Portuguese football giant FC Porto has signed a partnership agreement with a Sialkot-based football academy to launch Pakistan’s first Dragon Force Academy, bringing the club’s internationally recognised youth development methodology to one of Asia’s largest markets.
The Sialkot Football Academy operates as a flagship project of Forward Sports, the Sialkot-based manufacturer of official FIFA World Cup match balls.
Through the partnership, FC Porto will run a comprehensive and intensive training programme for young Pakistani athletes and will also develop coaches and managers, according to a statement issued by Pakistan’s embassy in Portugal.
“This collaboration will offer talented young Pakistanis a unique opportunity for growth, both on and off the pitch, through an internationally recognised methodology, so that our youth can be not merely spectators but players in global sporting events in the years ahead,” the statement added.
FC Porto Director of Dragon Force Academies Ricardo Frey-Ramos said the partnership represented “an important step in our international growth strategy” and called it an opportunity to share the club’s methodology, values and experience in youth football development with young players in Pakistan.
Hassan Masood Khawaja, President of Sialkot Football Academy and General Manager of Forward Sports, said the collaboration opened a new chapter for young talent in the country. “Together with FC Porto, we want to transform the football talent of young Pakistanis into the champions of tomorrow,” he said.
The Sialkot academy becomes FC Porto’s 11th international academy, joining others already established in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, Mozambique, India, Cape Verde and Cyprus. The club aims to reach 40,000 young athletes globally by 2030.
The Pakistan Embassy in Portugal facilitated the partnership. Ambassador Aisha Farooqui described it as “a true turning point for football lovers in Pakistan.”
Haroon Sharif, President of the Pakistan Regional Economic Forum and former Minister for Investment, played an instrumental role in bringing the two organisations together.
