Jorge Delgado Panchana, president of the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee, has not yet confirmed his attendance at the meeting he will hold next Tuesday, April 11, with Baltazar Medina, head of the Bolivarian Sports Organization (Odebo), and Sebastián Palacios, Minister of Sports, to define whether the Bolivarian Games will be held in Guayaquil in 2025.

Roberto Ibáñez, president of Fedeguayas: There is nothing strange. The government has already provided us with a budget of 24 million dollars for the Bolivarian Games in Guayaquil in 2025.

Palacios, in a visit to the facilities of Diario EL UNIVERSO in the city of Buenos Aires, revealed that he had invited the managers to a meeting at the Guayas government building with an official letter.

The Olympic Committee of Ecuador “refreshed the memory” of the critic Jorge Delgado with the minutes from the session

“Mr. Medina has already confirmed his presence, but not from the COE, officially, we hope he will go, since the appointment will be in this city,” the government official said.

“Jorge Delgado, the president of the COE, does not even answer my calls politely,” complains the leader

What happens if the COE holder does not show up? The Minister of State replied: “If you don’t come, it’s a clear sign that you don’t want to organize the event, but we’re confident that it won’t happen.”

The COE, which is awaiting the approval of Guillermo Lasso’s government for the 2025 Bolivarian Games in Guayaquil, will meet Odeb

There had been worry in Palacios for a year when the first organizing committee of the Games disbanded. “We were supposed to work from March 18, 2022, but what happened along the way is that they canceled it and didn’t recognize the group that would be in charge of the event.”

“A year later, the motivation is still valid, but with concern because it hasn’t settled down yet. I received calls from athletes and federation directors about what can be done so that this does not fall and that Bolivars are maintained in the country”.

To Palacios, it seems “illogical” that Roberto Ibáñez, president of the Sports Federation of Guayas (Fedeguayas), the entity that owns the halls where the competitions are held, is not included in the organizing committee.

And he revealed: “On February 23, Odebo sent a letter to Jorge Delgado asking for an answer because of the delay in the formation of the group in charge of the Bolivarians, because he does not see progress.”

The minister said the statement highlighted: “We have fallen into disrespect for the time required by our statutes and there is no concrete answer for our associated countries, regarding the future of the event, thinking about their preparation and participation plans.”

Ecuador hosted the Bolivarian Games in 1965 – they were held in Quito and Guayaquil – and in 1985 – the hosts were Ambato, Cuenca and Portoviejo. (D)