Playa del Carmen’s Sports Strategy for Peace and Development

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Sports have become a central public policy in Playa del Carmen. This was reaffirmed by Mayor Estefanía Mercado, who led a press conference where new reinforcements for Club Inter Playa del Carmen were presented and an ambitious sports agenda for 2026 with international-caliber events was confirmed.

During her remarks, the mayor emphasized that sports are not just about competition, but a strategic tool for building peace, preventing violence, and fostering social development by offering positive alternatives for children and youth, as well as reclaiming community spaces.

Infrastructure and Results

Estefanía Mercado reported that Playa del Carmen currently has 164 active sports facilities, including 17 synthetic turf soccer fields and pitches, enabling permanent sports activity and benefiting over 20,000 people each week.

Regarding high performance, she highlighted that the municipality ranked first in the state at the 2025 National Olympics, winning 82 medals, equivalent to over 34% of the state’s total. In the National Paralympics, Playa del Carmen athletes also secured gold and silver medals.

“This 2026 is a World Cup year and Playa del Carmen is preparing to be up to the task. Today we are a destination considered by several national teams thanks to our infrastructure, hotel capacity, and historic investment in security,” stated the mayor.

2026 Sports Agenda

The General Director of the Municipal Sports Institute, Alberto López, announced that Playa del Carmen will host a state-level phase of the National Olympics in skating for the first time, to be held at the Juan Pastor León Skating Rink, with an eye toward hosting a Pan-American championship in the discipline.

He also confirmed a 2026 agenda that includes:

• The return of the World Volleyball Championship
• A stop on the World Padel Tour
• High-impact international sporting events
• The “Mundialito en tu Colonia” tournament, focused on community sports

Regarding infrastructure, it was detailed that during the current administration, over 2,200 maintenance actions have been carried out, compared to 300 in the last year of the previous government, in addition to the comprehensive rehabilitation of the municipal Olympic swimming pool.

Currently, training centers have 38 instructors, the sports offering has grown from 19 to 24 disciplines, and the Prosperidad Deportiva program operates with 23 instructors, bringing free sports to neighborhoods and communities. The creation of a municipal high-performance scholarship for medal-winning athletes was also announced.

Inter Playa: Reinforcements and Projection

During the event, Estefanía Mercado presented the new reinforcements for Inter Playa del Carmen:

• Reily Antuan Arroyo Palma, goalkeeper (1.94 m), trained at Club América
• Isaac León Palacios, central defender (1.90 m), with experience at Juárez and Zacatepec
• Miguel Ángel Guzmán Plancarte, offensive midfielder (1.82 m), trained at Chivas

The club’s president, Patricia Fajardo, reported that in the 2025–2026 Premier League, Inter Playa has five victories, is in sixth place overall with 19 points, and has integrated 12 local players into the first team. In the TDP League, the team is in third place in Group 1 with a squad composed of 90% local talent.

Head coach José Luis Trejo acknowledged the institutional support for the sports project, while padel promoters confirmed that on September 24, Playa del Carmen will host the Pro Pádel League, with teams from Spain, the United States, and Mexico.

In Playa del Carmen, sports have ceased to be an accessory: today they are a policy of peace, development, and future. That is the point.