Asunción, Agencia IP.- «We are very calm and with absolute confidence that we have a very strong and firm candidacy,» said the Paraguayan Olympic Committee (POC), Camilo Pérez in an interview with EFE published by Infobae. In his view, a «fundamental strength» of the Paraguayan candidacy is that the president of the Republic, Santiago Peña, who signed the commitment of the Paraguayan Government to support the Pan American Games in 2027, will conclude his term in 2028.
«In this case, we will have President Peña receiving and handing over the games. We do not have an election in between, which gives a lot of strength to our candidacy, as when there are governments in between, there are always problems with the transition,» said Pérez.
The leader referred to the anticipation in Paraguay before the Extraordinary General Assembly scheduled for March 12, where Panam Sports will define the host of these competitions.
«We are an exciting challenge to observe because we are a small country. We would be the second country in history with less than 7.5 million inhabitants to host the Pan American Games. The first was Puerto Rico, so it is a very nice example to follow,» added the executive, for whom Asunción is a «very responsible» option.
Asunción announced its candidacy for the 2027 Pan American Games in January, following the withdrawal of the host city status from the Colombian city of Barranquilla.
«Asunción 2022 opened a vital door to mega-events, and I believe that door will be complicated to close now because citizens and rulers have realized that this is much more than a sport; it is a significant movement in the economy,» explained.
Pérez emphasized that Asunción is preparing to host the IV Latin American Special Olympics in October and the Junior Pan American Games in 2025, events he attributed to the experience of the South American ASU 2022 Games.
Likewise, he announced that the country has already submitted its candidacy for the Youth Olympic Games in 2030.
Asked about the requirements for hosting the 2027 games, Pérez indicated that they expect around 7,500 athletes, which would imply the construction of a Pan American village with approximately 1,650 apartments distributed among 13 to 14 apartment towers, depending on their height.
This complex would be built on a property owned by the Ministry of Urbanism, Housing, and Habitat, located in the locality of Mariano Roque Alonso, which is part of the Metropolitan Area of Asunción. «The construction time is 24 months, so we are on schedule,» he estimated.
Additionally, he noted that they plan to build an aquatic center another stadium, and increase the capacity of some existing venues, such as athletics.
According to Pérez, over 80% of the competitions would be concentrated in two venues: the National Sports Secretariat (SND) and the Olympic Park.