CWG all set to be repeated for Lusofonia Games

As the old British colonies come together to compete on the sportsfield in the Commonwealth Games, the old Portuguese colonies do the same with the Lusofonia Games. As the Indian Olympic Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi tries to repair his tattered image, the Goa Olympic Committee chairman Subash Shirodkar seems to be following in his senior’s footsteps. Goa made her pitch to host the Lusofonia Games and was given the Games on a platter way back in 2009. Two years later a team was sent to check the progress of Goa’s preparations for the Games.

The 13-member Associacao dos Commites Olimpicos de Lingua official Portuguesa (ACOLOP) came, saw and were dismayed. A lot of work needs to be done to fix the infrastructure required between now and November 2013 when the Games are scheduled to begin. The ACOLOP President Vong Lao Lek of Macau was taken to various venues by a gung-ho government team and cautiously said that his team has reposed its trust in Goa Olympic Association and Sports Authority of Goa. He expected they would rise to the challenge and have the infrastructure ready by 2013.

That nothing was ready was patently clear. Neither Shirodkar nor V M Prabhudessai Director of SAG were sure about the number of venues which were required to be constructed or upgraded for the event. They were not too concerned either saying breezily, there’s still two years more till November 2011.

The Goa government is setting aside Rs 20 crore for the Games infrastructure, but they do not have the foggiest idea of what infrastructure is needed and how much it will cost.

The Government and SAG officials took them to Campal Indoor Stadium but it turned out that Subash Shirodkar is planning to build a huge volleyball stadium in his constituency of Shiroda and the Lusofania volleyball tournament will be held there – 30 km from Panjim.

The corruption surrounding the Commonwealth Games is known around the world and it was a matter of deep shame when Vong asked the media to keep alert and expose any graft around the Lusofonia Games. "We share a good relationship with (Goa Olympic Association chairman Subhash) Shirodkar. But we also trust in your eyes and ears to be vigilant so that these things do not happen," he said.

It could be construed as the cry of a desperate man. The events look like they will be spread over Panjim, Taleigao, Shiroda, Peddem and Margao.

Further, Digambar asked Sports Minister, Babu Azgaocar to personally monitor the progress to get the infrastructure ready in time. There will be many cooks contributing to the Lusofonia Games – Goa Government, GOA, SAG, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Associations, clubs and sportspersons “The Games do not cover many disciplines, just eight or nine. So, it will not be difficult for Goa to get ready and dressed up for hosting the big, international event,” said Babu Azgaonkar.

Time will tell when the technical delegates do their inspection of the facilities and approval comes from the International Federation.

The events that will be held will be athletics, football, volleyball, table-tennis, beach volley ball among other sporting events. Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (China), Mozambique, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe. Equatorial Guinea, India and Sri Lanka are associate members of the Games.