---
title: "Panama Sports Agency Gets $18.5 Million Boost for Stadiums and Youth Games"
date: 2026-04-29
author: ""
url: https://panamadaily.news/pandeportes-18-million-funding-panama/
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Politics"
  - "Sports"
tags:
  - "Budget Committee"
  - "Miguel Ordóñez"
  - "Panama sports"
  - "Pandeportes"
  - "South American Youth Games"
  - "sports federations"
---

# Panama Sports Agency Gets $18.5 Million Boost for Stadiums and Youth Games

## What Happened

The National Assembly’s Budget Committee approved a transfer of $18,507,873 to the Panamanian Institute of Sports, known as Pandeportes, for four priority projects tied to sports infrastructure and event organization.

Pandeportes director Miguel Ordóñez said the funds come from a reprogramming of investment resources, shifting money from projects still in planning or adjustment stages to initiatives that can move forward immediately or are nearing financial closure.

## Where the Money Will Go

The largest share, $8.5 million, is earmarked for organizing the IV South American Youth Games. Another $4,432,196 will go toward the second phase of the Roberto Mariano Bula stadium in Colón.

The remaining allocations include $3,506,657 for the Juan Díaz High Performance Center and $2,069,020 for the Maracaná stadium. Together, the transfers reflect a push to support both competition logistics and long-delayed sports facilities.

## Questions Over Federations

During the hearing, Representative Janine Prado of the Vamos coalition pressed Ordóñez on the handling of sports federations. Ordóñez responded by pointing to legal limits in the current framework, especially Law 50 governing Pandeportes, which he described as ambiguous.

He argued that the law gives federations too much power with too little oversight and said national sports management falls to those federations rather than Pandeportes, which he described as the governing body.

Ordóñez also said federations have become centers of power and insisted that he is focused on athletes rather than sports leaders. He said he has been receiving complaints from athletes who feel excluded from the system and said efforts are under way to correct those problems.

## Political Tension in the Hearing

The debate became more heated after lawmakers Benicio Robinson and Carlos Saldaña questioned aspects of the management, triggering exchanges during the session. The discussion highlighted the broader tension between public funding for sports and the way sporting institutions are run.

The approved transfer underscores the government’s focus on major sports projects, especially those linked to international competition and high-performance training. It also places renewed attention on how Panama manages the relationship between Pandeportes, federations, and athletes as the country prepares for major sporting commitments.