Although sports in the Portugal-controlled region already had a long history, Macau first began to participate in international tournaments under a separate name following approval to do so by the Olympic Committee of Portugal in 1974. As the region's society became more affluent and more residents were able to attend sporting events, Macau's government established the Macau Sport Development Board on May 18, 1987 as a central coordinating office to promote sports in the city. Later that year on December 22, the Macau Olympic Committee was established as the National Olympic Committee for Macau using the flag of the Municipality of Macau. It applied for membership in the Olympic Council of Asia in December 1989 during the Council's General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia and was accepted. The first athlete from Macau to win a medal under the auspices of Macau's NOC in an international tournament was Li Man Yam when he won the bronze medal in T'ai chi ch'uan during the 2nd Asian Martial Arts Tournament in Hong Kong in 1989. Wong Tung Ieong won the first medal in a large-scale tournament by taking bronze in martial arts during the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. In October 1994, Macau's government established the Awards Committee for Premier Sporting Competitions which grants prizes and awards for distinguished achievement in competitive sports for athletes and coaches from Macau. Also, from 1991 to 1999 the Macau Olympic Committee and the region's government built 20 different sport venues and facilities, including the multi-purpose Macau Stadium, which are administered by a related local sports organization. Although the sovereignty of Macau was transferred from Portugal to the People's Republic of China in 1999, the new government has continued to allow Macau to participate in international organisations and sporting events under the name "Macau, China" using the regional flag of the Macau Special Administrative Region. In addition, the Macau Olympic Committee has participated in the National Games of China since 2011. Macau was elected as the host city of2005 East Asian Games during the 11th General Assembly of East Asian Games Association in Guam in March 1996. The Games are the largest international sporting event ever hosted by Macau and the SAR achieved the best results of the all the countries that participated. Additionally, during the 22nd General Assembly of Olympic Council of Asia in Kuwait on January 24, 2003, Macau was approved as the host city of 2007 Asian Indoor Games. After the establishment of Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees on June 8, 2005, Macau was chosen as the host city of the 2006 Lusofonia Games. Macau was also chosen as the first vice-president and President of the Executive Committee of ACOLOP. Manuel Silvério, the first vice-president of the Macau Olympic Committee, was elected as the vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia in 2005. As several athletes in the region had expressed interest in forming an organization to administer non-international sporting events in the regions, the Macau Olympic Committee revised its constitution and renamed itself to Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau, China on September 10, 2008. After the change, CODM remains the only internal and external sports federation for Macau. CODM hosted the 31st General Assembly of Olympic Council of Asia during November 2012 which elected Hanoi, Vietnam as the host city for the 2018 Asian Games.
Status
As was done previously by the Macau Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has sent several letters to the International Olympic Committee to support recognition of Macau as a member of the IOC. This request has been complicated by the fact that the IOC revised its Charter in 1996 to only admit new NOCs that represent independent states recognised by the international community. Despite the setbacks, Manuel Silvério told a reporter for the Macau Daily in 2008 that "the application from the Macau Olympic Committee for membership in the International Olympic Committee under the name 'Macau, China' is in 'considering and hearing' and the Chinese Government and Chinese Olympic Committee are assisting with the application." As of 2016, the Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau remains unrecognized as a NOC by the International Olympic Committee. However, as Macau is an autonomous territory, it has been allowed to join some international organisations and games such as the Asian Games as a separate entity, but it has not been allowed to do so in games for sovereign states such as the Olympic Games.
