The constant political changes that the country is confronted with also affect us Athlete. A clear example of this is that just days after the end of 2022, the government published a decree that averted what was perhaps the most serious crisis in national sport. Thanks to the management of the Peruvian Olympic Committee, led by Renzo Manyari, and stakeholders from the national sports system, the additional budget has been raised to meet the obligations arising from participation in the Rosario 2022, Valledupar 2022 and Asunción 2022 Games. Renzo Manyari gave La República more details, revealing the challenges and projects of the POLICE OFFICER in this 2023.
—The unions faced these three events without the budget in their hands?
“The initial idea is that an additional budget of just over 10 million soles will come out to allow the federations to prepare and attend these three events, so 2021 was proposed. What came out is only to cover the cost of participation, which is good, but also not enough. The federations ran into debt and today multidisciplinary administrative teams, even skilled technicians, can receive the payments that have been owed to them for months
“How was that accomplished?”
—The PCM has kept the word it gave to Leyla Chihuán, Carlos Zegarra and me by publishing these supreme decrees in an extraordinary issue. I trust that through this action and gesture, the government has once again put its trust in sport, in its athletes. If that didn’t work out, 18 national sports federations, the most important ones, would go bankrupt, it would become a scandal and surely the biggest unsolved crisis in Peruvian sport.
—With what expectation, after what happened, think of Santiago 2023 and Paris 2024?
“What is not prepared cannot be taken back.” At this moment we need to prioritize, we need to be honest about the medal chances for Santiago 2023 and start being honest and prioritizing the Olympics prediction. In coordination with the COP, the IPD determines the focus on athletes and sports in order to generate a special athlete support program with a view to both events. Not only for the Olympic Games, but also for the Paralympic Games.
Is the sports budget becoming a problem?
—2019 was the year the sport saw its biggest growth. In 2020 so far, the budget for sport has been cut by 48%, almost 49%. There is no point in investing so much in something and then taking it back. I understand the country’s complications, but the worst thing you can do with an investment is put money in and take it out. The only thing achieved is losing everything. To return to this result, it will cost you twice as much.
—What are the goals of the COP for 2023?
—We entered the second year of management with the illusion that in Santiago 2023 we could lay the foundations for the country’s first Olympic medal in Paris 2024 in more than 30 years. Likewise, we strive to strengthen ties with the federations and continue to support those trying to restore their institutionality, such as kung fu and basketball.
There is a new project…
—In February we will launch the COP TV channel. It’s a kind of Netflix of Peruvian sports, technically known as OTT. We launch five national leagues, cover and finance the production of 52 national events with streaming technology worth more than two million euros. We trust that in eight years this will mean the associations’ absolute financial independence from the Peruvian government.
—Is everything on track for the 2024 Bolivarian Games in Ayacucho?
—There is already an established organizing committee, the signing of the responsibility agreement is still pending. The problem we have is the constant rotation of the legacy representatives as well as the IPD. We open the financial and sports program, with which the respective resource security bill comes into force.