The Macao Franchise Expo 2014 (2014MFE) ended today (6 July), attracting many exhibitors, companies and members of the general public. A number of activities were hosted on the last day of the event. They included a demonstration by the football school operated in Macao by Brazilian football club São Paulo F.C., the 2012 champion of the Copa Sudamericana.
As the world has its eyes on Brazil, currently hosting the FIFA World Cup finals, the 2014MFE organised a football demonstration with young players from the football school in Macao of São Paulo F.C. It gave them a chance to show off their skills. The school was established in April and is a franchise project involving Macao investors and the Brazilian club. Part of the negotiations on the partnership took place during last year’s MFE, with the deal highlighting the event’s role as a business platform for Macao and Brazil (one of the Portuguese-speaking countries).
“The next step is to enter Mainland China, starting with Guangzhou in 2015, always using Macao as our base,” says the school’s head coach, José Arlindo Filho. He is known in football circles in Macao as Josecler. São Paulo F.C. previously had a football school in Thailand, but the Macao franchise is currently the first one in Asia.
The football school welcomes children from the age of three up to ten years old, and aims to develop their basic football skills. It also has plans to establish a team with teenagers between 15 and 16 years old, with the goal of eventually taking part in the fourth division of the Macao senior football championship, says Josecler.
The Brazilian coach has long experience working in football schools in Macao. He also won Macao’s top senior football championship as head coach in 2012. For this new project, he went to Brazil for two weeks, to get familiar with the training methods of São Paulo F.C. and the club’s overall strategy.
“Football today is the number one sport in the world,” says Josecler. “We will base our work on three to four training sessions per week, which is very important for these children to properly develop their skills,” he adds.
The football school project also includes exchange programmes with other schools linked to São Paulo F.C. in Brazil. This is the first step by the football club to promote its brand and boost its fan base in China.
As MFE gets more international, the event is increasingly becoming an important regional platform for franchising and chain operators, allowing young entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises to look for new business opportunities.
The event will continue actively to promote franchising as a business model, and collaborate with business communities both at home and abroad to generate more business opportunities.
