San Juan

San Juan made sport a matter of state policy, and the figures bear it out: according to the provincial government itself, eight in ten San Juan residents practise some physical activity, the highest per-capita rate in Argentina, in an Andean, dry-climate province in the west of the country. Capital of the province of the same name, in the Cuyo region, the city declared sport a state policy in 2015 and has since strung together intensive infrastructure building. That commitment, and not the size of its urban core, is what defines San Juan today.

Its sporting record is that of a host of major events. The Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, seating 25,000 and opened in 2011, has hosted 2011 Copa América matches, Copa Argentina finals and 2023 U-20 World Cup games. La Vuelta a San Juan, a UCI ProSeries cycling race, has drawn Tour de France stars such as Peter Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel and Fernando Gaviria. To these add the modern Velódromo Vicente Alejo Chancay, opened in 2023 as a UCI satellite centre, and the San Juan Villicum circuit, 4,266 metres long, which in 2018 hosted the first Superbike World Championship round held in South America.

In 2024, ACES América named San Juan American Capital of Sport, its highest-ranking title. The recognition heads the Argentine presence in the network: it was the country's first title, ahead of Vicente López, American City of Sport 2026, and Buenos Aires, designated World Capital of Sport 2027. For a province that thinks of itself through sport, the title confirms an identity already built.