Government of Timor-Leste

Young Timorese athletes participate in the seventh edition of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (Portuguese acronym: CPLP) Games, which takes place between the 29^th July and the 7^th August, at the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

Timor-Leste participates in two modalities, as José Luís de Pádua Oliveira, General Director for the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sport, explains: “we participate in Tennis and athletics, with three athletes for each modality: in Tennis we have three male participants and in athletics three feminine participants”. They are six Timorese athletes amongst the five hundred that come from the eight countries that compose the Community: Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste.

The modalities that compose the Games are handball, athletics, basketball, soccer, tennis, beach volleyball, 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 the 5^th of August, the second night before the event closure.