Santa Fe 2026 countdown begins: province ready for South American Games | OneFootball

From September 12 to 26, Santa Fe, Rosario, and Rafaela will host the 13th South American Games. More than 4,000 athletes from 15 countries will compete in 43 sports and 60 disciplines, in an event that already has its main sports venues inaugurated and will leave an important legacy for the province.

Just over a week remains until the start of the 13th South American Games Santa Fe 2026, and the province is already entering the final stage of preparations to host the most important international sporting event in its history. From September 12 to 26, Santa Fe, Rosario, and Rafaela will host a competition that will bring together more than 4,000 athletes from 15 countries and feature 43 sports and 60 disciplines.

For 15 days, athletes from Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela will compete for medals at venues spread across the three host cities.

But just days before the start, Santa Fe 2026 is already being felt beyond the competition itself. The main sports venues are ready, the villages are receiving their final touches, and thousands of people have joined the organization of an event that will mobilize the entire province.

A province with its venues already ready

The transformation that began with the sports infrastructure works can already be seen in the three host cities.

In Santa Fe, Invencible Santa Fe, built at the High-Performance Sports Center (CARD), has already been inaugurated and will be one of the main venues in the provincial capital. The multipurpose stadium will host the handball competitions and was designed to continue operating after the Games.

In Rosario, Invencible Aquatic Center, Invencible Arena, and Invencible Rosario have already been inaugurated—new spaces that will expand the city’s sports infrastructure and host a large share of the competitions. The Aquatic Center, for example, will host swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming.

Rafaela is also preparing to welcome the athletes with the opening of Invencible Velodrome, while this weekend new venues will be inaugurated to complete the infrastructure map: Invencible Rafaela and the BMX track.

These projects are joined by the inauguration of the Invencible International Sport Shooting Center in Recreo, a complex with the most modern equipment and infrastructure for the discipline.

Thus, just days before the start, the venues that were under construction for months are beginning to become the places where the continental competition will take place.

The Province invested more than 90 million dollars in works linked to the Games, with 75 million dollars in external financing granted by CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), in addition to contributions from the provincial treasury.

Three cities, one event

One of the distinctive features of Santa Fe 2026 will be its organization across three host cities.

Santa Fe, Rosario, and Rafaela will share the spotlight for two weeks in a competition that will include sports venues, public spaces, and clubs as part of its program. The official map includes venues for disciplines as diverse as athletics, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, combat sports, water sports, football, hockey, climbing, padel, Basque pelota, and esports, among many others.

The proposal will also allow the people of Santa Fe Province to enjoy high-level competitions in different parts of the province and discover disciplines that are not always part of the everyday sports calendar.

An organization with a Santa Fe face as well

The preparation for Santa Fe 2026 also involved thousands of people who will be part of the organization.

The volunteer program exceeded expectations and received thousands of applications to make up the team that will support the development of the Games. Volunteers will serve in areas such as accreditation, accommodation, press, logistics, protocol, venue assistance, and support for the delegations.

With the presentation of the volunteers, another fundamental piece of the organization is already underway: they will be the ones accompanying athletes, delegations, and spectators during the two weeks of competition.

The flame traveling across the province

While the host cities finish their preparations, the Games are also traveling across Santa Fe Province.

The South American Flame arrived in the province after being lit in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, and began a journey aimed at passing through all 19 departments before accompanying the opening of the competition. The initiative brings the spirit of Santa Fe 2026 to different localities and allows the sporting celebration to reach far beyond the three host cities.

The countdown, then, is not only being experienced at the venues where athletes will compete. It is also felt in the localities receiving the torch, in the volunteers who have already begun to prepare, and in every space that has been transformed over the past months to welcome the Games.

Now yes: the countdown begins

On September 12, the wait will come to an end. For 15 days, Santa Fe will take center stage in a competition that will bring together athletes from all over South America and put to the test an organization that for months involved public agencies, municipalities, clubs, federations, institutions, and thousands of people from Santa Fe.

There will be 43 sports, 60 disciplines, three host cities, and more than 4,000 athletes competing for medals and for a place on the road to the continent’s next major sporting events.

But when the final competitions end on September 26, something more than results and medals will remain: new sports venues, infrastructure, housing, organizational experience, and a province that will have demonstrated its ability to host one of the most important sporting events in South America.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.