The Porto president, who is on the second and final day of his visit to Angola, highlighted the "excellence" of the work carried out by the Angolan academy, which includes more than 800 athletes, not only in sporting terms, but also "in front of the community".
"There are more than 800 athletes in its academy aspect and 300 athletes in its competition aspect, therefore, a very high number and worthy of recording. I remember a protocol established in 2013 with FC Porto which, unfortunately, never materialized and in that we will take, try to see if it is one of the solutions for the future that we talked about yesterday [on Tuesday], regarding the construction of new protocol, sports and cooperation partnerships between FC Porto and the Angolan people and their institutions", he said.
On the occasion, the general director of the Angolan Football Academy, José Luís Garrido, said that the institution he heads will make efforts to ensure that several Angolan athletes play for FC Porto.
"This demonstrates the affection that has existed between the two institutions for a long time. Our patron, as we know, was an athlete from a club affiliated with FC Porto and had connections with the club as a fan. There is affection and respect between the institutions. Let's work in this direction. If everything that was done in the past, between Porto and AFA, had continued, we would already have players at FC Porto, but let's not look at the past, let's look at the future and the objective is that we can resume this dynamic of interactions so that very soon we will have a player at FC Porto", he said.
André Villas-Boas and the 'blue and white' delegation were also received at the facilities of the Provincial Government of Luanda, by governor Luís Nunes, where the Porto delegation reaffirmed their interest in strengthening sporting ties between Portuguese football and Angola, through the emblem portista.
"We were very well received, we expressed FC Porto's position in Angola and the intention of being closer to its people, therefore, it is trying to boost FC Porto's relationship with the Angolan people, with the Porto fans of Angola, and hope that it bears not only emotional fruit, but also sporting fruit with this cooperation protocol for the future", he said.
The governor of Luanda, Luís Nunes, in turn, guaranteed that the government will give all its support so that the Portuguese club's desire can come true in Angolan territory.
"All initiatives of this type are for us to embrace. There are only a few of us. If it is for this purpose, we will find spaces, that is the easiest way", guaranteed Luís Nunes.
The Porto leader will speak informally with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão, in relation to "the creation of new synergies, mainly a Dragon Force school, in Angola", assuming that he wants to develop some projects in this mandate, which began in April and ends in 2028.
