For the fourth time in its history, the coffee nation will host this sports event in which will be present 37 countries of the American continent

Everything is practically ready so that, from next July 19 and until August 3, the city of Barranquilla will raise the curtain to the XXIII Central American and Caribbean Games, an event that will be part of the Olympic cycle heading to Tokyo 2020. The event will have the participation of some of the best athletes in the region. Here we present everything you should know about this sports event that is about to start.

Leer en español: Todo lo que debes saber de los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe que se celebrarán en Colombia

Investment

According to Clara Luz Roldán, president of Coldeportes, in a statement for El País newspaper in Colombia, the first major investment was in the renovated Romelio Martínez stadium, the main venue for football and athletics. The stadium was invested 56 billion pesos to fix chairs, lighting, engramado, track and also install a giant LED screen for the enjoyment of all fans.

"This has been very hard, but when you work as a team you achieve everything. With the support of a mayor as committed as Dr. Alejandro Char it became easier to carry out this project," said Roldán.

About the other scenarios for the event, Roldán pointed out that in total there were 10 structures built and 3 those refurbished for this event, with two scenarios that are truly outstanding, such as Elias Chewing Basketball Coliseum (26 billion pesos) of investment) and the Edgar Rentería Baseball Stadium (with a cost of 93 billion pesos). "Barranquilla needed to modify its sports infrastructure. Now the Caribbean Coast is ready to receive any competition. These scenarios are enviable," said the leader.

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Organization

According to the same coffee newspaper El País, the fair will be held thanks to the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO), the Colombian Olympic Committee, Coldeportes and the Mayor of Barranquilla. In addition, this will be the fourth time that the Caribbean country receives the Games and the second time that the capital of the Atlantic department does, after they were made in 1946.

Record number of participation

The Central American and Caribbean Games of Barranquilla will count this year with the record of participating countries, with a total of 37 nations. According to the International Agency EFE, in addition to the traditional participating nations such as Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Cuba and Venezuela, among others, for the first time six new delegations will be presented, such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Turks and Caicos, San Martin, and Curaçao.

Favorites to the title?

Speaking of favorite to the title is difficult because of the number of countries and the size of some of them. However, because of what happened in the last Bolivarian and South American Games, it is the Colombian delegation that shows more development and is indicated as the favorite to win the joust. Not only evidently because of the great potential that made it the maximum winner of the two events mentioned, but also because this delegation is going to be at home, before its people and that will be a determining factor to look for the highest of the leadership. Venezuela, Mexico, and Cuba will be Colombia's greatest rivals to aspire for the desired crown.

Latin American Post | Freddy González
Translated from “Todo lo que debes saber de los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe que se celebrarán en Colombia”