http://maigoc2007.sports.sina.com.cn 2007-05-24 MAIGOC
It is possible that Macao will be welcoming thePortuguese Olympic football team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games， if the teamsucceed in the Olympics qualification matches to be held in the Netherlands between10th and 23rd next month. To participate in the Olympics，the Portuguese team must reach the semi-finals of the Under-21 EuropeanChampionship. If this becomes a reality， the Portuguese Football Federation willbe bringing the team to Macau， before arriving at the capital of China. Thiswill was expressed by the President of the Portuguese Football Federation，Gilberto Madaíl， in a meeting held this week in Lisbon with Manuel Silvério， Presidentof the Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees (ACOLOP).The possibility of organizing a match in Macaobetween the Portuguese team and another Beijing Olympics participating team wasalso explored in the meeting.
“The Portuguese Football Federation is always ready toaccept the challenges of Macao and of the Lusofonia，” Gilberto Madaíl stated.Manuel Silvério extends Macao welcome. “We will be very happy to welcome thePortuguese Olympic football team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Macao willprovide all the necessary conditions of a good training camp for the athletes.We sincerely hope that Portugal gets thenecessary results to be amongst the group of European teams at the Olympics.”In the meeting with Gilberto Madaíl， the ACOLOP President explained that，amongst the missions of the Association， the support of the members´ Olympicteams is one of the tasks that is already in preparations， since there werecelebrated protocols between the Macau Olympic Committee and several LusofoniaOlympic Committees， including Portugal.“Macao authorities will provide the best support to the Olympic teams， and wewish success for their participation in the Beijing Olympics.” The finaldecision of the Portuguese Olympic Committee for other sports events to have trainingcamps in Macao will soon be confirmed.
In the meeting， Manuel Silvério also spoke about otherprojects of ACOLOP， naturally focusing on the ‘Lisbon 2009， 2ndLusofonia Games.’ The ACOLOP President explained that the 8 sports events ofthe 1st Lusofonia Games - including football， although it is theevent which incurred the biggest expense for ACOLOP members - will bemaintained in the sports program of the second edition， and more disciplinesshould be added， which is now under discussions of the ACOLOP members.Silvério also expressed his wishes to Gilberto Madaílthat the Federation will provide all the technical support for the 2ndLusofonia Games， which he described as “indispensable at the first edition ofthe event.”
The meeting with Gilberto Madaíl was the last officialmeeting during Manuel Silvério visit to Portugal， which is aimed to oversee thepreparations for the organization of the ‘Lisbon 2009， 2nd LusofoniaGames.’ During his stay， he also met the representatives of the PortugueseOlympic Committee， the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports Laurentino Dias，and the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal.
