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Sports in Cuba since 1959 have been run by the state and its institutions and the use of advertising and other possible business models has been rejected. Therefore, it seems that an important change in the administration is in the works, although it is hard to predict the short and long-term impact.
Cuban baseball authorities announced recently that some facilities across the country, such as stadiums and academies will be run by cooperatives or small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), forms of economic management that aim to make the main national championship sustainable.
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The latest news dealing with the novel forms of management is filtering slowly through meetings that executives of INDER and the National Baseball Commission carry out in the different provinces of the country. They have started across the whole nation a “dialogue to evaluate the fulfillment of the objectives and guidelines that reflect the baseball strategy,” according to Guillermo Rodriguez.
Sports in Cuba since 1959 have been characterized by its state-owned management, development and promotion, and the use of advertising and other possible business models to make it economically sustainable has been rejected. Therefore, it seems that an important change in the administration is in the works, although it is hard to predict the short and long-term impact.
Juan Reinaldo Pérez, National Baseball Commissioner, said in Camagüey that changes are coming as part of the new work strategy that his organization intends to implement, which could change the dynamics of how the sports centers have been managed up to now, Play-Off Magazine reported recently.
Cuba recently designated baseball as a part of its cultural heritage. The ceremony was held at Palmar de Junco
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“Some facilities and academies are going to change to new forms of economic management (non-agricultural cooperatives, TCP, or MSMEs)”, said the commissioner, according to the report.
The executive pointed out that the Latin American Stadium in Havana -the most important in the country- will be the first to undergo this change in the near future, and that “the objective of this step is that they have their financial autonomy and are self-sustainable”.
The announcement leaves a number of important questions in the air, some of which fans are asking themselves. Will it be a state MSME or a combination of state-run and private? Will changes in management and financial independence contribute to reviving the quality of the sports, which has been lagging in recent international events?
The impact of these measures in terms of the island's overall baseball recovery will only be known in time, as the national sport was recently declared part of the nation's cultural heritage.
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