Sporting CP opens sixth Academy School in Africa

The Sporting Academy in South Africa is the country's third and the sixth on the African continent. João Gomes, who lives in the city and was considered as being Sporting Member of the Year, spoke about what the new facilities mean to the region.

"We can feel the passion coming from Sporting and it is a pleasure to see these kids, who are mostly South African, wearing a green and white shirt. A lot of them want to go to Alvalade to watch a match", opened Gomes, adding: "This is just the start of the project for us and we will carry on growing."

The Sporting board member Luís Roque was also on hand to speak about the reasoning behind the building of the Nelspruit facility: "A few years ago we had one school abroad and now we have six in Africa. That shows what Sporting is looking to do with foreign communities. Sometimes the people who join us don't speak Portuguese, but they certainly know how to say Sporting. We are really ambitious and this year alone we are looking to open another ten Academies."