Mary Saleh and Bushra Shhadah live the dream with an invitation from Sporting CP and the Sporting Foundation

Tuesday was a day to remember for the two Syrian students, Mary Saleh and Bushra Shhadah, who studying Sports Events Management and Organisation. The pair travel to Europe every two months and on one such visit they met Sporting CP's Sílvia Saiote.

The coordinator of Sporting CP's Olympic department explained how the visit to Alvalade came about: "The opportunity came through Sporting CP and the club's foundation took on the project. Mary Saleh and Bushra Shhadah are studying as part of a project that I am also involved in, called the “Tasem Program”. It is really hard to get visa in Syria, but fortunately they came to Europe and we were able to take advantage of one of their study visits for them to travel from Rome to Lisbon to watch Sporting CP play Paços de Ferreira.”

“Our intention was to fulfill a dream that the two girls had. As part of our course i showed them some photographs of the club and they were fascinated. They said straight away it would be great to come and see the stadium. They didn't ask me for anything at all and the opportunity came after taking with Celine Cepa, José Quintela and Rui Caeiro. Throughout this week they will try trampolining, take part in the ladies' football training and a load of other activities linked to Sporting CP. This club is an example in not only the sports world, but in society in general."

Sporting Foundation director Celine Cepa also shared her thoughts on the experience: "It will be an unforgettable experience for them. Sporting CP is about much more than football. It is a group of people, feelings, values and sports and I think the two girls will see that. They have visited our facilities and they will also have the chance to try out a few sports. At the end of the week I am sure they will want to come back."

Mary Saleh played football from 2004 to 2011 and she was keen to share her opinion of the initiative: "We met Sílvia Saiote in the Tasem Program. A few weeks ago she surprised us and invited with an invitation from Sporting CP to visit Lisbon and the club. When Sílvia we couldn't believe it. I phoned my family straight away to tell them, it was incredible. Today we visited the museum, the stadium, I honestly don't know what to say. Sporting CP is one of the top clubs in Europe and have seen some of the players and I know about players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo. It is going to be an incredible week. We will try some sports and live the dream."

Bushra Shhadah, who is skilled with the bow and arrow, also spoke about the experience: "It is incredible to be here, I am living a dream. This club is huge and I am really grateful to Sílvia Saiote and the people who have made this possible. I can't explain how I feel right now, I am really happy. I never imagined it would be possible to be inside such a big stadium. This has been a great experience and this is still the first day."