Lusofonia Games Chef-de-Missions coming in August to inspect facilities

‘Rs 30 crore for opening and closing ceremonies uncalled for’
TEAM?HERALD
sports@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The designated Chef-de-Missions of the participating countries for the forthcoming 3rd Lusofonia Games to be held in Goa from November 2-10 will be inspecting the venues besides having a trial run in August so that the final green signal is given.
In order to remove doubts about the hosting of the Games in Goa since no infrastructure was in place, the ACOLOP general assembly had asked the LUGOC (Lusofonia Games Organising Committee) to invite the Chef-de-Missions of the participating countries – Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Macao (China), Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea and Sri Lanka – for a physical inspection to test the state of readiness to host the events as well as also to check on the organizational capabilities.
No doubt, work at all venues is well behind schedule and to make matters worse, the venue for hosting the table tennis event is yet to be finalized although initially the ACOLOP delegates were informed that it would be held at the new stadium being built at Peddem.
Goa Table Tennis Association president Vero Nunes informed V M Prabhudesai, DSYA director, who is heading the Working Committee that the move to shift table tennis from the proposed new stadium to old badminton hall at Peddem in Mapusa was not technically feasible and that at the most, it could be shifted to the indoor stadium at Campal provided some renovation work is undertaken.
Meanwhile, some State associations involved in fielding teams for the Games have impressed on the need to have more locals associated with the organization of their events, or else they observed that slowly an impression is gaining ground that the Goan organizers are being kept aside or deliberately ignored. “These Games ought to have given Goans working with the associations on honorary basis all these years, a chance to be part of the entire organization so that they could enhance their skills and capacities and at the same time feel proud they were directly involved in organising an international event. Moreover, it is sad that the officers of Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA) and even the SAG, who have been involved in organizing several sports events all these years and have vast experience and knowledge even at all-India level, have not been asked to be associated in organizational matters and several outsiders especially from New Delhi invited at the cost of the exchequer with provision for lodging and boarding besides several other facilities. Outsourcing is the name of the game now and this will come in the way of giving the games a typical Goan flavour,” remarked a sports official.
“Goa is poised to host the National Games in the near future and one wonders if the same persons, who are now involved with the organization would also continue with the employment till then. It was but natural that if the locals could be trained and allowed to gain necessary experience and expertise now organising an event of small magnitude, they could turn to be bigger assets in the future, thus empowering Goans for an inclusive growth. For that matter, one does now know what are the credentials and the specific role played by Sacheti and Saxena in organising the C’wealth Games, and the twosome have been appointed as advisors all the way from Delhi. And certainly the sum of Rs 30 crore for the opening and closing ceremonies seems to be astronomical. It ought to have been used for creating sports infrastructure, much more so when the Goa Olympic Association (GOA) had budgeted just Rs 2 crore for both,” commented an association official.