Four days before the opening of the XII South American Games, the young sports minister of Paraguay, Diego Galeano Harrison, counts the hours and minutes for the historical moment of an entire nation to become a reality.
“The facilities are 99% ready, there are only a few exterior details left, but we are going to arrive well,” the former tennis player, among the best in the history of his country, tells Around The Rings, who just this Tuesday celebrated his four month anniversary in charge of the event, the main “jewel” of the South American Sports Organization (Odesur).
Galeano Harrison agreed to speak with ATR shortly after being received by the President of the Republic, Mario Abdo Benítez “to update him on all the progress.”
The sports leader anticipates this Wednesday he will accompany the president on a tour of the main sports facilities in Asunción.
“The conditions are created for a first level Games”, declares the Secretary of Sports for whom a meeting prior to the opening ceremony on October 1 with the 15 Heads of Missions of the member nations of Odesur is “crucial” “to adjust details .”
The first athletes have already begun to arrive, but the bulk will begin to do so starting Thursday.
Some 5,000 athletes, more than 1,800 officials, 4,500 volunteers and some 10,000 foreign spectators will total nearly 20,000 people who will gather for 15 days in Asunción and the nearby areas of Encarnación, Carmen del Paraná and Ciudad del Este.
Of the 36 sports, 18 will qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. 1,336 medals (410 gold, 410 silver, and 516 bronze) will be awarded in a total of 416 events.
At 8:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, skateboarding will open the competitions of the South American Games, which will have its opening ceremony that same day at 8:00 p.m. at the emblematic Defensores del Chaco Stadium, in Asunción.
The football scene will also remind us that Paraguay, along with Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, want the 2030 FIFA World Cup as a tribute to their Centenary.
“We are confident that we can settle those small pending details, which always appear in any competition, and with that achieve historic Games,” says Galeano Harrison.
The former tennis player acknowledges that it has been “a very big challenge” for him.
“We are fulfilling a dream of being able to impact the sport from another point of view and another place.
“Hopefully everything goes well especially for my country. In short, I am just passing through,” said the minister.