At just 19, Zara Matos, a footballer from Macao, has already made an impact in the Hong Kong women’s league.
Currently playing for BC Rangers, Matos has distinguished herself as the first female Macao footballer to compete professionally in Hong Kong. Her journey, strongly supported by her father, Paulo Conde, has seen her rise from playing casually in Macao to becoming the top scorer in Hong Kong’s second division in her debut season. Matos’ story is one of perseverance in the face of limited opportunities for women’s football in her home town.
Her love for football wasn’t immediate. As a young child, she took part in gymnastics, swimming, and capoeira. But a turning point came in 2018, when her brother brought home a UEFA Champions League ball – a kind of soccer ball with advanced aerodynamic panelling, designed to give maximum control. She took the ball to school, and ended up kicking it around with her classmates. “Whatever you do, don’t lose the ball. It’s my brother’s,” she remembers telling them. But she was hooked.
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That same year, she quit gymnastics and joined Sporting Clube de Macau, one of the few clubs in Macao with a structured football program. “I remember coming home and telling my mom, ‘I think I want to play football,’” Matos says. “She was like ‘First your dad, then your brothers, and now you?’ She was surprised but supported me. Back then, there weren’t many girls playing football in Macao.”
Matos, who describes herself as a “boyish girl,” grew up in a household where football was a constant topic of conversation. “My siblings are footballers, my dad is a former player and now a coach.”
She initially trained with Sporting Clube de Macau’s U16 boys due to the lack of a women’s team, but eventually got a group of girls together and played in Macao’s seven-a-side women’s league. She decided to take football seriously, training at the gym with her brother in the morning and playing football with her dad in the afternoon. Coach William Gomes took her on and has been privately training her for three years.
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Training was gruelling. The summer of 2023, when she was 17, “was the worst summer of my life,” Matos tells Macao News, “but without those sessions, I wouldn’t be where I am now.” She gave up much of her social life and lived by her father’s advice: “If you want to be different, you can’t be like others. You have to eat differently, train differently, and live differently.”
That year, through one of her father’s contacts, Matos travelled to Hong Kong to play a friendly match with Kitchee’s women’s team, a professional squad. “I was so nervous – it was my first trial for an 11-a-side team,” she says. Matos didn’t score in that game, but put on a show and was noted for her physicality and speed.
Despite her efforts to be selected, she faced setbacks. Registration issues due to her age and lack of a Hong Kong address prevented her from playing in official matches. For almost a year, she and her dad travelled twice a week from Macao to Hong Kong to train. Sessions would start at 7 pm in Hong Kong, she wouldn’t get back to Macao until after midnight, and was expected to go to school the next day.
In early 2024, Matos trialled with other teams, including one affiliated with the Chelsea FC Soccer School. She scored four goals in her first session, but the team was unwilling to go through the bureaucratic hurdles associated with her non-resident status. “It was frustrating because I’d been travelling back and forth for months, and to hear that was tough,” she says. “I would go back home crying and think I don’t even know if I want to continue football.”
In May 2024, she finally found her breakthrough with BC Rangers – and this time, they wanted her badly enough to take on the paperwork. “After one session, the coach said, ‘You’re a good player, and we need someone with your speed.’ They registered me for the league, and it was the best day of my life,” Matos says.
Her first season with the Rangers more than repaid the team’s faith in her. With 16 goals – including her first hat-trick against Tai Po – Matos ended the season as the top scorer in the second division, and finished 4th in the league.
Overcoming the challenges facing female football players in Macao
In Macao, opportunities for women in football have always been scarce, but they are improving, and there are more young girls passionate about the sport. That “makes me emotional,” Matos says, but she is still quick to point out that “In Hong Kong, you have qualified coaches, proper trials, and better facilities. In Macao, we lack experienced coaches and investment in women’s football.”
Some girls in Macao are now asking her how they can join teams in Hong Kong. Her advice is straightforward: “It’s not just about wanting it – you have to work hard and be prepared.”
Matos also recognises that facilities aren’t everything. “You can train anywhere – on a wall, grass, or even sand,” she says. Her father often reminded her of children in Africa who start with nothing, playing on sandy pitches, yet some still get scouted and go on to play in top leagues.
Who knows? Maybe Matos is on a similar trajectory herself. “I just want to be the best,” she says. “Two years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined myself here – it’s crazy.”
