The Dominican Republic will host the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games, the centenary edition of the oldest regional competition in the world, which will bring together more than 6,000 athletes from 37 countries and territories in Santo Domingo from July 24 to August 8.
The president of the Organizing Committee, José P. Monegro, and the Dominican Minister of Tourism, David Collado, presented the contest in Miami, just days before the opening ceremony at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium.
The contest will offer a program of 40 sports and 56 disciplines, and will distribute direct places to the Lima 2027 Pan American Games in fourteen disciplines. It will be the third time that the country organizes the event, after Santo Domingo 1974 and Santiago de los Caballeros 1986.
Venues with Olympic rank
During a press conference at the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, Monegro maintained that the works were not limited to meeting the requirements of the regional fair, but rather raised the country’s category for world-class competitions. The Aquatic Center received Category 1 certification from World Aquatics, the international swimming federation.
“In the four Olympic swimming disciplines, the Dominican Republic can hold a world championship in that facility,” said the director, who holds the position honorably and voluntarily.
Likewise, the pavilion where the “Queens of the Caribbean”, the national volleyball team, compete, was equipped for Olympic tournaments; The Félix Sánchez Stadium opened an approved athletics track, and the entire rehabilitation and construction works reached 100%.
The organization hopes that these headquarters will serve as logistical and training support to neighboring islands and Central American countries that lack similar complexes.
In turn, Minister Collado stated that “it is a very clear strategy: diversify tourism. That is why we created a public-private sports tourism committee.”
“In the Dominican Republic, great events have to be held, and what is more important than these Central American Games,” he added.
Tournament spread throughout the country
Although the official headquarters is Santo Domingo, the program extends to several provinces. Rowing and canoeing will take place at the Rincón Dam; surfing, in Puerto Plata; sailing, in Baní, and football, in Santiago and La Vega. For BMX, the organization built a track with international dimensions in Santiago at the request of the Dominican Cycling Federation.
In the Dominican capital, the competitions are divided into five clusters, including the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center and the Parque del Este. The committee also announced that 85% of the competitions will have free entry.
Delegations and medal table
The delegations have already defined their payrolls. Cuba registered 504 athletes in 42 disciplines and aspires to the medal podium; Puerto Rico presented 442 athletes and projects nearly 100 medals; Guatemala swore in 480 competitors. Mexico, winner of San Salvador 2023 with 353 medals, including 145 gold, starts as the main favorite.
The host arrives with the best record in its history. In San Salvador 2023 he won 111 medals, his highest number in the competition, with 25 gold, 36 silver and 50 bronze, and finished fifth in the medal table after a shot that took that position from Puerto Rico on the last day. There the Queens of the Caribbean won their sixth consecutive tournament title.
The preparation had state support. The Ministry of Sports transferred 893 million pesos to the Dominican Olympic Committee in five items and since January 2025 it doubled the salary of the athletes of the national teams. Baseball, boxing and volleyball have the highest podium expectations, with the added advantage of competing at home.
One hundred years of history
The Games celebrate a century since their first edition, held in Mexico City in 1926 with Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico as founders. The torch, whose relay is named Ruta Wiche García Saleta in honor of the father of Dominican Olympics, has traveled through the 31 provinces of the country since May and promotes values such as fair play.
Minister Collado framed the Games in the country’s sports tourism strategy and invited fans to travel to the island once the FIFA World Cup concluded.
The head of the tourism portfolio estimated about 300,000 visitors who will leave the competition, whose state investment exceeds 5,000 million Dominican pesos.
