Daniel Monteiro: "FC Porto have done the country a great service" | OneFootball

The Estádio do Dragão welcomed a visit from the Portuguese Sports Confederation (CDP) on Tuesday afternoon, and André Villas-Boas received the delegation led by Daniel Monteiro, the president of the organization responsible for intervening in national sports policy and promoting physical and sports activities in Portugal.

During the meeting between the two institutions, topics such as FC Porto's role in athlete training across various sports, the impact of this work on national teams, and the importance of investment in infrastructure were discussed. The CDP leader began by praising the “exceptional work in enhancing Portuguese sports” that the Club has been developing.

“FC Porto has provided an enormous service, not only to Portuguese sports but also to Portugal as a country,” explained the official, certain that the “training process at FC Porto has a social impact in the city and region and is very important because it allows children and young people to see FC Porto as a gateway to sports to fulfill their dreams.” “The big clubs invest more in sports than the State Budget invests in sports,” and Daniel Monteiro has no doubts that “clubs are the foundation of sports development in Portugal.”

Daniel Monteiro, president of the Portuguese Sports Confederation

Serving youth and sports“It is extremely important to mention that the three so-called big clubs in Portugal, particularly FC Porto, have done an exceptional job in enhancing Portuguese sports, providing conditions for many of their athletes to grow and develop as athletes and citizens, giving them all the conditions to eventually shine in senior teams and reach national teams. This training process at FC Porto has a social impact in the city and region and is very important because it allows children and young people to see FC Porto as a gateway to sports to fulfill their dreams.”

Dragons in national teams“FC Porto has a broad impact, not only in football but in many other sports. This ability to accommodate so many young people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, from the poorest to the richest, from the coast to the interior, who see FC Porto as a gateway to fulfill their dreams, and the Club's contribution to national teams in the youth categories, gives them this opportunity to also reach senior teams, is indeed a fundamental tool. As I had the opportunity to convey to president André Villas-Boas, FC Porto has provided an enormous service, not only to Portuguese sports but also to Portugal as a country.”

Clubs as engines of sports“Clubs are the foundation of sports development in Portugal. If we don't have clubs, national teams won't be able to have talent and won't be competitive. It is essential that clubs have increasingly better conditions and infrastructures to invest in athletes because talent may exist, but if it is not nurtured, those athletes cannot reach high performance. The so-called big clubs in Portugal invest more in sports than the State Budget invests in sports, this is a paradigmatic example of the national sports reality and the importance and contribution that clubs have made to Portuguese sports. If it weren't for them, sports would exist, but not as we know it today.”

The new FC Porto pavilion“Firstly, I want to congratulate the ambition and the fact of wanting to provide more conditions and opportunities for young athletes in various sports to have their opportunities. Having the ambition to build a new pavilion, having more teams training within their facilities, and investing in infrastructure is very important. It's not enough to have a playing field for teams to train on; it's important to have all the other associated adjacent conditions, such as support centers for the sports themselves, gyms, and residences, which I also know are being considered. All this work of providing conditions for athletes to have stability, to progress and continue their careers is fundamental, and therefore, I must thank FC Porto for what it has done and for this ambitious project of building another pavilion, something very important for their teams to have another training space.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.