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The Cuban duo of beach volleyball Noslén Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo, ranked among the top ten in the world, decided to leave the INDER structure after accumulating a debt of over 107,000 dollars in international awards that, according to specialized reports, have still not been delivered to them.
The breakup once again highlights the tensions between high-performance athletes and state sports institutions, which control contracts and the management of awards, while the Cuban Volleyball Federation and INDER remain silent on the matter, according to Martí Noticias.
The debt would amount to $107,000, according to reports circulated by the specialized page CubanSp1ke. The funds do not come from the state budget, but from the prizes awarded in international tournaments in which the duo has competed in recent months.
An Announced Breakup
The first to request resignation was Jorge Luis Alayo. In January, Díaz explained to the independent media El Toque that his colleague had already decided not to continue under the official structure of Cuban sports.
"I haven't requested a resignation; I want to keep playing (...) the delay with the payment is for a payment we are still awaiting, and I know they will make it because that's happened before. Alayo has already decided not to play anymore and is in the process of resigning," Díaz, 23, stated.
However, just a month later, Díaz himself also decided to sever ties with the state organization, confirming the definitive break of the duo with the state-controlled sports system.
Historical results
The departure comes at the most competitive moment for the pair. Díaz and Alayo finished ninth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a notable result for Cuban beach volleyball.
In 2024, they won gold at the Russian Super Cup, along with two silver medals, one bronze, and a fourth-place finish in five tournaments of the World Tour Pro. They also won the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in Quintana Roo, Mexico, and finished ninth in the World Championship held in Australia.
These accomplishments include the gold medal won at the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games, the only gold medal for Cuba in that discipline.
A recurring pattern
The case highlights once again the tensions between high-performance athletes and Cuban sports institutions, which directly manage international contracts and handle the cash prizes generated by the athletes.
For years, numerous athletes have reported delays in payments, a lack of transparency in revenue distribution, and restrictions on negotiating independent contracts. In many cases, these frictions have resulted in requests for release or in a permanent exit from the country.
So far, it is unknown whether Díaz and Alayo will seek to compete under another federation or explore professional contracts outside the control of INDER.
What is clear is that the breakup of the most successful duo in Cuban beach volleyball marks a new chapter in the structural crisis of the sport on the Island, where even the most internationally well-positioned athletes face economic conflicts with the authorities managing their careers.
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