By Akeem Greene in Grenada
The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has expressed an interest in hosting the CARIFTA Games in 2026, according to the President of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC), Michael Sands.
In an exclusive interview with News Room Sport on Monday at the ongoing 51st Games in Grenada, Sands explained that last year in The Bahamas, countries opened bids to host the next three Games.
Those successful were Grenada (2024), Trinidad and Tobago (2025), and Barbados (2026), but Sands indicated, “Unfortunately, during the congress this morning, Barbados indicated their facility will not be ready to host adequately, and they withdrew their bid offer.”
He added, “As a result, we reopened bids, and thus far, Guyana has expressed interest.”
The former Olympian indicated Guyana has 30-90 days to give a formal interest.
“For us to seriously consider Guyana, they now have to come with a letter from their respective government or a guarantor of sponsorship and then go back to council for full ratification.”
In 2019, it was announced by NACAC that Guyana, for the first time since the Games started in 1972, would host the 50th edition of the Games in 2022, but that was shifted to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Guyana lost hosting rights to those Championships after the bids reopened.
In January 2020, the top NACAC officials visited Guyana to conduct a site visit at the National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara, and highlighted the need for rehabilitation works to the track’s surface and other needed improvements.
In October 2023, the resurfacing of the synthetic track was completed at a cost of G$77 million.
