The ‘Macao Football Youth Academy’, jointly founded by the Macao Sport Development Board and the Macao Football Association, and sponsored by the Macao Jockey Club, sent a group of elite athletes led by Mr. Pun Weng Kun, the Vice President of the Macao Sport Development Board, to Portugal for group training and exchange competition for a period of 15 days from 10th to 24th August. Through this opportunity, the athletes could have a deeper understanding about football and enhance their technical skills
Under the framework of the ‘Cooperation Agreement between the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Portuguese Republic on the Area of Sports’, sports departments in Macao and Portugal have respectively sent out a number of sports teams of track and field, swimming, football and cycling in recent years, in order to get ready for the major comprehensive sports events and international events through group training and exchange activities. It can further intensify the development of the sports industry in the two regions.
Under the arrangement of the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sports, this football training was held in a youth academy founded by Sporting Clube, a famous football club in Portugal. Training and exchange competitions with the local teams took place in the youth academy. Through these training activities, football players of Macao not only have gained competition experiences and enhanced personal football skills, but also have had the chance to learn from their counterparts and make a lot of new friends.
Moreover, during the visit, Mr. Pun Weng Kun, the Vice President of the Macao Sport Development Board, visited the sports department of Portugal and met with Mr. Augusto Baganha, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, exchanging ideas on exchange and training between the two regions.
