This Monday the Central American Sports Organization ORDECA, in an extraordinary session, decided to cancel the twelfth edition of the Central American Games, which were to be held in Guatemala and Costa Rica from October 27 to November 13.

The regional entity explained that it decided to cancel the Isthmus jousting “in view of the governance situation that affects the normal operation of the National Olympic Committee of Guatemala in accordance with the Olympic Charter and given the administrative and financial insecurity that the situation entails.”

ORDECA had decided to hold the Central American Games in a shared venue (Costa Rica and Guatemala), after Santa Teca, El Salvador, declined to host. Athletes in 24 sports disciplines were scheduled to participate. Now the entity has reported that next year it will open applications for the 2025 edition.

The Games were going to be held with the motto “It is what + unites us”, which according to the organization “breaks down those barriers and prejudices that we use as an excuse to differentiate ourselves from each other” and also sought to highlight the brotherhood of the countries of the region .

In these fairs, which in the Olympic cycle are the prelude to the Central American and Caribbean Games, athletes from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama were called to participate.

The Central American Games were the first door of the Olympic cycle that will culminate in Paris 2024, and in view of this, ORDECA officially announced the suspension of the jousts through an official statement that says:

The Executive Committee of the Central American Sports Organization (ORDECA), in an extraordinary session (September 12, 2022), in view of the governance situation facing the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG), reports that:

– Adheres to and expresses its full support for the content of the letter sent by the International Olympic Committee dated July 1, 2022, which reiterates that the National Olympic Committees must be free from interference in their internal governance and operations in accordance with the principle of autonomy of the Olympic Movement established in the Olympic Charter.

– In view of the governance situation that affects the normal operation of the National Olympic Committee of Guatemala in accordance with the Olympic Charter and given the administrative and financial insecurity that such a situation entails, it is decided to cancel the XII edition of the Central American Sports Games that would be organized together Guatemala and Costa Rica.

– In order to offer Central American athletes the opportunity to compete in the Central American Games, in accordance with the ORDECA Statutes, applications will be opened from the host cities in 2023 and thus have a broad period of organization to the next edition of the Central American Games scheduled to be held in 2025.