Council Rejects Proposed Budget for Athens Olympics

THE Costa Rican National Sports Council yesterday rejected a budget presented by the National Olympic Committee (CON) of nearly $2 million to send the Costa Rican delegation to the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

The government “lacks the economic resources to back this budget,” said National Sports Council president Hernán Solano in a statement.

“It should be clear that the success of the economic support of the government for CON depends on the approval of the Fiscal Plan currently being discussed in the Legislative Assembly (TT, March 12),” said Solano, who is also the viceminister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

The Athens Olympic Games will take place Aug. 13-29. Costa Rica has qualified 21 athletes to date: 18 in men’s soccer; José Adrián Bonilla and Karen Matamoros in mountain biking and Christopher Moitland in Tae-Kwon Do.