The National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) announced this Thursday on its social networks that Cuban athletes residing abroad and without ties to the national sports movement will not have to repatriate to compete in events that take place on the island nor to represent the country in international events.
“Once the necessary steps have been completed, we inform that repatriation is no longer a requirement for Cubans residing abroad to participate in national events organized by INDER,” the governing body for sports in Cuba specified through its Twitter account.
Concretados los pasos necesarios, informamos que la repatriación deja de ser una exigencia para que cubanos residentes en el exterior intervengan en los eventos nacionales organizados por #InderCuba. pic.twitter.com/iLdvvtGpTn
— INDER (@InderCuba) June 29, 2023
The Jit digital site, INDER’s official portal, specified that “the measure is part of the efforts to use of all the talent formed by the revolutionary sport, both to shine in the domestic competitions and the teams of the four glorious letters.”
The publication itself acknowledges that the biggest debates on this issue have arisen in baseball, although the decision will also “impact other sports and disciplines.”
In the same way, they explained that now “it will be up to the different national commissions to update the regulations of their competitions so that this decision takes effect immediately.”
“I’m not going to repatriate to play with Industriales. One thing has nothing to do with the other. I can play with Industriales without any problem. I play in my National Series and I go home to my family,” Yasmany Tomás told journalists Melissa Blanco and Alejandro Rodríguez during an interview in early May.
This position, clearly, went against the Rules of the 62nd National Series, which stipulates: “players hired in a personal capacity abroad, who have not abandoned delegations or contracts by the FCB (Cuban Baseball Federation), may be authorized to play on any date, once the immigration process has been completed and prior request from the province and approval from the CNB.”
Clearly, Tomás met all the requirements to return to the domestic classics, except for the immigration process, so his approval to join Industriales never came. Now the scenario has changed and the former major leaguer could join the blue ranks for the postseason of the 62nd Series.
There are several players who have had to repatriate to play again in Cuba. The cases of Erisbel Arruebarrena and Roberto Baldoquín have been the most notorious in recent times. However, the island’s sports authorities summoned several players for the 5th World Classic who did not have to meet that immigration requirement to wear the four-letter shirt.
