Mário Santos admits challenges for FC Porto to launch senior futsal team | OneFootball

Mário Santos, general director of sports at FC Porto, gave an interview to the newspaper OJOGO where he discussed the possibility of creating a senior futsal team at the club.

Futsal is on the agenda and there is already a youth academy. When will Porto have a senior team?– It’s a decision to be considered, conditioned by several factors, especially the entry point, the necessary investment, and the infrastructure. Currently, the regulatory framework requires starting in the lower divisions, which brings management difficulties and raises expectations. Even if we win all the series, it would take seven years to reach the First Division.

So, will you start from the bottom?– At the moment, there’s no other option; starting from scratch means going through seven divisions, which complicates squad management, creates challenges in setting expectations, and constrains projects.

At the top level, isn’t the investment needed to compete with Sporting and Benfica very high?– The amount is considerable; whether it’s excessive depends on the objectives and the expected return. However, I don’t forget that the club is called Futebol Clube do Porto and futsal is a football discipline. If the team is created, I intend to have a model similar to what is planned for the other sports, based mainly on athletes trained at the club. Fortunately, we have seen good availability of players capable of representing FC Porto, even in lower divisions, and there is the prospect of offering them a solid and future-oriented sports project.

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