'President Petro is wrong, the contracts are fulfilled': COC on Pan American Games

It continues to echo in Colombia lost the opportunity to host the Pan American Games 2027, after Panam Sports, The organizing entity will withdraw its headquarters, stating 'non-compliance' with the contract and the stipulated payments.

The organization Panama Sports retired in January Barranquilla the headquarters of the Pan American Games for not complying with two payments of 4 million dollars, each for the organization rights, one of the most accused of non-compliance was the former Minister of Sports Astrid Rodriguezwho resigned from his position on January 15.

Furthermore, it was known that Panama sent a delegation to carry out an “exhaustive evaluation” of the sports venues that will host the games in Asunción, which is part of the selection process for the venue of the events. XX Pan American Gameswhich will be held in 2027.

After hearing this news and being asked once again about the loss of the Pan American Games venue, the president Gustavo Petro he blamed Panam Sports, He pointed out that said organization “is only interested in money” and that it acted with “liveliness.”

Responding to the president's words Gustavo Petro, the president spoke Colombian Olympic Committee, Ciro Solano, who sent him a strong message in an interview with Blu Radio.

“The president is really wrong. Contracts are made, they are to be fulfilled and Colombia failed to comply, the truth is that that is the great reality. Suddenly there was a lack of more flexibility. They stopped for, but the argument for this was that they were already tired of so many failures. And I repeat that issue of the spring works of the regions of the national government, for that there are all the controls there have been and to be had and the budget that had initially been approved was 500 million dollars, at the direction of President Petro we made a table technique and we went down to 400 million dollars. That was the final budget. The truth is that the games were taken away from us because we failed to comply with the contract, that is the great reality,” said Solano.

On the other hand, the manager referred to the letter sent to National government and to President Petro to ask him to form a “National Sports Table” that guarantees that the country can maintain prominence in the different international scenarios and in the face of the “situation” that this sector is experiencing.

Solano expressed his opinion on the problem posed by athletes and pointed out the solution that the Committee is planning: “This has been going on for many years, the truth is that the only solution that there is and that we have proposed to the sports federations is to try to promote a law where they give autonomy to the Colombian associated sport and to the one represented by the Olympic Committee, Paralympic Committee and sports federations. “That is going well, even with the new minister, Dr. Cristina López, I already discussed it.”

And he explained that despite the difficulties, the country continues to prepare with thirty athletes to face the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “I want to tell the country that the Colombian Olympic Committee, together with its federations, despite all these difficulties, “We have about thirty athletes preparing very well where we hope to give good results to the country.”

Letter from the athletes to the President

24 glories of national sport headed, among others, by Robert Farah, Juan Sebastián Cabal, Caterine Ibargüen, Nairo Quintana, Óscar Figueroa, Fustino Asprilla and Santiago Botero They sent a letter to President Gustavo Petro in which they request a “national sports table” to achieve better planning of activities.

“Today, given the situation that sport is going through in Colombia, we want, with due respect, to request the articulation of a 'National Sports Table' in order to join forces for the democratization of the population's access to sport, recreation , physical activity,” they detailed in a letter.

They added that the idea is for “the entire sector to participate in this table and thus direct the planning process that reflects a more social, more educative, and inclusive sport.” The letter is signed, among others, by Caterine Ibargüen, Olympic triple jump champion in Rio 2016; retired tennis players Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah, Wimbledon and US Open doubles champions. in 2019, and the cyclist

Nairo Quintana, a Movistar rider who won the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and the Vuelta a España in 2016. It was also signed by the 62-kilogram Olympic weightlifting champion in Rio 2016, Óscar Figueroa; the former soccer player Faustino Asprilla, who played for Parma and Newcastle, and the former cyclist Santiago Botero, world time trial champion in 2002. In the letter they recalled that “Colombia has been achieving with immense efforts an outstanding role in the international sports community.”

“We wish to maintain this prominence with better and greater results for the pride of Colombians. Sports activity requires and needs a great institutional and budgetary effort to consolidate our outstanding positions and achieve many more, which for different reasons have been postponed due to lack of awareness about the importance of sport in the search for peace in Colombia,” they added.

SPORTS