The Association of National Olympic Committees of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (ACOLOP), formed by 12 National Committees, has declared its support for Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Summer Olympic Games bid.
ACOLOP President Manuel Silverio said at the 12th General Assembly Saturday in Beijing that Rio’s bid will benefit the sports of all the Olympic Committees members of ACOLOP.
Carlos Arthur Nuzman, Brazilian Olympic Committee and Rio 2016 Bid Committee president, thanked the ACOLOP for its support and emphasized “the importance of the mobilization of all ACOLOP members around Rio 2016 as ambassadors of the candidacy”.
The members of ACOLOP include the National Olympic Committees of Angola, Brazil, Green Cape, Guinea-Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor; and as associates the Committees of India, Sri Lanka and Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, according to an ANOC XVI Assembly report, the Rio 2007 Pan American Games were praised because of their level of competition and doping congrol.
The report said “the quality of the competitions exceeded that of past editions, with 123 new Pan American records and 11 International Federations using the Rio 2007 Pan American Games as a qualifying event for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games”.
The report also highlighted Rio 2007’s opening and closing ceremonies, which it said “were turned into great popular celebratons, combining sports and culture with university values of the peoples of America”.
