Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva hosted by Bruno de Carvalho

The Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, paid a visit to Estádio José Alvalade this week, as part of a delegation hosted by Sporting CP President Bruno de Carvalho, SAD administrator Guilherme Pinheiro and vice-president Carlos Vieira.

Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva explained how the opportunity came about: "This visit is the result of two things: firstly, I am a Sporting fan and wanted to come here. Secondly, I wanted to see Sporting CP from the inside. The club is massive in Portugal and in all Portuguese speaking countries. We are also here to look into developing a partnership with the club. We have been building up some solid relationships with other countries, particularly other Portuguese speaking countries and countries that have Portuguese speaking populations."

The Cape Verde leader also spoke about the proposed partnership with Sporting CP and some of the great Cape Verde names who have starred in Alvalade: "Sporting CP could be a good partner for our growth objectives in terms of sport in Cape Verde. We have two players in the Sporting CP squad right now and we have had others before, like Nani and Oceano. It is an honour for Cape Verde to be represented in this club."