DILI, 16 february 2024 (TATOLI) – Timor-Leste will host the 12th edition of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) Games next year. To this end, a team from the CPLP is coming to Timor-Leste to inspect the current conditions of the sports infrastructure.
“The Director General of Sport for the CPLP Games, accompanied by five technical professionals are coming to the country in april to inspect our sports infrastructure and check the hotel offer for the CPLP Sports Games,” the Minister of Youth, Sport, Art and Culture, Nélio Isac Sarmento, told Tatoli, in Dili.
Isac said that the ministry is building a football pitch in Becora and plans to make improvements to the municipal stadium and gymnasium in Dili.
He said that the event is scheduled to take place between 17 and 27 july 2025, with around a thousand athletes from the CPLP expected to take part.
It should be remembered that the Council of Ministers had decided to postpone the event to 2024, initially planned for 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It should also be remembered that, before the decision to postpone the competition to 2025, Timor-Leste and Portugal had signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at “consolidating cooperation in the area of sport and youth”. This memorandum was signed by the Portuguese Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, João Paulo Correia, and the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Abrão Saldanha.
In addition, the Portuguese government promoted and supported the participation of young athletes and coaches in training.
The CPLP Games are a multi-sport event involving all the member states of the organization. Although the concept is similar to that of the Lusophone Games, only athletes under the age of 16 are allowed to take part in this competition. The competition aims to strengthen solidarity between the citizens of the participating countries.
The CPLP Games would cover a range of sports, including handball, athletics, athletics for the disabled, basketball, football, tennis, and beach volleyball.
The modalities that compose the Games are handball, athletics, basketball, soccer, tennis, beach volleyball, and adapted sport, amongst others. The competition is destined for youngsters with ages up to 16 years old. For the Special Olympics, the organization extends the age limit up to 20 years old. These will be an intensive 10 days of Games, with competitions starting at 8 am and finishing at 7 pm, with only one day of rest. Still, there are programmed cultural nights dedicated to each of the participating countries. Timor-Leste’s cultural nights will be on the 5th of august, the second night before the event closure.
The competition, which began in 1992, was first held in Portugal.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
