FC Porto Expands African Development Strategy With New Academy in Mozambique.

Roger Hampel

Image: FC Porto

FC Porto has announced the launch of a new football academy in Mozambique, continuing the club’s international brand and talent development expansion across the African continent.

The project, named Dragon Force Black Bulls Mozambique, is being developed in partnership with Associação Black Bulls, a club founded in 2017 and a two-time winner of the Moçambola, Mozambique’s top domestic league. The initiative represents FC Porto’s third academy presence in Africa, following earlier projects in Zimbabwe and Cape Verde.

Africa as a Strategic Territory for Talent Development FC Porto

From a football business perspective, the Mozambique academy strengthens FC Porto’s long-term positioning in Africa as a strategic market for talent identification, development and export. Rather than operating as a standalone project, the academy is embedded within the club’s broader internationalisation framework.

The club has complemented its academy network with recurring FC Porto World Camps, particularly in South Africa, including regular activity in Johannesburg and Cape Town. These camps function both as early-stage scouting platforms and as brand engagement tools, reinforcing FC Porto’s presence at grassroots level across the continent.

The Mozambique project also marks the relaunch of a previous collaboration active between 2017 and 2019, now reintroduced with consolidated infrastructure, clearer governance and a long-term strategic roadmap aligned with the club’s international expansion plan.

Image: FC Porto

Operational Model and Timeline

Dragon Force Black Bulls Mozambique is scheduled to begin operations in February and will implement a structured programme that includes:

• regular youth training programmes

• coach education and capacity building

• implementation of FC Porto’s technical and methodological processes

• structured talent detection, monitoring and development systems

The first major initiative will be a three-day talent identification camp (“Caça-Talentos”) scheduled for 20–22 February at the Associação Black Bulls training facilities. The objective is to identify young players with the potential to enter a high-performance development pathway.

Executive Comments

André Villas-Boas, President of FC Porto, said:

“We are executing the international expansion plan we set out, bringing FC Porto’s knowledge, methodology and values to different geographies through credible partners, sustainable projects and structures capable of delivering real impact in youth development.”

Luís Junaide Lalgy, President of Associação Black Bulls, commented:

“We need to continue to grow and structure our project. FC Porto’s know-how will be decisive not only in improving Mozambican talent, but also in increasing our capacity to export players who are better prepared for international markets. Working with the processes and procedures of one of the world’s leading football academies allows us to maximise our investment and significantly raise the quality of coach education.”

Ricardo Frey Ramos, Executive Manager of Dragon Force, added:

“At a technical level, we will implement structured training planning methodologies adapted to different development stages, as well as observation, monitoring and performance evaluation models supported by the tools we currently use and a continuous coach education programme. The objective is to consolidate a sustainable development system and consistently raise performance and competitiveness levels.”

Commercial and Strategic Context

Mozambique represents a high-engagement market for FC Porto. Approximately 8% of the club’s Instagram followers originate from Mozambique, underlining existing brand affinity and providing a strong foundation for localised development initiatives.

Beyond player development, the academy supports FC Porto’s wider objectives of brand localisation, long-term talent pipelines and international visibility. The Mozambique project reflects a broader model increasingly adopted by elite European clubs: combining technical development, brand expansion and regional partnerships into an integrated international football ecosystem rather than isolated scouting operations.