FC Porto set for 'tough' Liga BPI season: 'We're ready' | OneFootball

FC Porto’s women’s team continues its preparations for the new season in Arcos de Valdevez. This Wednesday, Daniel Chaves oversaw the second day of the training camp for the national second-division champions, who will make their Liga BPI debut in September. Maria Inês Nogueira and Maria Negrão spoke to the club’s media about the “very challenging season” awaiting them in the top flight.

“We have to prepare with sacrifice and determination, because it won’t be easy at all and no one is going to hand us anything; we have to chase what we want. The first division is much more challenging, with far more competitive teams, but this is the level FC Porto wants to be at and where FC Porto wants to win titles. We know where we’ve come to, we know where we are, and we know the responsibility we carry in representing this club,” Maria Negrão told the club’s media.

Last season, the 22-year-old midfielder was part of the blue-and-white squad and finished the campaign with five goals in 27 matches. Now in her second season with Porto, Maria Negrão highlighted the role of the more experienced players in helping the new signings settle in, describing the camp as “very positive”: “It has been a very positive training camp. We’ve been integrating the new teammates and building relationships on and off the pitch. It’s always important to welcome the players who have just arrived. A lot of players left, and new ones have also come in to help the team, and our role, as players who have been here longer, is to pass on the club’s values so they fully understand what it means to represent this badge. Building a group and having great unity is the most important thing, because it brings us closer to victory.”

Among the new arrivals is 22-year-old defender Maria Inês Nogueira, who emphasized the team’s unity and the demands that come with representing FC Porto. “The team is united, strong, and training has been intense. I feel good, and I know the team feels the same. It has been very good. Everyone is willing to help, which is what I expected when I arrived. I feel like I’m already part of this group. FC Porto is a very competitive club. I hadn’t played in Portugal for many years, and I like feeling this level of competition. We are Porto in every training session, and we always have to give everything.”

Regarding the 2026/27 schedule, announced following Wednesday’s draw, both players acknowledged the difficulty of the competition but showed confidence ahead of the new challenge. “We’re going to have a challenging start and an even tougher final stretch, but we know our worth and we just have to approach every game as if it were a final, because that’s how FC Porto approaches any match,” said Maria Negrão.

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