Panaji, Jan 18 (IANS): Over 800 athletes from 12 Portuguese-speaking countries will be slugging it out for glory at the Lusofonia Games, which will begin in Goa Saturday.

The 12-day sporting event of the Portuguese Commonwealth will feature countries like Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Goa (India), Macau (China), Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Sri Lanka.

The athletes will compete in nine sporting disciplines like Athletics, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Football, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball and Wushu.

The enthusiasm vis-a-vis the Games has dampened a bit after Portugal and Brazil failed to send across their respective football teams to Goa, a state known for its passion for football.

The Lusofonia Games will be held across five venues, some of which have been built from scratch, while two have been renovated at the cost of over Rs.250 crore.

The Lusofonia Games 2014 are the third edition of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games. The first two were held in Macau in 2006 and in Lisbon in 2009.