Mexico City, February 26, 2019 – After a thorough review of the proposals, Panam Sports leaders feel confident that the inaugural edition of the Junior Pan American Games to be held in 2021 for athletes ages 18-23 can be quite successful.

Concluding a week of inspecting plans and proposals for the first edition of the Games, the Panam Sports Evaluation Commission are excited about the possibilities presented by the candidatures of Cali, Colombia and Santa Ana, El Salvador as potential host cities of the event along with Monterrey, Mexico.

“The summary of our visits is very positive. What we found in Cali is a very solid candidature that’s well structured with very complete infrastructure. And what we’ve found in El Salvador is a group that’s very enthusiastic with the support of the city and the support of the Olympic Committee, and a desire to transform Santa Ana through hosting the Junior Pan American Games. We are impressed with both candidatures and still look forward to reviewing the project from Monterrey in more detail, but I can say that that we have chosen competitive cities as the potential hosts of these first Junior Pan American Games in history,” said Ivar Sisniega, Panam Sports Secretary General and Chairman of the Evaluation Commission.

Panam Sports created these Games after identifying a substantial gap in the opportunities available for athletes in this age category to develop and compete at a world-class level once they are ineligible for Youth sporting events.

The Junior Pan Am Games aim to eliminate this gap and increase the likelihood of additional government funding by providing a high-performance multi sport event for the young athletes of all 41 countries in the Panam Sports family. The goal is for the Junior Pan Am Games to also provide direct qualification to the next Pan American Games, ensuring consistent opportunities to further develop as an athlete.

The 10 members of the Panam Sports Evaluation Commission visited Cali and Santa Ana consecutively from February 18 to 22, while an inspection visit to Monterrey is planned in March.

After thoroughly reviewing all three proposals for the Games, the Panam Sports Executive Committee will choose the Host City of the 2021 Junior Pan American Games at its meeting scheduled for March 27 to 28 in San Jose, Costa Rica.