Mauricio Hernandez, Director of TD, presented his research work at the International Conference of Play the Game 2025 en la ciudad de Tampere, Finlandia. Dicha presentación se desarrolló en la sesión titulada «De lo ignorado al control: fallas de gobernanza en el deporte global». En la misma, evidenció cuáles fueron los elementos que posibilitaron the failure of the 2027 Pan American Games that were to be held in Barranquilla. Here's the full presentation..
This is the story of how Barranquilla, a Colombian city on the Atlantic coast, lost 2 million and 250 thousand US dollars to Panam Sports — money meant to secure the 2027 Pan American Games. The funding to uncover this story was granted by PTG at the end of 2024, and the investigation was published this year on their website. It is a story not only about money lost — it’s a story about exclusion, improvisation, and opacity.
My name is Mauricio Hernández, and we worked on this together with Federico Teijeiro. I have worked for years in the field of sport governance through a platform called Transparency in Sports. From scratch — no sponsors, no contracts, no sportswashingJust passion. Passion for researching relevant topics, mixing journalism and academic inquiry.
When we researched and wrote about how Colombia lost the 2027 Pan American Games, we realised this was not just a Colombian story. It was a common pattern in sports mega-events: the costs are shared with the public, while the benefits are privatised by sports organisations and private contractors.
And here is the core idea I want to share with you today:
Politicians and sports officials used the Pan American Games to distract the public from national discontent and to secure contracts under the Organising Committee. They compromised $ 500 million USD, the estimated cost of hosting the event. None of that was possible. Two presidents and four sports ministers were unable to secure the Games..
The promise
In April 2021, Barranquilla was chosen — unanimously — to host the 2027 Pan American Games. No rival bids. No competition. Four months later, the host-city contract was signed in a big ceremony. Officials from Panam Sports, government leaders, and the media were there. One person was behind the candidacy: Alejandro Char. He had been lobbying to secure Barranquilla’s candidacy.
The cracks
The former president of the NOC, Baltazar Medina, refused to sign that contract. He called the 500-million-dollar cost “exorbitant.” By that time, Colombia was experiencing massive protests against the government, and the former Ministry of Sport and the president thought that hosting a mega-sport event could be a good idea.
Colombia shifted from a right-wing president to a left-wing one, so former president Duque created an Organising Committee just four days before leaving office. It was a move to control the OC. But it was only a shell — without a director, without structure, just a decree without substance.
Meanwhile, contractual obligations were ignored. Panam Sports requested three actions:
- To establish an Organising Committee.
- Deliver a schedule and a budget.
- Provide a guarantee of 50 million US dollars in insurance to protect its brand.
None of this was done.
The government changed — and its ministers. The former Olympic champion, María Isabel Urrutia, had to lead the Games. She never convened the committee. She appointed a manager unofficially, with no mandate. She was later fired for suspicions of political manoeuvring, not related to the Games.
By mid-2023, Colombia already owed Panam Sports 8 million dollars. Ultimatums were sent. Deadlines passed. The government scrambled, cutting the budget from 500 to 390 million, promising to spread events across Caribbean cities. But that only created more confusion, more actors, more fights for control.
The collapse
By mid-2023, Colombia owed Panam 8 million US dollars. In December 2023, Colombia failed to pay 4 million according to the schedule. By January 3rd, 2024, Panam Sports revoked the Games.
Barranquilla’s mayor paid 2.25 million US dollars to push the national government to comply with its financial commitments. We believe that President Petro never agreed with hosting the Games, so he didn’t push to secure those payments. Remember that the Games were won by another political stream..
In October 2024, Barranquilla filed a complaint at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to recover that money. But the contract favored Panam Sports — payments were considered their assets unless Colombia could prove Panam Sports was responsible.
Meanwhile, transparency vanished. Requests for financial records were denied. Documents — vouchers, correspondence, contracts — remain hidden.
By March 2024, Lima, Peru, was officially awarded the Games. And in Colombia, blame was passed like a ball — from the Duque administration, to President Petro, to the Olympic Committee, to Barranquilla’s city hall.
Conclusión
Let me give you three examples that reveal what was really happening.
First: exclusion. The Colombian Olympic Committee was left out of the decision. Its president, Baltazar Medina, said that signing that contract was not a good idea.
Second: improvisation. The Organising Committee was created just three days before a government transition. No members. No director. No real structure. A decree without substance.
Third: opacidad. Solicitamos los registros del pago hecho por Barranquilla, y no existen comprobantes. Incluso se negaron los registros de viajes y comunicaciones oficiales.
Exclusion
Improvisation
Opacity
These were not isolated mistakes. They were the system. And this is how the Games were lost.
Referendums for hosting mega-sport events are not popular — neither in Europe nor in Latin America. But what if citizens had been consulted before committing to host the Games? The fight for who controlled the OC, and the transition of power, exposed how inefficient the sports system can be.
Colombia lost the Games for noncompliance with the contract, but what we saw behind it was a fight for control — between national and local governments, driven by their own interests.
And here is the lesson.
Big events like the Pan American Games are always sold with narratives of national pride and legacy. But behind those words, the reality is other: celebrating sports autonomy without accountability. In this case, the Games were captured by clans, sports officials, and politicians..
We — as journalists, academics, and activists — have the duty to take action. Not individually, but by building coalitions to raise awareness and disclose key information in new ways, in new formats, to prevent stories like this from happening again.
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