Rui Pedroto: “This partnership is hugely important” | OneFootball

The FC Porto Foundation partnered with Porto City Council in the 2nd edition of Ageless Week, an initiative aimed at the senior population aged over 65. Rui Pedroto, vice-president of FC Porto, and Gabriela Queiroz, councillor responsible for Social Cohesion, Health and Civil Protection, highlighted the value of this partnership, both in promoting physical activity and in strengthening the club’s social dimension. For the Porto official, the path is made together: “Only through networks and all together can we go further.”

On the last afternoon of September, the Champions Club at the Dragão Stadium welcomed more than 50 participants for a day featuring dance, yoga, krav maga, boccia and walking football, as well as health and nutrition screenings and time spent with Draco and Viena. In a programme taking place at various points across the city, Rui Pedroto and Gabriela Queiroz shared a central idea: the connection between institutions makes it possible to broaden the reach of initiatives and bring them closer to the population.

Rui Pedroto placed the partnership at the heart of the FC Porto Foundation’s public identity. The vice-president argued for coordinated work with other institutions in the city, without limiting the club’s role to the strictly sporting sphere.

“This partnership is of great importance. First of all, it is important for the FC Porto Foundation to progressively make itself known in the eyes of the general public and the city of Porto in particular. It is also essential for the FC Porto Foundation to fulfil its mission and fully achieve its aims that it work in a network with other institutions in the city,” he said. “Porto City Council has its responsibilities as a local authority and, at the right time, decided to join the FC Porto Foundation in this Ageless Week, made up of various events. Only through networks and all together can we go further. It is indisputable that promoting sports participation is fundamental and that it is a determining factor for health. It is never too early or too late to play sport or exercise. We want to be an inclusive FC Porto, one that does not stop at sport. It is an entity of the greatest social relevance to the city, the North, the country and the world.”

The message brings together two ambitions: to give the Foundation greater visibility and to use that presence to fulfil an inclusive mission. Sport thus appears not merely as an activity, but as a tool for health and participation at any age.

Gabriela Queiroz, for her part, praised FC Porto’s ability to mobilise people and the impact of linking the Foundation to the municipality’s initiatives. For the councillor, the Porto emblem carries recognition that goes beyond competition and can be placed at the service of solidarity.

“FC Porto is an emblem of the city; it has an inspiring side that mobilises many people. The possibility of having FC Porto, through the Foundation, connected to our initiatives is a great privilege and something very special. It is a brand that everyone knows and recognises,” she stressed. “We want to help people understand that, beyond being a sports brand, FC Porto is also a brand of social value and solidarity. The municipality has worked in networks for a long time, and partnerships like this one we have with FC Porto always help us go further. The city has incredible partners and highly valuable institutions, so we must know how to make the most of that. This blue sea fills the heart of every person from Porto.”

In the municipal official’s words, FC Porto’s symbolic strength becomes a social asset when combined with the city’s experience and network of partners. Ageless Week gave concrete expression to that closeness, bringing together physical activity, healthcare and socialising under the same blue banner.

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