The League Cup will bring a stiff party to the Algarve Stadium, but also to the historic centers of Faro and Loulé, for a week, at the end of January.
The competition model that involves all teams from the two Portuguese professional leagues has changed and now includes a Final Four, taking place at the Algarve Stadium between the 25th and 29th of January, an occasion that the two municipalities that share the management of the infrastructure take the opportunity to create entertainment areas for the many visitors who are expected.
At the Stadium, the party will take place at the times when the games take place. But the idea is to spread to the cities of Faro and Loulé, just a few kilometers away. In the Algarve capital, the action will be concentrated, as usual, next to the Doca. In the historic center of Loulé, fans will be invited to see the games at the Municipal Market.
The offers of one and the other municipality will be very different and were agreed between Faro and Loulé, as well as with the League of Clubs, organizer of the League Cup, and with CTT, official sponsor of the competition. In Faro, similarly to what happens when there are major football competitions, such as the World and European Championships, the venue will be designed to accommodate a lot of people, with the component of food and beverage taverns very present. In Loulé, the option was to create a more intimate environment, appealing to families and people of all ages.
«Let's create a Fan zone for fans at Jardim Manuel Bívar, which will stay there for a week [21 to 29 January]. We will have a mini-stadium, where games will take place at the youth level, as well as traditional football-themed entertainment for fans. There will also be a giant screen and an area to watch the games», he revealed to Sul Informação the vice president of the Chamber of Faro Paul Santos.
In Loulé, a space will be created «where you can watch the game, but in a more peaceful environment, appealing to conviviality and an intergenerational encounter». “Our target audience will not be the same as Faro, which points to a younger fringe of the population, there will be more families. We are also going to invite market operators to be open during the games», explained to our newspaper Hugo Nunes, vice-president of the Chamber of Loulé.
These options were studied together by the local authorities and the organization, so that the two entertainment areas do not enter into competition.
Loulé also thought of a program «aimed at the young fan», very much aimed at the school public, which will include various activities, taking place in different places, namely in schools and in the Municipal Park.
Em Faro, will be part of the program a Race of the Adept, «a race of 2 kilometers, which is intended to be a moment of socializing and partying, but which also serves to associate the sport component to the Fan zone», scheduled for the 28th of January, at 17 pm.
There are other surprises to be prepared by the organization of the Fan Zone of Faro, but that will only be released for some time.
Although the League Cup group stage has not yet started and it is not known which teams will compete in the Final Four, the expectations of the organization are high. And no wonder, as the event will feature Benfica, Sporting and Porto, as well as Braga, the heads of each of the four groups.
In the Algarve, the winners of each group will gather to dispute the semi finals, on the 25th and 26th (Wednesday and Thursday), games that will determine which teams will compete in the final, on January 29th (Sunday ). The winner of this last match will be consecrated as "Winter Champion".
"With this new model, which concentrates the games in the space of a week, in a single location, we believe that there will be fans who will choose to enjoy a mini-vacation in the region", said Paulo Santos.
Especially because the games take place "at a time when accommodation prices are lower and there is a lot of availability". "The association Faro and Loulé [who manages the Algarve Stadium] made a great effort to attract this event to the region, which can be important in helping to combat seasonality», illustrated the vice-president of the Chamber of Faro.
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