Sporting CP's Academy School in Asia visits spiritual home

Estádio José Alvalade welcomed a special visit from the Singapore Sporting Academy School this week. the Sporting Academy project director, Pedro Morgado, hosted the group, led by Paulo Oliveira. The visit rounds off a stay at the Sporting Academy in Alcochete and a walk on the pitch during the weekend's win against Chaves.

During the visit Pedro Morgado spoke about the importance of the facility in the Far East: "It is really important for a number of reasons. It is our first academy in Asia and it is a region with a lot of potential, not just its terms of population but for developing the Sporting CP brand. Our main goal is to make sure Sporting CP is present in every corner of the globe and right now we are on four continents and all we are missing is Australia, where we hope to go soon. The opportunity to come and visit us is part of this project and it is really important for the people who work with us to come and see Alvalade and the Academy. We have travelled out to Singapore and given training, namely to Terry and Terrence who are two lads who really like Freestyle. Now they have come to visit us to see how things work here."

Paulo Oliveira also highlighted the importantance of the visit: "This is really fantastic and is a dream come true for me and the coaches. It is a real honour to be in Alvalade. We know all about the players produced here and we want to do the same thing. The most memorable thing for us has been how people have welcomed us and home humble the young players are in Alcochete. It was incredible. Our Academy School is doing very well. We have a lot of competition from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, but I think what makes the difference is the Sporting CP philosophy and our training techniques."

One of the Singapore Academy School coaches, Terry Lee, also proved overjoyed with the trip: "It has been great to be at the stadium, the Academy and to go on the pitch. The passion for football here is incredible. Everybody lives and breaths football. It is totally different to the experience in Sinagpore and being here helps us to understand just how big Sporting CP is."