CACSO Anxious to Meet With President-elect of Panama

(ATR) The president of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) will immediately request to meet with the new president of Panama.

Steve Stoute of Barbados wantsto talk about the future of the next Central American and Caribbean Games, set to be hosted for a third time by Panama in 2022.

Last Sunday, the opposition candidate Laurentino Cortizo, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, was proclaimed the winner of Panama's closest presidential election in recent decades.

Stoute told Around the Rings that an executive board meeting of CACSO is scheduled for Panama City on May 18 but he will travel to the Panamanian capital prior to that "with the hope of meeting with the President Elect."

Stoute revealed that before the election, he and the organizing committee met with a number of the leading Presidential candidates "all of whom pledged full support for the Games of 2022".

Although the CACSO president did not give any details of his expected dialogue with President-elect Cortizo, the guarantee of financial support for the multi-sport event by the new government should be top of the agenda.

"Should such a meeting materialize, the main topic will of course be that the support for the Games pledged by the previous Government, will stand." Stoute said.

It is estimated that the cost of future regional Games will be around $200 million. The previous edition in Barranquilla, Colombia, in the summer of 2018, had an approximate investment of $170 million.

The primary focus of the executive board meeting in 10 days will be the Games in 2022.

"A special Commission is reviewing the sports currently on the program and requests from a number of international federations for inclusion." the CACSO leader revealed.

"The tentative number of sports is 40 and it is my view a reduction is needed." he added.

Stoute confirmed to ATR that the next CACSO General Assembly will be in Panama City on Oct. 31. At this meeting, a new executive committee will be elected.

"With respect to whether I will stand for re-election is a decision I will make after the executive meeting in Panama," Stoute said.

"As you are aware, Luis Mejia, IOC Member from Dominican Republic. is very interested in the position."

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.