Commentary by Manuel Silvério
Independent sports analyst and consultant in regional development
(Former public official with international experience and long-standing dedication to public policy and sports development)
An Old Model Still Shaping the Present
For a long time, sport in Macau had a clear driving force: clubs and community associations.
Before and after the 1970s, within an institutional environment that was still limited and with relatively little public intervention, these structures sustained local sports activity. They organised events, mobilised participants, and ensured external representation. In many cases, they performed functions similar to those later assumed by territorial sports associations.
Competitive opportunities were also limited. For many years, sporting activities with Hong Kong and neighbouring cities constituted the main platform for external competition. Although modest in scale, they played an important role in creating competitive habits, developing a sporting culture, and increasing the visibility of local sport.
That legacy deserves recognition. But today’s context is different.
Macau has changed. Society has changed. Resources are different. Sport now requires higher levels of organisation, qualification, and coordination. The traditional model, on its own, can no longer adequately respond to current demands.
A System Facing Difficulties in Continuity
Over the years, Macau’s sports system has developed around the principle of autonomy for associations. This principle is legitimate and has contributed to the sector’s stability. However, in many cases, structures were preserved without being provided with the necessary means to respond to an increasingly demanding sporting environment.
Today, the reality is clear.
A large part of the associations’ efforts is concentrated on immediate tasks: organising local competitions, ensuring participation in regional and international events, and complying with administrative requirements. In most cases, this work still depends heavily on voluntary dedication.
Under these conditions, it becomes difficult to reconcile day-to-day management with a long-term development strategy.
There is insufficient time to invest in training.
There is insufficient capacity to plan development pathways.
There is insufficient structure to support young athletes in their transition to higher competitive levels.
The system is able to function, but struggles to evolve.
At club level, the situation is not very different. Many young athletes enter the system to compete, but not always within a clearly defined development pathway. They participate and represent Macau, but do not always find the conditions for continuity and sustained progression.
The problem is not entry into the system; it is permanence within it.
Meanwhile, the context has changed, but the model has not always adapted accordingly.
In recent years, major sporting events have increasingly involved the participation of Macau’s six gaming concessionaires and other private entities with strong financial and organisational capacity. Recent experience has shown that this model can work.
But this evolution raises an important question.
If part of the responsibility for major sporting events begins to be assumed by entities outside the public structure, then an opportunity emerges for public bodies to concentrate more capacity on what has long remained secondary: the structural development of sport.
This change should be fully utilised.
Because Macau’s problem is no longer merely a lack of conditions. Today there are infrastructures, funding, partners, and regional integration.
What is truly missing is coordination.
At a time when Macau seeks to strengthen its role as a regional platform of connection, sport should not be viewed merely as a sectoral activity. It can also function as an instrument for training, regional cooperation, and internal development.
More Space, More Training, Greater Regional Integration
The shortage of training facilities remains one of the main limiting factors in sports development. In many cases, the priority given to competitions reduces the availability of space for regular training and development.
This problem cannot be solved merely by building more infrastructure. It also requires better use of existing resources and a broader vision of regional cooperation.
Such cooperation should not be limited to Zhuhai or Hengqin. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, and Hong Kong may also become strategic partners, depending on the specific needs of each sport.
What matters is not only geographical proximity, but the ability to transform that proximity into concrete opportunities for training, competition, exchange, and development.
For a small territory such as Macau, this openness to the outside should not be viewed as an exception, but as an integral part of its development strategy.
Another important issue is the administrative burden.
Many associations spend a significant part of their time responding to bureaucratic requirements and formal procedures. This reality is understandable, but it has clear consequences: it reduces the capacity to plan, monitor, and develop.
In this context, it would make sense to create, within the Sports Bureau, a technical and administrative support mechanism for sports associations and community organisations.
A simple and practical structure aimed at supporting procedures, reducing bureaucratic burdens, and strengthening technical follow-up. Rather than increasing mechanisms of control, the objective should be to free up capacity for what truly matters.
The role of the Sports Bureau itself may also evolve.
Historically focused on financial support for associations and the management of sports facilities, the bureau performs an indispensable function. Yet there is room to strengthen technical support, continuous follow-up, and structured coordination within the system.
Training Professionals, Not Only Teachers
Higher education can also play a more active role in the development of the sports system.
The Faculty of Physical Education and Sports at the Macao Polytechnic University has the capacity not only to train teachers, but also to prepare professionals specialised in sports management, administration, organisation, and institutional operation.
Sports development does not depend solely on athletes and coaches. It also depends on professionals capable of planning, organising, managing, and evaluating policies, structures, and activities.
This is a real need within the system.
Experience has already shown that this path is viable. Over the years, several graduates have joined the Sports Bureau and other structures related to the sector. The next step should be to consolidate these links and transform them into more strategic and structured cooperation.
Training should not be limited to physical education teaching. It should also include areas such as sports management, event organisation, technical preparation, administration, and practical articulation with the concrete needs of different sports disciplines.
It is precisely at this level that Macau’s sports sector may build more stable, more qualified, and more consistent foundations for the future.
(To be continued)
