'Great Quality' Predicted for Lima 2019 Pan Ams

(ATR) Just one year to go, concerns dwindle for the Lima Pan Ams.

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(ATR) A year to the Pan American Games in Lima, Panam Sports president Neven Ilic does not hide his optimism.

"It seems incredible that we are now only one year away," says Ilic in an exclusive interview with Around the Rings.

The 18th Pan American Games will take place in the Peruvian capital from July 26 to August 11. Following will be the Parapan American Games between August 23 and September 1.

The Chilean sports leader acknowledged the progress of the Organizing Committee, COPAL, led by Carlos Neuhaus but warned that "there are still many areas in which care must be taken".

He mentioned the transport system, the food, the conditions in the sports facilities and in the Pan American Village, among the priorities.

As a support team for these operational tasks, Panam Sports has hired the services of experts with experience in previous multi-sport events.

Ilic, who is a construction company owner, says the worries of a year ago about the pace of construction "today is what worries me the least".

Ilic was in Lima days ago and says that he reviewed one by one the construction times of each sports facility. He described as "very responsible" the companies that develop the works.

He said that in terms of sports infrastructure Peru will be able to show scenarios of "a very high level ... almost Olympic."

He recalled that a little over a year ago when he assumed the presidency of Panam Sports, the Pan American Games in Lima were the most important issue and that he should dedicate all his time.

"The Games were completely at risk," said Ilic, who has visited Lima at least once a month this year.

"Today I am more optimistic every day. I believe that things are going well. The commitments are being fulfilled and we are going to arrive next July with some Games as the athletes of our region deserve," he stressed.

22 Sports Disciplines For Olympic Qualification

Lima 2019 will bring a record number of qualifications for the Olympics, in 22 disciplines.

Although the old dream of the Pan American Sports Organization was to secure Olympic qualifications from the continent in all sports, Ilic is not backing away from that objective.

At the Sport Accord convention in Bangkok last April, Ilic says he spoke directly with the presidents of the summer international federations.

Ilic says some federations base Olympic qualification on the world ranking so it is also "complicated to reach an agreement" that includes the Pan American Games.

The fact that the Pan American Games are traditionally held weeks before several world championships that already serve as Olympic qualifiers. Ilic says that’s another barrier to using the Pan-American games for Olympic qualification.

"But all the federations are willing to look for some formula," he says.

A Very Bad Law For the Games

Ilic says he is not happy with a new law passed by the Peruvian Congress that regulates official advertising in the private media.

"I do not want to interfere in political decisions that governments in this case may take, that of Peru," he says.

"Without a doubt it seems to me that one must be able to distinguish the types of advertising in a nation and when they are related to a government investment," says Ilic.

"One thing is to make a political propaganda and another, to promote a mega-event of high quality as Peru is doing in this case and that is a country interest," he says.

"It seems incredible to me that we can not promote the tremendous effort of Peru to take these Pan American Games forward," he said.

"For the Games this decision is very bad that today is law," he says.

USOC Support is Essential

Ilic, who led Chile's Olympic Committee for 12 years, strengthened Panam Sports relations with the United States Olympic Committee by visiting the Colorado Springs headquarters for the first time earlier this month.

Ilic says that his trip was part of the policy of meeting with each of the 42 NOCs in the Pan Am Sports region.

In the case of the U.S., the question may be how this sporting power for the hemisphere could be part of Panam Sports plans to help the NOCs that need it the most.

USOC President and fellow IOC member Larry Probst traveled especially from San Francisco, to join the meetings with Ilic and other Pan Am Sports executives.

"I was very impressed with the professionalism of the sport in the United States," Ilic said.

The agenda also included marketing, an area where Panam Sports has received support from the U.S. side of how to project its image towards companies interested in investing in sports.

Ilic ruled out that Panam Sports would adopt the IOC formula of assigning two Pan Am Games venues at once, as happened with Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

"In America, it is much more difficult for us to find two economies or two governments ready to take a challenge at that level," he said.

"In our case it is more advisable to study every four years which are the countries that can give us greater security in terms of commitments," said Ilic, member of the IOC since September 2017.

The Chilean coincides with the IOC in making more accessible to a greater number of nations the possibility of organizing a Games, a philosophy that is confirmed in the Agenda 2020 of the world Olympic body.

He considered that in the case of the Pan-American Games it would have to do with the search for formulas regarding an investment "rational for the economies of our countries and not only affordable for the big economies".

He said that he is studying how to regulate the number of sports and the number of athletes, and the demands of Panam Sports to the possible venues.

Ilic did not rule out that any nation in Central America and the Caribbean could have options to sponsor the Pan American Games of 2027 after two nations in the North American region held them in 2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico) and 2015 (Toronto, Canada) and South America will be organizing them in 2019 (Lima) and 2023 (Santiago, Chile).

New Games, New Sports, New IOC Member

Ilic justified the extension of the sports calendar with the projects of the Pan-American Youth and Junior Games, and the Beach Games. "We are going to grow but in a very responsible way," he said.

The prospects for these events are likely to be discussed at the upcoming General Assembly in early September in Lima.

According to Ilic with these new games focused on a "transition generation" between 18 and 21 years, it is intended to guarantee in the countries of America the "renewal" of the stars of the sport that too often "is compromised".

The intention is to "build a chain", he said, among the athletes of the Olympic Youth Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires with the Junior Games of 2021. This "continuity" towards the Pan American Games of 2023 in Chile will be a prelude to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Ilic discards the possibility of esports or electronic sports could be integrated to the continental program of Panam Sports.

"Today we are not yet ready to mix the concept of" esports "with the sports activity of the High Performance that prevails in the Pan American Games," he says.

At the IOC session in Buenos Aires this October, nominations for nine IOC members will be considered. The list of nominees includes the first Paraguayan, Camilo Pérez López-Moreira.

Ilic describes the decision as "fantastic" for what it represents not only for Paraguay but for the sport in America.

Perez is president of the National Olympic Committee, ODESUR, and the South American Tennis Confederation, and belongs to the Executive Bureau of Panam Sports.

"He is a man who has dedicated his life to sports," Ilic said.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.

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