CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Sports: the people's right

The guarantee of the enjoyment of sports as a right of all Cuban citizens is one of the Cuban Revolution's most significant achievements in the field of human rights.

Sports and physical education have been made widely available to the entire population, largely through the work of 36,775 specialized instructors. This breaks down to one physical education instructor for every 83 inhabitants, as compared to one for every 10,000 in 1959.

The concept of sports as the people's right has been made a reality in the country's 169 municipalities, where all citizens have the opportunity to participate in sports activities at no cost. Cuba is the only country in the world with specialized physical education instructors for grades one to four.

The sports and physical education system includes a university-level School of Physical Education in every province, a national Institute of Physical Education, numerous junior college-level schools for physical education instructors, and the International School of Physical Education and Sports.

The International School of Physical Education and Sports, a concrete reflection of Cuba's selfless solidarity with the peoples of the Third World, was founded in 2001. There are currently 1,372 young people from 72 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean enrolled in this center of higher learning.

Over the last 10 years, more than 10,000 Cuban sports specialists have provided their services in 97 countries. At the Sydney Olympic Games, to offer just one example, there were 36 Cuban trainers working with teams from other countries.

Cuba has come to occupy a high standing internationally, with outstanding performances at the Olympics and in international and regional championships. It is worth mentioning that during the 1990s, Cuba maintained a spot among the top ten countries in the Olympic Games. These results have placed Cuba among the 30 countries that have won the most Olympic medals per inhabitant in the entire history of the Olympics.

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