Guyana, Barbados named hosts for 2027 and 2028 CARIFTA Games

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The 2027 and 2028 CARIFTA Games will be staged in Guyana and Barbados, NACAC Athletics confirmed on Thursday after St Kitts/Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago stepped aside. The switch followed what organisers called a “swift intervention and support” from the Caricom Heads of Government.

Both St Kitts/Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago had indicated at April’s Congress in Grenada that they wanted to stage those editions, then later withdrew. Guyana’s selection means the junior championships will take place on the South American mainland for the first time. Barbados returns as host after a gap dating to 2001 — its eighth staging overall.

Mike Sands, president of North America, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Athletics, which runs the yearly junior track and field meet, delivered the news during a virtual session on Thursday.

“On behalf of the NACAC Athletics Council, officials, and athletes of the NACAC athletics family, I wish to thank the Caricom Heads for their swift and positive response in support of the CARIFTA Games,” Sands said. “I especially thank President Ali of Guyana and Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados for agreeing to host CARIFTA 2027 and 2028. This secures the immediate future of what is arguably the world’s premier junior athletics event.”

According to a NACAC statement, the pullouts came shortly ahead of the Caricom Heads of Government gathering from July 5 to 8. The body said it pressed the Heads directly on finding a host without delay and on sport’s importance to young people across the region.

Sands also saluted Grenada for putting on the 2024 and 2026 Games. “Grenada’s willingness to host twice in three years speaks to its commitment to youth development, but it also reminds us of the real demands of hosting places on our smaller island states. Sustaining the CARIFTA Games will take continued partnership between our governments and sporting bodies,” he said.

The championships have run every year since 1972, when Barbadian sports administrator Austin Sealy launched them. Jamaica has finished first in the points standings 48 times, including each of the past 40 editions.