The very first Junior Pan American Games in history will be held in Cali, Colombia, following the Panam Sports Executive Committee’s vote. It beat out Santa Ana, El Salvador and Monterrey in Mexico.
The historic vote took place after assessing the proposals and presentations of each of these great cities. “And the host city of the first Junior Pan American Games in 2021 is... Cali, Colombia! Congratulations,” announced Panam Sports President Neven Ilic.
“Cali is a city that gives us all the guarantees and peace of mind. It has experience and passion. Colombia is a leader in the development of sports in our region, so I’m very happy. I would also like to thank the other candidate cities for their great work. I know that this is very sad for them, but that’s how sports work and they must continue working so that in the future they can host an edition of the Games,” added Ilic after the announcement.
These Junior Pan American Games will mark a major milestone for Colombia and also for Cali’s rich sports history. The 2021 Junior Games will be held during the 50th anniversary of the Cali 1971 Pan American Games. The winners in Cali will qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
“We’re very happy, but at the same time concerned about strictly complying with the requirements of Panam Sports in order to deliver an excellent edition of the Games. For us, there’s not enough time, but we have the peace of mind that we have what’s most important: infrastructure. What we have to do now is prepare our city for these Games and motivate all athletes,” said Baltazar Medina, president of the Colombian Olympic Committee.