LUSOFONIA GAMES: BRAZIL'S SELF GOAL

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• published: 15 Jan 2014
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The much-hyped Lusofonia Games is set to take off this weekend. But even before the first athlete takes to the field, the 12-nation event has suffered a body blow with Brazil all but confirming that it will not field its Football team. Ditto with another of football's global giants -- Portugal. Games CEO, Keshav Chandra's explanation on Monday that Brazil will be sending their football team, but it is not yet confirmed, didn't cut much ice. Clearly, the absence of Brazil and Portugal in the football discipline has robbed the Games of a large chunk of its glamour quotient. The organisers meanwhile have decided to be flexible on the cut-off date for name-wise entries and are open to accept participation even at the eleventh hour, Keshav Chandra said. This, in a way has turned the event into an organisational nightmare in terms of making sure transport, accomodation, practice facilities and other logistics are put in place. Meanwhile, the Goa Police will supervise all security arrangements and have got their strength buttressed with the arrival of 6 CRPF companies to assist them. DIG O P Mishra said, expertise from police forces of the neighbouring states will also be employed including anti-sabotage check teams from Karnataka police. Meanwhile to lighten the burden on citizens living in the vicinity of the various stadiums that will be hosting the games, 24-hour access passes will be issued to them, Mishra said. Irrespective of the event's success or otherwise, one cannot ignore the silver lining in the form of world class sports infrastructure that the state government has managed to put in place in record time. The athletic stadium at Bambolim, the indoor stadium for Basketball and Football at the Goa University campus, the multi-discipline Peddem Sports Complex and the renovation of the Nehru stadium at Fatorda will be a major boost to Goa's sports fraternity. It's another question whether these facilities will be maintained in a manner they ought to be. Past experiences with sports facilities in the state have left much to be desired but hopefully Keshav Chandra and other top honchos in Goa's sports administration will put down their heads to this quintessential responsibility so that the benefits of the whopping Rs 200-crore plus investment is reaped by future generations of Goan sportsmen and sportswomen.