VRSA complex to be part of the national network of High Performance Sports Centers

The Vila Real de Santo António Sports Complex will integrate the Portuguese network of High Performance Sports Centres, with a specialized branch for athletics.

The guarantee was given by the Secretary of State for Sports and Youth Alexandre Mestre, during the opening press conference of Mundialito 2013, the biggest children's football tournament in the world, which runs until the 30th of March, in VRSA.

According to Alexandre Mestre, the process will be managed by the Sports Foundation, in partnership with a number of entities such as the VRSA local authority, the Olympic Committee of Portugal, the Portuguese Sports Confederation, the Portuguese Sports and Youth Institute, among other partners.

For the Secretary of State, the inclusion of VRSA in the network of High Performance Sports Centers «corrects an injustice that has been going on since 2009 and that is not attributable to the Vila Realse autarchy».

Currently, the VRSA Sports Complex is a training center with great capacity to attract foreign athletes and is identified by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) as a center of excellence.

It has also been classified as an Olympic Preparation Center since 2004 and is an honorary member of the Algarve Football Association.

In addition to having constituted an Official Training Center for Euro 2004, the equipment hosted, this summer, the preparation training of the Olympic and Paralympic Athletics teams of Great Britain (UK Athletics).

It is a frequent stage for training national and international teams and teams, as well as regular events such as the «Mundialito» children's football, the «X Miles of Guadiana» race or the «European Champion Clubs of Athletics Cup».

The High Performance Sports Centers have the mission of providing the country with a network of infrastructure with specialized skills and oriented towards the investigation, improvement and training of high performance athletes.

They also aim to promote sporting excellence and the development of the various sports according to international standards.