The top two of the Portuguese women’s football championship will have access to the Champions League at the end of next season, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Fernando Gomes, announced on Monday.
“At the end of next season, due to competitiveness, internal growth and results in European competitions, the top two in the League will qualify for the Champions League. And, probably to everyone’s surprise, Portugal will start the 2023/24 season .” sixth in the UEFA women’s club rankingsaid the federal leader at the opening of the second edition of the White Ball Conference.
Fernando Gomes believed that Portugal has witnessed a “quiet revolution in women’s football”, and as such also announced an increase in support for women’s football “which is about 100 percent”, through the investments in Portuguese teams and clubs to double.
“In the budget recently approved by the FPF board, it was decided that we will double the aid [futebol] female. Our women’s selections continue for an investment of 3.7 million euros. Clubs, with a special emphasis on those that are part of the League, receive support of around two million. In both cases we are talking about an investment increase of about 100 percent.” marked.
The unprecedented presence of the women’s team at the World Cup, which will take place from July 20 to August 20, “has a fantastic impact”, noting that “ten years ago there were only four thousand federated”, currently 15 thousand and believing that they reach 75,000 federated football players by 2030 with the outlined strategic plan.
The search for talent is also “an obligation” for the FPF, with the need to “broaden its recruiting base, to continue to bring more girls and boys into the sport, as well as more coaches, managers and better infrastructure”.
In terms of sports ethics, Fernando Gomes called for a change of mindset in the country and was compelling: “Portugal lacks a sports culture and sports spirit”.
“You can expect more regulatory initiatives to curb deviant behavior and development programs that teach young people correct behavior on the field and in the stands. At FPF we lead by example and our priority is to combat bad behavior and encourage good sportsmanship. encourage,” underlined the director, assuring that the change “will pass without hesitation through the punishment of the bad behavior and the change of mentality.”
Co-organized by Renascença and the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, today the 2nd Bola Branca Conference with different panels, on the theme “Talent, Ethics and Equality in Sport”, takes place in the auditorium of Quinta do Bom Pastor, in Lisbon .
Source: DN
