Cali in Colombia is hosing the event for athletes aged 23 and younger.

As part of the campaign, Panam Sports has released a video commercial.

"I've been here all along, training in the shadows," declares a narrator over footage of track and field, basketball, gymnastics, and swimming athletes.

Aerial views of venues in Cali are also shown, along with graphics related to the sports programme.

"Now it's our time," the narration concludes.

"We're next up."

The Junior Pan American Games are due to begin on November 25 and run until December 5.

All 41 countries and territories affiliated with Panam Sports have committed to sending a team.

COVID-19 vaccination has been made mandatory for all competitors aged 18 and above, while a two-and-a-half-month delay to the event was previously blamed on the coronavrius pandemic.

Cali has been the epicentre for protests against Colombia's President Iván Duque this year, leading to a violent crackdown and dozens of deaths nationwide.

An Amnesty International report in July concluded that the authorities in Cali were guilty of "the use of lethal weapons against protesters, excessive and unlawful use of less lethal weapons such as tear gas, unlawful detentions and torture" - and that this was "the modus operandi implemented throughout the country".

The Junior Pan American Games is being billed as a key event in the lead-up to the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and Paris 2024 Olympics, allowing up-and-coming athletes a platform they would not have had in years gone by.

"It fills me and all of us at Panam Sports with great pride to finally be realising this dream of helping the outstanding young athletes throughout our continent with a new event designed specifically for them," said Panam Sports President Neven Ilic.

"We hope that this often forgotten group of athletes will utilise the Junior Pan American Games to jumpstart their careers and that they will represent the first step on their journey to incredible success in international sport."