Santa Fe 2026 countdown: 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 a competition that already has its main sports venues inaugurated and that will leave an important legacy for the province.

Just over a week remains before the 13th South American Games Santa Fe 2026 begin, 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 beginning to be felt beyond the competition itself. The main sports venues are ready, the athletes’ villages are entering their final preparations, 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, the Invincible 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 remain in operation after the Games.

In Rosario, the Invincible Aquatic Center, the Invincible Arena, and Invincible 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 getting ready to welcome the athletes with the opening of the Invincible Velodrome, while this weekend new venues will be inaugurated to complete the infrastructure map: Invincible Rafaela and the BMX track.

These projects are joined by the inauguration of the Invincible 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 to access high-level competitions in different parts of the province and discover disciplines that are not always part of the everyday sports agenda.

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 accreditations, accommodation, press, logistics, protocol, venue assistance, and support for delegations.

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

The flame that travels across the province

While the host cities finish preparing, the Games are also making their way across Santa Fe territory.

The South American Flame arrived in the province after being lit in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, and began a route aimed at passing through all 19 departments before accompanying the opening of the competition. The initiative carries 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 in the venues where the athletes will compete. It is also expressed in the towns receiving the torch, in the volunteers who have already begun preparing, and in every space that over the last few months has been transformed to welcome the Games.

Now the countdown truly 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 across 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.