:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/KN4PZT45OZCGRLXZ333ALWAV5Y.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
This Friday marked 100 days in command of the national sports portfolio, the Minister of Sports, Guillermo Herrera. In a press conference, the minister gave a balance of the management carried out and announced the budget for next year.
“Colombian sports always deserve the best effort and now it will have 882 billion pesos, of which 94 percent will be for investment”, Minister Herrera announced, who also stressed that the National government gave the sector an investment of 2.4 billion pesos in the four-year period.
The achievement of said budget; the execution and supervision of sports infrastructure projects; the increase in financial incentives for Olympic and Paralympic medalists; the consolidation of Colombia as the epicenter of international multisport events; support for the development and promotion of women’s sports; In addition to the progress in sports generational replacement projects, they are part of the management carried out in these first months.
“The promotion of women’s sports in Colombia and promoting it in our childhood through the Sports Schools for All, are one of the fundamental pillars of my management”, Minister Herrera Castaño added.
Another achievement that stood out was that, in return for the joys that Olympic and Paralympic athletes and coaches brought to the country during their participation in Tokyo 2020, the ministry managed to increase the economic incentives: 10% for gold and 5% for silver and bronze. In this way, 3,620 million pesos were allocated in incentives.
With regard to gender equity and equality in sports, the Colombian past and present have found their most memorable sports feats in female talent. The names of María Isabel Urrutia, Mariana Pajón and Caterine Ibargüen, validate the statement well recognized by the current administration. For this reason, support for women’s sport has been one of the primary roles during this ongoing period.
This year 500 million pesos were allocated for the basketball league and the same amount for the volleyball Super League, as well as the 2,000 million pesos for the development of the women’s cycling team, Colombia Tierra de Atletas, and the realization of the women’s soccer octagonal, held in Manizales last weekend.
Support that will be improved for next year with 3,000 million pesos for the Women’s Soccer League and 2,800 million pesos for the women’s cycling team that will allow it to run in Europe. Additionally, the 2022 Copa América Femenina will be supported.
On the other hand, regarding major sporting events, the meeting also had a space to talk about how the country has managed to position itself as a benchmark in the organization of sporting events in the regional framework.
What’s more, the first edition of the Cali 2021 Youth Pan American Games; the 2021 Ibagué World Skating Championships, the XIX Valledupar 2022 Bolivarian Games and the 2022 Cali Under 20 Athletics World Cup, These are some of the great competitions that, in the end, will leave a total balance of more than 8,000 jobs generated thanks to an investment of more than 172 billion pesos.
Finally, the plan with which the ministry intends to promote the sporting achievements of the future was highlighted. For this, Minister Herrera Castaño made it clear that the Talentos Colombia program, which currently impacts the 32 departments of the country with 1,738 selected young people, will continue to function as the great quarry of the generational sports relay in the country.
From this group of exceptional athletes, 20 young people will participate in the Youth Pan American Games, among them, the athlete Valeria Cabezas, standard-bearer of the national delegation. They will be joined by 90 of the Advanced Development Projects, which, together, will promote the generational change of our sport.
KEEP READING:
