Sara Rosario is chairing a Venues Commission for the Games ©Panam Sports

Sara Rosario has expressed hope that a new host can be found for the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games, with organisers aiming to be prudent and reduce costs as they seek a replacement for Panama City.

Rosario was named as chair of a new Venues Commission by the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) earlier this week.

The Commission is set to investigate potential options for a replacement host.

Panama withdrew from hosting the Games on July 24, with the coronavirus pandemic cited as the reason behind the decision.

Panama is the Central American country with the highest number of deaths and infections from coronavirus.

Rosario told Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero that finding a replacement was a "big challenge", but she is confident that with a prudent approach CACSO can find a new venue for the Games.

"It is an uphill challenge, but I think that some interested country is going to be able to get," Rosario said.

"There are many cities in our region that have different facilities – that is the most difficult part – to lower costs at the moment.

"It is not the first time that CACSO has been in a similar situation and that happened much closer to the period of the Games, so it is better that it happened now.

"COVID, nobody saw it coming, and we hope that it will not have major repercussions and that we can quickly get a new venue to celebrate the Games.

The last edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games took place in Barranquilla in 2018 ©Getty Images
The last edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games took place in Barranquilla in 2018 ©Getty Images

"But we know that there are many interested cities, there are cities that may show interest.

"There are many countries and cities that the economies are not entirely bad.

"Now we have to knock on doors and be prudent in the demands that may be being made.

"I am very positive that someone is going to appear who is going to get up and is going to ask and request the venue of the Games."

The 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games are scheduled to be the 24th edition of the event, which was first held in Mexico City in 1926.

The Games were last held in the Colombian city Barranquilla in 2018, which saw 37 countries competing across 36 sports.

Panama City had been scheduled to host for the third time, following 1938 and 1970.

CACSO President Luis Mejia Oviedo said earlier this week that the organisation's Executive Board had expressed its "firm conviction that all efforts be directed towards celebrating the Games in 2022".

Oviedo said the Executive Board's support for the 2022 event was to ensure the "hard work of athletes in the region is not harmed at any time".