A group of elite athletes (U11 and U13) from the “Macao Football Youth Academy” were delegated to participate in the team training and exchange matches in Portugal from August 10th to 22nd, a total of 13 days. The exchange enables students to deepen their knowledge of football through a wide range of activities so as to enhance their techniques.

Under the framework of the “Cooperation Agreement between the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Portugal on the Area of Sports”, the football training took place in a youth academy founded by Sporting Clube – a well-known football club in Portugal – with the arrangement from the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports of Portugal. During the training, Football Youth Academy conducted quite a few exchange matches with the local team. After the training activities, athletes from Macao not only gained valuable experiences but also improved and enriched their overall skills and match experiences. The golden opportunity fostered the mutual learning between Macao and Portugal, while friendship of both places was tied as well.

The Macau Sport Development Board has always highly concerned about the development of youth sports training and aimed to improve and optimize the training system. Through intense training and system exchange, young athletes may enjoy more opportunities to learn and grow. The technical skills of the team were improved, and individual potentials were also developed.