President Danilo Medina mentioned in his 27 February 2017 annual report that the Ministry of Sports under Minister Danilo Díaz will be bringing back the celebration of the National Sports Games. The last national games took place in Monte Plata in 2006 under the government of former President Leonel Fernández when Felipe Payano was sports minister.
The 14th National Sports Games would be celebrated in 2018, but a date and place have yet to be announced.
The past games left behind mega installations that would suffer from lack of maintenance after the regional games were over. Millions spent on sports installations in Barahona and La Romana were lost for lack of upkeep.
President Medina also said that he has given instructions to the Ministry of Sports that there needs to be more focus on school sports and that Minister Díaz will follow through on this priority. He announced repairs to 150 community sports installations nationwide.
Medina added that youth sports programs were a priority of his administration. The President pointed out that other programs directed at young people that have been successful include the Infotep vocational training courses, digital learning programs and various cultural programs.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nacional
Read the Annual Report in Spanish:
Acento
