Lusofonia Games

Lusofonia Games
StatusActive
GenreSports event
FrequencyQuadrennially (planned)
Location(s)Varies
Inaugurated2006 (2006)
Most recent2014
Organized byACOLOP

The Lusofonia Games (Portuguese: Jogos da Lusofonia) was a multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP, which involves athletes coming from Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) countries. Most countries competing are members of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), some with significant Portuguese communities or history with Portugal.[1]. Participating countries are founding members Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (Chinese SAR), Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, and associate members India, Equatorial Guinea, and Sri Lanka. In addition, Ghana, Flores (an island of Indonesia), Mauritius and Morocco have also expressed the desire to participate in future events.[2]

This event is similar in concept to the Commonwealth Games (for members of the Commonwealth of Nations) and the Jeux de la Francophonie (for the Francophone community).

Editions

Year Edition Date Host country Host city Champions Athletes (nations)
2006 I 7–15 October  Macau Macau Brazil Brazil (57 medals) 733 (11)
2009 II 11–19 July  Portugal Lisbon Brazil Brazil (76 medals) 1300 (12)
2014 III 18–29 January  India Goa[3] India India (92 medals) 7000 (12)
2017 IV  Mozambique Maputo — Cancelled
2021 V  Angola Luanda — Competition Discontinued

The 2017 Games were awarded to Mozambique. However, as of November 2017, they had not taken place. A delegation from CPLP met with officials in São Tomé and Príncipe about holding the Games there in July 2018.[4] There are currently no plans for any future edition.

Inaugural edition

Participating countries (purple) and host city (yellow square) of the 1st Lusofonia Games.
Main article: 2006 Lusofonia Games

The 1st Lusofonia Games were hosted by Macau, from 7 to 15 October 2006, comprising 733 athletes from 11 countries (Equatorial Guinea did not field any athletes), some of which are international sports stars.

In competition were a total of 48 events distributed between 8 sports: athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, football, futsal, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball. Portugal and Brazil were the top medal collectors of the Games, managing to grab 85% of the titles. These two countries acquired 71% of the total medals of the Games. All delegations won medals.

List of countries/territories

Countries that have participated

All-time medal table

Lusophony Games medal count[5]
Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Brazil 64 43 32 139
2  Portugal 55 72 48 175
3  India 38 29 35 102
4  Macau 16 15 33 64
5  Sri Lanka 10 13 18 41
6  Angola 9 12 25 46
7  Mozambique 8 7 10 25
8  Cape Verde 3 8 16 27
9  Guinea-Bissau 2 1 1 4
10  São Tomé and Príncipe 1 3 7 11
11 Timor-Leste East Timor 0 0 2 2
12  Equatorial Guinea 0 0 0 0
Total 206 203 227 636

Sports

Football match: India vs Mozambique, during the 2014 Lusophony Games at Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco da Gama, India.

So far there are not any regulations concerning the list of sports that should be included in the Games schedule. The sports chosen for the 1st edition were discussed and deliberated by the ACOLOP's members on general assembly, but without any principle of future 'core' and 'rotating' sports from a list of approved ones.

However, on 14 October 2006, the president of the organizing committee for the 2009 Lusophony Games, José Vicente de Moura, mentioned the possibility of the ACOLOP proposing four or five core sports to be included on every future edition, plus the prerogative for the host country to propose three of four more to a maximum of nine sports. In 2009 edition (Lisbon) 1500 athletes participated from 12 countries. In the football tournament five U-20 national teams competed.[6] The sport marked with an asterisk (*) means that it was a demonstration event.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lusophony Games". www.topendsports.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Jogos da Lusofonia – Portugal e Índia são valor acrescentado" (in Portuguese). A União – Jornal Online. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007.
  3. ^ "Lusofonia Games postponed on account of incomplete infrastructure". The Hindu. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  4. ^ "CPLP engajada com Jogos em São Tomé e Príncipe". A Nação (Cape Verde). 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Lusofonia Games 2014". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Lisboa 2009 Football tournament" (in Spanish). Periodismo de fútbol internacional.