Gov’t encourages youth sports participation as Yao Ming visits

Sands China co-hosted the Sands China Yao Foundation Campus Basketball Charity Event with the Yao Foundation at Hou Kong Middle School in Macau yesterday. The event featured professional basketball training and friendly matches for local youth.

Attended by Yao Foundation founder Yao Ming, the initiative aimed to inspire a passion for sports among Macau’s youth, foster teamwork, and strengthen basketball exchanges between Macau and mainland China.

Yao Foundation Ambassadors, including former players and coaches, served as honorary coaches, providing professional guidance to the young participants.

Sports Bureau president Luis Gomes said this allows Yao to feel “like coming to Macau is like going home,” providing the opportunity to share the joy of basketball with local students and help them grow through the sport.

Gomes noted Sands China’s efforts in recent years to promote sports development in Macau, providing support for various sporting events. He highlighted the upcoming Sands China Legend event on Dec. 7, where Yao’s good friend and former Rockets teammate Tracy McGrady will also make an appearance in Macau.

“I hope that future students will participate more and pay more attention to Macau sporting events,” Gomes said. “In the process of building Macau’s sports market, it is inseparable from the support of schools and the central government. Without the support of schools, Macau’s sports market cannot be realized. Without the participation of children, our physical education classes and our sports activities cannot attract more children and parents to participate in society through sports.”

He encouraged the students to “take the initiative and learn basketball from Yao” and hoped Sands China would bring more basketball activities to Macau in the future. Victoria Chan