El Salvador Rescues Two Regional Games

(ATR) El Salvador has accepted the challenge of organizing two regional Games in the first five months of 2023 despite the pandemic andthe resulting financial crisis that has made uncertainty the norm for planning sports events.

This past weekend Centro Caribe Sports ratified San Salvador as the venue for the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games while Santa Tecla, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Central American capital, was approved thanks to government support as host of the Central American Games by the regional sports entity ORDECA.

But both mega-events will have new dates, both in 2023: the first will now be held in May instead of March; and the second will no longer be in November 2022, but two months later, in January.

In other words, El Salvador will organize these two Games within a span of only four months. It also means the Central Caribbean Games in San Salvador will be held just five months before the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile scheduled between October 20 and November 5.

The confirmation of San Salvador by the CCS Executive Committee was unanimously adopted by its 11 members during a virtual meeting.

The Dominican Luis Mejía Oviedo, president of CCS and member of the IOC, clarified to Around the Rings, that the new date was requested by the sports and Olympic authorities of El Salvador "to guarantee the repairs of the sports facilities", the majority used during the 2002 edition of these Games hosted by San Salvador

Mejía Oviedo said that the decision of the Executive Committee on May 15 was immediately revealed to the 31 member NOCs of Centro Caribe Sports in a group telephone conversation with the president of the Salvadoran National Olympic Committee, Eduardo Palomo, and the president of the National Institute of Sports of El Salvador (INDES), Yamil Bukele.

The Dominican leader highlighted the work in this process of the Mexican Jimena Saldaña as president of the Future Headquarters Commission and the Jamaican Christopher Samuda, president of the CCS Legal Commission.

In the coming weeks Centro Caribe Sports and the organizing committee will sign the agreement through their legal commissions, which will specify, among other issues, the specific dates for the mega-event that will be based for the third time in the Salvadoran capital. The first was in 1935 and the second in 2002.

To questions from Around the Rings, Mejía Oviedo ruled out that having placed the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games even closer could affect the athletes' preparation cycle.

"Quite the contrary," he replied. "Because in addition, we are working so that our Games are qualifying in all the sports of Santiago 2023."

"We now have two years ahead of us. We are giving the NOCs plenty of time so they will have more opportunities to seek support.

"So the San Salvador Games will serve as a preparation for the continental event, just as the ORDECA Games in Santa Tecla will be a bridge for the San Salvador Games.

"And something essential: Panam Sports supports our actions. Its president Neven Ilic told me: it is time for support and solidarity in everything

"You have to do things when and how you can."

The president of CCS said that during the inspection visit that he made to San Salvador in April "he was favorably surprised" by the sports infrastructure it has.

It, according to Mejía, needs only remodeling, an action that must be resolved with the projected budget and pending approval in the next few days according to recent statements by the president of INDES, Yamil Bukele.

Bukele told the local press last week that he hoped that "soon" the Legislative Assembly would ratify the loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration of $115.2 million to begin bidding and work on sports venues.

In a statement after learning of the ratification by CCS, Bukele thanked the regional sports authorities for the trust placed in his country and recalled the positive ratings achieved in the organization of international sporting events.

"Sport has been and continues to be a priority for the Government of President Nayib Bukele and that is why we are sure that everything will turn out well and in accordance with the demands of organizing this type of event," stressed the former basketball international and brother of the president.

Bukele confirmed the request made to Centro Caribe Sports to change the date of the Games.

"We did this in solidarity with other countries and by virtue of the difficult economic situation that the region is going through in general, as well as the health situation we are experiencing due to COVID-19," he said.

Originally the Central Caribbean Games for 2022 were awarded to Panama, who pulled out last summer due to the effects of Covid-19. Last month, the other emerging candidate along with San Salvador, the Puerto Rican city of Mayaguez, would withdraw from the race due to a lack of economic backing from the government.

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez

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