MoU with Portugal Olympic Committee - Achievements

In October 2004, the Goa Football Association or the GFA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Portugal Olympic Committee, in which the famous soccer team FC Porto and the Universidade do Porto or University of Porto are also involved.

As part of this MoU

• 3 Portuguese coaches have been involved in coaching Goan teams and working with Goan footballers. Firstly, Joao Brito who mooted a blueprint for the youth development programme and held coaching workshops for coaches and players was followed by Rui Manuel Pedro who coached the Goan squad for the Lusofonia Games, and finally Daniel Barreira is currently working with the age group footballers in Goa.
  

• GFA had sent two age group footballers Arnold Cardozo from Mapusa and Shallum Pires from Sanvordem and U-14 coach Lino Pereira for 1-month training at the FC Porto Academy in Porto in November 2006.
  

• 16-year-old Joshuah Vaz of Fatorda, with the backing of a UK-based sponsor Douglas Fernandes and the timely support of Goa Football Association (GFA) whose Porto connection helped immensely, will be training for 5 months at one of Portugal’s top football academies belonging to a club called Vitoria Sport Clube (Vitoria de Guimaraes) in Guimaraes from February 2007.