In a conversation with SportsIn during the XX Bolivarian Games Ayacucho – Lima 2025, Francisco Lee, president of ACODEPA, explained the institutional framework that guides the work of the Association of Pan-American Sports Confederations. The organization brings together recognized continental confederations and coordinates actions aimed at strengthening structured sport across the Americas.
Lee noted that ACODEPA’s vision is built on two fundamental pillars that respond to the needs of the continent. “The Pan-American sports confederations that I am honoured to represent have as their main function the development of sport across the continent. We work on two basic axes: at the horizontal level, which is expansion, our objective is to ensure that more countries practice our sport in an organized manner,” he stated. He added that this implies ensuring “they have a National Federation that is recognized by their Ministry of Sport and their National Olympic Committee.”
Qualitative growth to develop future Olympic figures
The ACODEPA president explained that the second pillar focuses on the qualitative growth of athletes. “We are very interested in seeing qualitative growth among the athletes within these national federations, so they can represent their countries in regional or continental events and win medals,” Lee said. He emphasised that the goal is to ensure that “each Olympic cycle sees new figures emerge in every country in the Americas.”
In this context, ACODEPA acts as a continental coordination platform, bringing together recognized Pan-American sports confederations and maintaining working ties with organizations in the regional sports system. Its role includes technical coordination, support for national federations and the promotion of common standards for structured development within each discipline.
Gender equality and challenges in disciplines with structural barriers
Addressing strategies to promote women’s participation and leadership within sports organizations, Lee stressed that each sport has its own particular realities. “Promoting gender equity in a sport like basketball, where women commonly play from school age, is not the same as in wrestling,” he explained. He highlighted that disciplines such as rhythmic gymnastics are predominantly female, while others require specific efforts to incorporate women and girls. “So each sport, within its own particularities, must find ways to incorporate women into practice,” he noted.
He added that personal and social factors influence long-term participation for female athletes, and underlined the importance of working with parents and guardians from early stages. Lee also pointed to “another concept that is very prominent nowadays, which is safe sport, because as you know, there have unfortunately been many cases where girls have been victims of abuse by coaches, referees and even officials, and this requires a series of regulations and standards to follow,” stressing the need for supervision and preventive measures.
The ACODEPA president also stated that other differences are linked to cultural aspects and the conditions of sporting facilities. “Many facilities were built many years ago, and in some cases they were designed for men’s sport, and from there a limitation already exists,” he said.
Each discipline requires its own measures
Lee emphasised that these measures require particular attention in contact sports. “In the case of wrestling, we are very clear on this because it is a contact sport. It is not the same as playing table tennis, where the athlete may be several metres away from the opponent, as practicing wrestling where there is physical contact, and therefore many precautions and constant supervision are needed,” he said. He added that close work with coaches is essential to identify and prevent any situation that could affect female athletes.
ACODEPA has a Gender Equity Commission that develops guidelines and recommendations for Pan-American confederations, aligned with safe sport frameworks and institutional policies applied across the continent. Each discipline adapts these standards according to its own characteristics, taking into account technical, cultural and structural factors, with the aim of facilitating women’s participation in appropriate conditions.
