accompanied President Santiago Peña to look for the venue for the 2030 Youth Olympic Games, we were looking for events and if the possibility arises, we will present ourselves.”
Finally, regarding Solano's words, he commented: “What he complains about is that if there had been no candidates, Panam Sports would have waited for Colombia. I'm sorry for him, but the easiest thing to have a headquarters is to pay, I just had to pay and everything continued, the most difficult thing is the work”said.
Petro and the Pan Americans
On March 12, the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Executive Committee of the entity, which brings together 41 members, will be held virtually, to choose the next venue for the fairs.
During the Assembly, both Asunción and Lima must make a 40-minute presentation, and then proceed to the voting of the member countries, and thus choose the city that will host the 2027 Pan American Games.
The capitals of Paraguay and Peru, respectively, officially applied to the entity chaired by the Chilean Neven Ilic, upon meeting all the requirements and, before January 31, they officially delivered all the requirements requested by Panam Sports, to enter in the race to be the host city and country.
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