Mérida, Yucatán will host the IV Copa del Mundo de Futsal Down from September 13 to 20, 2026, marking the first time Mexico has organized the international tournament for athletes with trisomy 21. According to announcements from the Instituto del Deporte de Yucatán (IDEY) and the Comité Paralímpico Mexicano (COPAME), the competition will take place at the Multigimnasio “Socorro Cerón Herrera” within the Complejo Deportivo Kukulcán, bringing together six national delegations and approximately 120 players aged 16 to 40.
Official Presentation and Institutional Support
The tournament was officially presented during a joint press conference led by IDEY director Armín Lizama Córdova and COPAME logistics coordinator Lorena Corro Valencia. Organizers confirmed that the event is a collaborative effort between the Government of the State of Yucatán and the Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte (Conade), with additional backing from the Federación Mexicana de Deportistas Especiales (Femede).
Corro Valencia stated that expanding competitive opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities generates a lasting positive impact across the country by creating structured pathways for high-performance sports development. Lizama Córdova emphasized the universal nature of the competition during the press launch, noting that sport transcends physical and intellectual boundaries.
“El deporte no mide fronteras, no mide niveles sociales, ni tampoco intelectuales, y tampoco capacidades porque el deporte es mundial. El deporte es universal y es para todos,” Lizama Córdova said during the presentation.
Tournament Format and Participating Nations
Squad sizes range between 12 and 18 players per delegation, establishing a total participant pool of roughly 120 athletes. Matches will run across morning and afternoon sessions at the Socorro Cerón Herrera gymnasium.
Brazil enters the competition as the reigning champion, holding the title from the 2019 tournament in Brazil and the 2022 edition in Peru. The inaugural tournament took place in Portugal in 2017, where Italy claimed the championship trophy. This year’s event also aligns with Yucatán’s broader “Mundial Social” initiative under the Renacimiento Maya strategy, which aims to bring sports programming directly into local communities.
Host Nation Preparation
To prepare for its role as the host nation, the Mexican national selection completed rigorous training camps at the Centro Paralímpico Mexicano (Cepamex) in Mexico City. The squad is managed by head coach Rubén Rodríguez alongside trainer Yanei Medina Iglesias. The roster features regional standouts including Frederick Flores Martínez and Cristofer Galindo Núñez from Baja California, alongside Éder Joseph Liévano Castro and Carlos Alfredo Velasco Abarca from Chiapas.
Local officials attending the opening announcements included Maury Zayuri Valle Valencia, director of the Centro Estatal de Prevención Social del Delito y Participación Ciudadana (Cepredey); Lidieth Denis Alcocer, representing the Sistema DIF Yucatán and the Centro de Rehabilitación y Educación Especial; and David Carrillo Baranda, head of high performance at IDEY.
Schedule and Public Access
IDEY officials confirmed that daily match schedules and official game rotations will be published through the state sports institute’s digital platforms. Organizers have encouraged local spectators to fill the stands at the Complejo Deportivo Kukulcán to support all visiting and home delegations throughout the week-long event.
“Queremos que la gente nos acompañe, venga a verlo, esto se va a desarrollar en el gimnasio del Socorro Cerón de la Unidad Deportiva Kukulcán,” Lizama Córdova stated, inviting families and sports fans to attend the matches.
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