Lawmaker Wu wants Macau to be a platform for football

Lawmaker Wu Chou Kit wants Macau to be a “platform” for the development of sports, namely football. The lawmaker declared this yesterday in a spoken inquiry delivered prior to the Legislative Assembly’s agenda.

In Wu’s opinion, the special relationship that Macau has with other Portuguese-speaking nations should be leveraged to develop football in the city. Several Portuguese-speaking nations, including Brazil, Portugal, and some African nations, are considered “superpowers in football.”

The lawmaker said that Macau’s historical relations to these nations favor “the recruitment of good players.”

“Therefore, we must make the best use of the platform between China and Portuguese-speaking nations and strengthen our connection with Portuguese-speaking nations. We must develop strategies to hold international sporting competitions, of both professional and amateur standards, to attract more domestic and foreign tourists to visit Hengqin and Macau. We must also develop ‘Sport +’ together with the Cooperation Zone, adding further streams of diversification to our economy whilst also reinforcing Macau’s image as a city for sports,” he reaffirmed.

For lawmakers, says Wu, preparation for the National Games in 2025 should be the impetus for the organization of large-scale international sporting events that will eventually attract more international sporting institutions, along with famous sports brands, to establish bases and organize events in Macau.

Wu believes that, through the organization of international sporting events, “Macau can achieve notoriety and influence as a non-gambling city.”

He also noted that Hengqin has the available space that Macau lacks to build large sports venues to host such events. Wu also favored the regional integration between Macau and Hengqin that infrastructure developments would bring.

The same lawmaker also wants the government to “break down the political barriers that prevent Macau’s young people from participating in high-level competitions in the mainland, and organize exchange activities between young people.” These efforts should not be only occasional but sustained, so as to “expand the dimension and influence of the competitions” in the long-term.