Footballers from China and the Portuguese-speaking world will coach or play each other in Macao next year, Lusa reports, quoting Macao Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao.

The Portuguese news agency quotes Ms Ao as telling the Macao Legislative Assembly that such activities will be manifestations of her policy for making international sport a feature of life in Macao.

Macao would exploit its close links with lusophone countries in prompting cultural exchanges, Ms Ao said during the presentation of her 2020 policy guidelines on Monday.

She said more money from the Higher Education Fund would be spent on sending Macao students to study in Portugal, and so help make them bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese.

The Macao Polytechnic Institute is setting up a centre for teaching Portuguese to people being trained for work in the tourism industry, Lusa quotes Ms Ao as saying.