ASUNCION, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) - The South American Sports Organization (ODESUR) issued a press release on Tuesday in which it ratifies the Paraguayan capital as the host city of the XII South American Games in 2022.

The decision was made by a majority vote of the member countries, after the Government of Paraguay resumed its commitment to host the largest multisport competition in the region, the document states.

It should be noted that the designation of Paraguay as the venue had already been made official in December 2017 but in July of this year, the Government of the South American country resigned to host the sporting event due to the high costs that its organization would represent and due to its intention to redirect the funds for public health.

The Odesur statement indicates that in a show of commitment, the Paraguayan Government sent the Organization the duly signed host city contract, which was pending completion.

For this reason, the Odesur members ratified the Paraguayan nomination by taking into account the budget efficiency commitment assumed by the country and the positive impact on human and sports development that the celebration of the Games will have.

"We aspire for the next South American Games to be an unforgettable celebration that marks a generation. We want to inspire youth to embrace the Olympic values, always under our model of promoting sustainable, efficient events and with a strong social legacy," he said. Regarding the president of Odesur, the Paraguayan Camilo Pérez López Moreira.

He highlighted that the last edition of the Games, held last year in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, was the largest in history with the participation of more than 4,000 athletes.

He added that for 2022, an event that will take place from April 23 to May 6, they estimate that there will be a record number of athletes, more or less about 4,200, to which is added the arrival of 1,600 team officials and another 1,600 referees.

He also pointed out that the Odesur Games will summon a total of 14 countries, whose athletes will compete in 377 events of 35 sports disciplines, highlighting that Paraguay will participate in almost all the disciplines contemplated by the games.