A historic milestone for Paraguay: for the first time ever, the nation’s capital, Asunción, will host the Pan American Games. The decision to assign the 2031 Pan American Games was made at the Extraordinary General Assembly of Panam Sports in Santiago, Chile. The runner-up, Rio-Niterói in Brazil, received 24 votes, while Asunción secured 28 votes. Paraguay had been the runner-up to host the 2027 edition, but was outvoted by Lima, Peru.
All the events for the 2031 edition of the most prestigious sports competition in thr Americas will be held in the Asunción Metropolitan Area except for surfing, that will be in El Salvador.
What made Asunción win the bid?
Three key projects persuaded the Panam Sports Committee to select Paraguay over Brazil. The Paraguayan government plans to construct a comprehensive Pan American City (Villa Panamericana) to accommodate athletes. Once the event concludes, the aim is to repurpose the facilities for community use.
The government also plans to build a new athletics stadium, and a new arena within the Olympic Park (Parque Olímpico). Further details about these sporting infrastructure projects and the 2031 Pan American Games will be announced in the coming months.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña was delighted to receive the news, stating that the event “will position Paraguay at the heart of global sports”.
Asunción as sporting events host
Before he upcoming 2031 Pan American Games, Asunción hosted multiple sporting events of international calibre. In 2022, Paraguay’s capital hosted the South American Games (ODESUR). The 4th edition of the Latin American Special Olympics was held in 2024, and in 2025, Asunción hosted the Junior Pan American Games.
Asunción also hosted the final of major football tournaments in South America, multiple times. The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has announced that Asunción will once again host the final of the 2025 Copa Sudamericana. The event is scheduled for 22 November, 2025.
About the Pan American Games?
The Pan American Games is a multi-sport event for athletes from the Americas, held every four years, normally the year before the Summer Olympics. The event is organised by the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) and is the third-largest multi-sport event in the world. Events include all Summer Olympic sports, plus some non-Olympic sports popular in the region, and the Games often serve as Olympic qualifiers.
There are four regional entities affiliated with Panam Sports. The CACSO is the Central American Caribbean Games and the ORDECA is the Central American Games. The ODEBO is the Bolivarian Games and the ODESUR is the South American Games. The Pan American Games were created in August 1948 and count 41 members spread over the Americas. They have offices in Miami, United States, City of Mexico, in Mexico, and Santiago de Chile. The current president is Neven Ilic, from Chile. The official languages of the organisation are English and Spanish.
