ACOLOP

ACOLOP (acronym for Associação dos Comités Olímpicos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa; English: Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees), is an Olympic-related non-profit organisation officially established on June 8, 2004, in Lisbon. It was founded by the national Olympic committees (NOCs) of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (Chinese SAR), Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe; it also includes Equatorial Guinea as an associate member. On April 2006, India (represented by the Goa Olympic Association) and Sri Lanka were admitted also as associate members, based on their common historical past with Portugal.

The Portuguese-speaking countries are spread through four continents and reach a total population of about 250 million people. Portuguese thus occupies a place among the most spoken languages in the world. The purpose of reinforcing the bonds between these nations and promoting unity and cooperation through sport was the main reason for ACOLOP's creation.

The goals which guide this organisation are:

At the 8th general assembly, in Macau (February 2, 2007), the president Manuel Silvério stated the intention of campaigning for the elevation of Portuguese language to official status inside the IOC and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) structures. On the agenda is also the creation of a "Lusophone Olympic Academy", institution of a "International Lusophony Day", promotion of an annual football tournament and also an annual sporting awards gala.

...
Wikipedia