According to a statement issued by the Embassy of Pakistan in Portugal, the partnership will see FC Porto conduct a comprehensive football training programme for young Pakistani players while also improving the skills of local coaches and managers.
The embassy said the collaboration would provide talented young players in Pakistan with a unique opportunity to develop their football skills and learn from the experience of one of Portugal’s leading football clubs.
Ricardo Frey Ramos, Director of FC Porto’s Dragon Force Academies, said the partnership would provide an excellent opportunity to share the club’s football development methods, values and experience with young players in Pakistan.
Hasan Masood Khawaja, President of Sialkot Football Academy and General Manager of Forward Sports, described the agreement as a major development and said the collaboration would open a new chapter for young football talent in Pakistan.
Sialkot Football Academy is a flagship project of Forward Sports, a Sialkot-based company known for manufacturing official footballs for the FIFA World Cup.
The Dragon Force Academy in Sialkot will become FC Porto’s 11th international academy. The club has already established similar academies in countries including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Türkiye, Mozambique, India, Cape Verde and Cyprus.
FC Porto aims to expand its international football development programme and reach 40,000 young players around the world by 2030.
