Dragons welcome Vietnamese ambassador to Estádio do Dragão | OneFootball

Dragons welcome Vietnamese ambassador to Estádio do Dragão | OneFootball

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·21 January 2026

Dragons welcome Vietnamese ambassador to Estádio do Dragão

Article image:Dragons welcome Vietnamese ambassador to Estádio do Dragão

The Vietnamese ambassador to Portugal visited the Estádio do Dragão and met with the president of FC Porto, André Villas-Boas, in the first institutional meeting between the parties. The meeting allowed for the opening of a dialogue about cooperation opportunities and bringing the Club closer to a market with over 100 million inhabitants, in line with FC Porto's internationalization strategy.

According to Nguyễn Mạnh Thắng, “the discussion was very interesting” and André Villas-Boas “was willing to welcome athletes from Vietnam,” a country where “people are very interested” in the king of sports and “greatly appreciate Portuguese football.”


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Michele Montesi, responsible for FC Porto's strategy, was also present at the meeting, highlighting the potential to strengthen relations and launch strategic initiatives in the Asian continent, which would contribute to the international projection of the FC Porto brand. The Porto executive also emphasized the importance of intensifying cooperation with a large country with a growing interest in football, opening up new forms of collaboration between the Club and Vietnam.

Michele Montesi, responsible for FC Porto's strategyFirst contacts“This was the first meeting between the FC Porto Board and the Vietnamese ambassador to Portugal, an institutional meeting that also covers collaboration between the Club and the country and the potential of this cooperation agreement that may be built between the two parties.”

Football as a universal language“This is an important step, not only to strengthen our cooperation with Vietnam but also to demonstrate that football can be a very relevant vehicle in connecting different cultures, with sport as the foundation.”

Dragon Force in Vietnam“This is a topic that is being worked on and could represent another opportunity aligned with the Club's new strategy, an international expansion strategy. Initiatives of this nature can be good vehicles to strengthen FC Porto's presence and deepen relations in the Asian continent.”

Nguyễn Mạnh Thắng, Vietnamese ambassador to PortugalThe meeting with André Villas-Boas“It was a pleasure for me, as the Vietnamese ambassador, to be with the president of FC Porto, a great football club in Portugal. I had a very interesting conversation with the president of FC Porto and we talked about various subjects.”

Portugal beyond borders“In Vietnam, people are very interested in football and greatly appreciate Portuguese football. We are admirers of the quality of Portuguese players, and therefore, we decided to initiate the cooperation process in training Vietnamese players. We discussed this possibility with the president of FC Porto and he was willing to welcome athletes from our country.”

The national sport“For those who don't know, football is the favorite sport of the Vietnamese. In our country, everyone loves football and when the national team wins, the country is very happy. We discussed these topics and it was a very interesting discussion.”

Half a century of connection“Our countries maintain an excellent relationship and we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Vietnam, which have embassies in Hanoi and Lisbon. Sport is a vector of cooperation and development that contributes to strengthening this collaboration between the two countries.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.

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