Paraguayan Olympic Committee launches COPCAST, a new platform for stories from behind the scenes of sport
The Paraguayan Olympic Committee has launched COPCAST, the first original interview series on the official Canal Olímpico Paraguay channel, further expanding the way it presents athletes, coaches, sports officials and people involved in the development of the Olympic movement in that country to the public. According to the announcement by the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, the new format is conceived as a space in which the discussion is not only about results, medals and major competitions, but also about personal journeys, management processes, key decisions and the experiences behind sporting successes. The first episode was published at the beginning of June 2026 on the committee's official YouTube channel, and Camilo Pérez López Moreira, president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, member of the International Olympic Committee and honorary president of the South American Sports Organization, was presented as the opening guest. This positioned COPCAST from the outset as a project that seeks to connect institutional communication, sporting memory and broader public interest in the development of Paraguayan sport. At a time when Paraguay is increasingly acting as the host of major sporting events, the new programme shows that Olympic committees are relying more and more on their own digital channels.
The first episode with the man who marked the institutional rise of the COP
In the first episode of COPCAST, host Kike Enciso talks with Camilo Pérez López Moreira about his beginnings, family environment, entry into sports administration and the experiences that shaped his career. According to the official announcement of the series, the conversation offers a look at the path that led to a stronger international position for Paraguayan sport, but also at the practical challenges of building and managing sports infrastructure. Pérez has been president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee since 2011, and according to the profile published on the websites of the COP and the International Olympic Committee, he has held a number of positions in international sports structures connected with tennis, Panam Sports, ODESUR and the International Olympic Committee. That is precisely why the choice of the first guest has clear symbolism: the new platform does not begin with an individual competitive success, but with a story of institutional development. Such an approach presents sport as a system that includes infrastructure, management, financing, international relations and long-term planning.
According to the official description of the episode, Pérez also talks in the conversation about the development of the Paraguayan Olympic Park, a venue that over the years has established itself as one of the centres of major sporting, cultural and business events in the country. In its announcements, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee points out that this complex has become a reference point for the organisation of competitions and gatherings in Luque, near Asunción. This infrastructure has special significance because it enabled the staging of larger international sports programmes, including competitions connected with ASU2025, the second Junior Pan American Games. In that context, COPCAST is not only a media addition to the committee's existing work, but also a tool through which an attempt is made to explain how a sports system is built in a country that wants to be more visible on the continental and Olympic stage. The series can therefore have documentary value if it continues to record the experiences of actors who usually remain outside the centre of public attention.
Sport beyond results and medals
The Paraguayan Olympic Committee presents COPCAST as a space in which the audience will be able to get to know life stories, management processes, important moments, lessons learned and perspectives that help to understand what happens behind every sporting achievement. Such a description points to a broader communication shift: instead of brief announcements about results and protocol events, the institution wants to create content that presents sport as a long-term process. This is especially important for Olympic sports that in many countries do not have constant media visibility, even though they require serious investment in training, equipment, expert staff and international competitions. The interview format can open up space for explaining precisely those parts of sporting work, from the preparation of young athletes to the organisation of major events. If developed consistently, COPCAST can become an archive of contemporary Paraguayan sport, but also a communication channel through which the Olympic movement is brought closer to younger generations.
The launch of such a platform comes in a period in which sports organisations around the world are competing for the attention of audiences on digital channels. Official channels are no longer only places for publishing press releases, but also for creating their own programmes, documentary formats, broadcasts and educational content. In this way, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee is joining a trend in which sports institutions take on the role of publishers and producers, trying to control the narrative about their own projects and reach athletes, fans, partners and potential sponsors directly. The long-term value of the format will depend on how much space different voices receive, including athletes, coaches, experts and organisers.
Paraguayan Olympic Park as a symbol of the expansion of the sports system
One of the key topics of the first episode, according to the COP announcement, is the Paraguayan Olympic Park and the challenges that accompanied its development. In recent years, the complex in Luque has become much more than the administrative headquarters of the Olympic movement: official and tourism announcements describe it as a place for the development of high-performance sport, training, national and international competitions and larger public events. In the Paraguayan case, the park is also linked to the ambition for the country to position itself as a host of continental and international events, which requires sports facilities, logistics, accommodation capacities, transport connectivity and organisational experience. Although COPCAST is not an infrastructure project, the first episode clearly connects it with the story of the physical space in which a large part of contemporary Paraguayan sporting development takes place.
The broader context of this development is visible in the organisation of the ASU2025 Junior Pan American Games. According to the official website of the games, the competition was held from 9 to 23 August 2025 in Asunción and brought together representatives of 41 countries in 28 sports. Such an event is important not only because of sporting results, but also because of the testing of the host's organisational abilities, the use of sports facilities and the creation of experience that can serve future bids and competitions. In its announcements, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee presented ASU2025 as an opportunity to strengthen the sports ecosystem and encourage wider interest in sport among young people. In that sense, COPCAST comes after a period in which Paraguayan sport gained greater continental visibility. The new programme can help ensure that this visibility does not remain limited only to the duration of major competitions, but is turned into continuous coverage of the people, institutions and processes that made such events possible.
Camilo Pérez between Olympic leadership and public life
The role of Camilo Pérez López Moreira in the first episode is particularly interesting because his sporting career in recent months has overlapped with a new public and political phase. In the announcement of the conversation, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee states that the interview also deals with his entry into politics. According to reports by Paraguayan media published on 7 and 8 June 2026, after party elections Pérez became the candidate of the Asociación Nacional Republicana, also known as the Partido Colorado, for mayor of Asunción in the general local elections planned for October 2026. This fact gives the first episode an additional public dimension, because the conversation does not relate only to sporting history and management experience, but also to the transition of a sports official into electoral politics. It is important here to separate two levels: COPCAST is an official project of the Olympic committee, while the political engagement of its first guest is a separate topic that should be followed through Paraguay's electoral and institutional frameworks.
Pérez's international sporting status is also confirmed by official sources. The International Olympic Committee states that he has been an IOC member since 2018, while ODESUR announced in April 2026 that, after his resignation from the position of president of that organisation, he had been appointed honorary president. On its website, the COP also highlights his duties in sports organisations, including the period at the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. These functions explain why he was chosen to open a series that wants to speak about the development of sport from the inside. At the same time, the fact that he is in a political race requires caution in the way institutional content is interpreted. It is relevant for the public to know that this is a person with great influence in the sports system, but also an actor who has entered the political space, so future episodes and the COP's communication can also be viewed through the question of institutional neutrality.
Digital channels as the new place of Olympic storytelling
COPCAST shows how Olympic committees are adapting to a media environment in which audiences follow institutional announcements less and less through traditional channels, and increasingly through video platforms, social networks and formats close to podcasts. The name of the series points to a conversational format, but the first episode published on the official YouTube channel confirms that it is audiovisual content intended for a wider digital audience. Such an approach can be important for sports that do not have daily television presence, because it enables them to build their own space for presenting athletes, history, training processes and institutional decisions. For the Olympic movement, this is particularly useful because its key events have strong peaks during major competitions, but between them there is a need for constant explanation of the work that takes place far from the headlines. COPCAST can therefore serve as a bridge between major events and everyday sporting work.
Such a format can also change the way the public understands sports administration. Sporting successes are often reduced to individual results, while less is said about administrative negotiations, the construction of facilities, bids for hosting events, work with federations, coach education, health and scientific support for athletes and financial planning. If COPCAST opens space for these topics, it could contribute to greater transparency and a better understanding of the system behind Olympic sport in Paraguay. At the same time, the interview format has limitations because it depends on the choice of guests, the questions and the editorial approach. Its credibility will grow if it includes different perspectives and if stories of success are accompanied by discussion of challenges, from sports financing to the development of the base of young athletes.
ASU2025 and the wider wave of sports projects
The launch of COPCAST should also be viewed in light of the events that have made Paraguay more visible on the sporting map of the Americas in recent years. The official ASU2025 website states that the second Junior Pan American Games brought together 41 countries and covered 28 sports, while organisers and sports institutions stressed that it was a project leaving an infrastructural and organisational mark. In March 2026, the Paraguayan Olympic Committee also organised COP Expo 2026 in the Paraguayan Olympic Park, presenting sport as an area of development, investment and legacy. These examples show that the COP is trying to profile itself not only as a national sports institution, but also as an event organiser, infrastructure manager and communication actor. Within that framework, its own interview series is a logical continuation of efforts to present sports projects as part of a broader development strategy.
According to the COP's official announcements, in the public presentation of its projects concepts such as development, legacy and modernisation are often emphasised. COPCAST can help ensure that these concepts do not remain at the level of slogans, but are explained through concrete conversations about decisions, deadlines, financial and organisational challenges and results. For readers outside Paraguay, the series is also interesting as an example of how a smaller sports market is trying to create its own media space. Instead of depending only on reporting by other media during major events, the Olympic committee is now producing content that remains available even after competitions end.
What COPCAST can mean for Paraguayan sport
The greatest potential of COPCAST lies in the possibility of offering athletes and experts a longer format for explaining careers, successes and obstacles. In sports that do not have constant media coverage, such conversations can help the public better understand how long the path is from local training to international competition. The series can also be useful for sports federations because it gives them space to present programmes, needs and long-term goals, especially if guests from different disciplines are selected. According to the COP announcement, bringing such stories closer is precisely one of the goals of the new platform.
However, the success of COPCAST will not depend only on the first guest or the initial attention. It will be important whether the series has a regular publication rhythm, a clear editorial concept and the ability to maintain journalistic and documentary value within an institutional framework. If the programme remains only at the level of affirmative conversations with officials, its reach could be limited to the existing sports audience. If, however, it opens space for athletes, coaches, volunteers, organisers, doctors, scientific associates and representatives of local communities, it can become a relevant record of the development of sport in Paraguay. The launch of COPCAST is therefore more than the announcement of a new programme: it shows that the Paraguayan Olympic Committee wants to tell, in its own voice, the story of sport in a country that is increasingly seeking a place in the regional and international Olympic space.
Sources:
- Comité Olímpico Paraguayo – official announcement of the COPCAST series and description of the first episode with Camilo Pérez López Moreira (link)
- Comité Olímpico Paraguayo / YouTube – first episode of COPCAST on the official Canal Olímpico Paraguay channel (link)
- Comité Olímpico Paraguayo – official profile of the COP president and overview of the sports duties of Camilo Pérez López Moreira (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official profile of Camilo Pérez López Moreira as an IOC member (link)
- ODESUR – announcement on the appointment of Camilo Pérez López Moreira as honorary president of the organisation (link)
- ASU2025 – official website of the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, data on dates, countries and sports (link)
- Comité Olímpico Paraguayo – announcement on COP Expo 2026 and the presentation of sport as an area of development, investment and legacy (link)
- La Nación Paraguay – report on Camilo Pérez's political candidacy after party elections in Asunción (link)