Lusofonia Fever begins with BFI landing in Goa for squad selection

The thrill of the games is filling the air, with anticipation on a rise as the countdown to the sporting event of the year, Lusofonia Games 2014 begins! Hosted by Goa this year, the 12 day sporting carnival will be conducted in nine sporting discipline , namely-  Athletics, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Football, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball and Wushu. The games scheduled to be held next month are a platform for athletes to exhibit and hone their skills and rise to victory! It is for this purpose that Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is conducting selection trials to shortlist the National Basketball team.

Scott Fleming, coach of the national basketball team along with coaches Chansoria and Abdul Hamid Khan have been conducting trials and meeting with potential players who will constitute the national basketball team. The tryouts have proved to be satisfactory for the coaches as they expressed pleasure while looking out for prospective players.

The selected team players will further go on to compete at the 29th Federation Cup National Basketball Championship to be held in Mumbai early next month . According to Coach K.K Chansoria, “An intense discussion regarding the selection of the squad is the next step on our agenda. Seven girls and 21 boys tried out at the Goa stage for selection. “

Now we can say that Goa is all set for an enthralling tournament where coaches are taking delight in selecting the best squad for Lusofonia Games 2014.

So be the part of this exhilarating contest where talent will meet success!!!

Jojo the majestic Rooster makes a grand entry at Lusofonia Games 2014

If the glittering and dramatic evening of December 10 is any indication, the Lusofonia Games 2014 will surely light up the skies and the fortunes of athletes who participate in it.

The Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, and Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, Chef-de-Missions of the participating countries, ACOLOP members, state officials, sportspersons, and other dignitaries marked their presence at the event. Padmashree Milkha Singh and ace tennis star Sania Mirza also graced the evening with their presence.

Dynamic Jojo, the official games mascot represents everything essentially Goan, a positive attitude, panache and awareness of a global citizen, a fierce competitor with a true spirit of sportsmanship. The Rooster, as a physical representation is very popular in Goa; mostly found in molded clay form as water storage vessels, majestic statuettes on rooftops and on gateposts and its colourful cutouts are often paraded at carnivals, festivals, etc. Roosters even find a mention in popular Goan folk songs.

While unveiling the official torch of the Games, Padmashree Milka Singh felt extremely honored to be a part of the impressive launch event of the Lusofonia Games. Sania Mirza also appreciated Lusofonia Games by saying, such events are important as they provide a platform for Indian players to showcase their sporting talents in different disciplines and build sportsmanship and forge better relations with different countries.

Mr. Manohar Parrikar said “Goa is looking forward to the Lusofonia Games”. To this Mr. Ramesh Tawadkar, Sports Minister, Government of Goa added, “The Games are about passion and competitive spirit. Goa is gearing up to host this international sporting event on a grand scale next month. This is going to be best sporting event ever held in the state.”

The spectators at Lusofonia Games launch event were later treated to an extravagant series of performances that embodied the theme of the games, aptly titled, ‘Panchatattva’. Some of the performances included troupes led by Fr. Cardozo, Kalangan, Lalan Desai and Mahesh Gawade.  The splendid evening was hosted by Tisca Chopra, Charu Sharma and Siddhi Upadhye.

Music lit up the evening by the immaculate performance of  Goa’s best known female music artists, Sonia Shirsat and Lorna, as they came together on stage to perform the official multilingual Games song, composed by Goan musician Mukesh Ghatwal.

Now after a successful launch event of Mascot, we are anticipating for successful run of the games in January 2014!!

TRANSPORTATION NO HASSLE AT LUSOFONIA GAMES 2014

An enormous fleet of 400 cars/SUVs and 100 buses will be put into service during the Lusofonia Games for the benefit of athletes, technical officials, ACOLOP and LUGOG officials, media, volunteers and spectators.

Vehicles will be creatively branded in the hues of Lusofonia Games. Sporting the official logo and mascot, the well appointed and air conditioned vehicles will be made available for the transportation of players and officials.

Extensive arrangements have been made for ticketed spectators to be shuttled to the competition venues. Two central transport hubs, one each in north Goa (ground opposite ETDC near All India Radio (AIR) at Bambolim) and south Goa (open ground in front of Government Multipurpose Higher Secondary School, Borda) will facilitate the transportation for officials & players.

For spectators  delight dedicated shuttle services will be made available every half hour from Panjim and Margao KTC bus stands & the fleet of vehicles will include specially modified disability – friendly buses, cars, SUV, and mini buses.

So come and  support the much awaited Lusofonia Games without any transportation glitch!!!