Havana, January 4 (EFE) - The Colombian government assured that the agreement it had made with Panam Sports to pay the eight million dollars for the "right of organization" and for the "concession of media rights" for the 2027 Pan American Games was for January and not for December.
This was stated by the Ministry of Sports in a communiqué published after the regional organization took the 2027 Games venue away from the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, considering that it failed to comply with the signed contract, in reference to the payments it was supposed to make.
The parties had reached an agreement in October to fulfill the contract, which included the payment of four million dollars for the "right to organize" the Pan American Games, a figure that should have been paid on July 30 last year.
Four million dollars were also to be paid for "the concession of media rights".
According to what became known on Wednesday, the parties had allegedly agreed that the payment of the first four million dollars would be made before December 31, 2023 and the other four million dollars before January 31, 2024.
"In conversation with the Chilean Neven Ilic, president of Panam Sports, the Minister of Sports, Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez, reached an agreement to make the total payment of eight million dollars during the month of January 2024, while there was a difficulty to do so during the 2023 period," the Ministry said in a statement.
In view of this measure, the Ministry regretted that "in a surprising manner", the regional organization sent the letter in which it stated, by "unilateral decision", to rescind "the contract and cancel the realization of the Pan American Games in Barranquilla".
"It should be noted that this administration continued the procedures to appropriate the resources for the concession fees for media rights, sale of official products and sponsorships, as required," the Ministry explained.In this sense, the Colombian Government said that "it maintains its firmness and determination to fulfill the country's expectations for the realization of the Games, advancing the management and procedures for the disbursements destined for this purpose."
