The protests to the sport budget.
Photo: Mauricio Alvarado Lozada
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In the project of the General Budget of the Nation by 2026 the sport is relegated to the coldest corner of the priorities. The cut is brutal: about $ 468,000 million in 2025 would go to just $ 310,000 million in 2026. Two years ago the Ministry of Sports had about $ 1.3 billion. That is, in two years more than 75 % of resources vanishes. A historical scissors that clearly reflect how little sport matters when deciding where the silver of Colombians is going.
The reactions have existed. Federations, athletes, coaches, leaders and some congressmen have gone to protest. There were marches in Bogotá and alert communications. But the truth is that the issue has not held the place that should in the national conversation. It is not on the main covers, does not generate the noise of other political controversies, does not move public opinion such as when a tax is discussed or fights for a ministry. The sport protests, but the echo is almost null. And that indifference hurts as much as the cut.
The Government has responded with accounting coldness: that there are larger priorities, which must be cut to square figures, that silver does not reach. And in the meantime, the training programs run out of oxygen, the departmental leagues languish, the infrastructure deteriorates and athletes see the doors closed to firm outside. Recreation and sport as a public health tool, social integration and country construction disappear from the emergency list.
Let's not fool ourselves: when the medals or international triumphs arrive, everyone runs to hang the OA t -shirt for the photo. But when you play really investing, nobody appears. The double standard is served. In this government, more than in any of the above, sport seems the least important. And the serious thing is that there is talk of peace, social cohesion, of opportunities for youth … But what peace are we talking about if the investment is removed from one of the most powerful tools to achieve it?
Sport is not a luxury, it is prevention, discipline, belonging and identity. It is the most effective way to move young people away from violence and hopelessness. It is health, it is integration, it is national pride. That is why it hurts to see how your backs are turned on in the budget.
The saddest thing is that, despite the protests, this cut will happen. There will be no back. And the country, which fills its mouth talking about peace and equity, will continue to leave the sport out of the equation. The result will be the loss of talents, dreams, cohesion. That cost, even if it does not appear in the balances of the Ministry of Finance, will be infinitely higher than any fiscal savings. If we do not change priorities, we will lose entire generations that could transform communities and bring lasting hope to the country today and tomorrow.
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