The European Champion Clubs' Cup in Athletics, to be held on February 3 at the Açoteias track (Albufeira) will have the «largest participation ever», with «63 teams from 23 countries», revealed today Jorge Santos, president of the Association of Athletics of the Algarve, at the press conference for the presentation of the competition.
It will even be "the record for participation in 56 editions of the Cup", guaranteed the same person in charge. In terms of Portuguese clubs, in addition to Sporting Clube de Portugal, which is European champion in title, in male and female seniors, Sport Lisboa e Benfica will also be present, with its male junior team.
This competition, which will bring 600 of the best athletes from all over Europe to the Algarve, will be played alongside the already traditional Crosse Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor, which reaches its 42nd edition, as well as regional championships at various levels. In total, revealed Jorge Santos, there will be "more than a thousand athletes participating in that sporting morning." But if you add to that the School Sport and Adapted Sport events, «in just six, seven days, we will have more than 4000 athletes here, which is very good».
The press conference took place in the main hall of the Albufeira Chamber, whose president underlined that the Aldeia das Açoteias track is "a talisman area for athletics, with exceptional conditions, whether for high competition, training or leisure" .
The meeting with the journalists was also attended by the captains of Sporting's men's and women's athletics teams, which last year became European champions precisely in Açoteias.
Sara Moreira guaranteed that "the women's team has prepared and continues to prepare to fight for the title's revalidation", while Licínio Pimentel stressed the same goal, despite the added difficulties, since the "foreign teams are increasingly betting on this competition, with a bigger and stronger participation».
For his part, Carlos Silva, coordinator of Sporting's Athletics Section, began by thanking the Câmara de Albufeira for the invitation addressed to the Lisbon club to be at the press conference. «After Sporting was European champion of cross and track, the Câmara de Albufeira was the only institution that invited us to be present in anything. This Chamber knew how to make a difference”, he stressed.
Controversies aside, Carlos Silva highlighted the «place of excellence for us and for international athletics», noting that Sporting, a club with great traditions in the sport, is in Açoteias that makes its «preparations for the cross-country and sports teams. track".
In the Cup, «the Sporting team has to be prepared to reach the best possible place». And what place will this be? «A place on the podium».
Custódio Moreno, regional delegate of the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ), began by recalling that «athletics is only the sport that has brought the most Olympic medals and titles in Portugal».
The official also made a point of stressing that «the Açoteias track is by far the best track in the world for «cross-country practice», which was once a sport very much cherished by the Portuguese. «The cross-country did not lose importance, nor did it disappear from the map. The point is that there is no longer just cross-country and athletics to bring joy to the Portuguese».
In fact, he stressed, in «Algarve we have already surpassed the one thousand federated athletes».
For all this and because "here we have the cream" of athletics, concluded Custódio Moreno, the IPDJ "supports this test of soul and heart."
In conclusion, Rui Costa, technical director of the Algarve Athletics Association (AAA), made a point of recalling the importance of the Crosse das Amendoeiras, which is the “queen race” of the AAA.
«Without the support of the Municipality of Albufeira, it would not be possible to keep this crosse alive», «the only one in Portugal that is part of the IAAF calendar, on the map of the great international crosses».
The technical responsible also expressed his satisfaction for the «great confidence» that the European Athletics Association has in the work of the Algarve association, by integrating the Crosse das Amendoeiras in the international calendar and by bringing the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the region. "It's a sign of the confidence you have in us, in our organization."
Rui Costa ended with an appeal to the public: «we would like to have the Crosse das Amendoeiras full of audiences» to watch and cheer.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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