The 15th Albufeira Sports Gala honored, this Friday, February 22, athletes, coaches and association leaders who distinguished themselves by the results obtained.
The Albufeira Sports Gala returned to the city's Sports Pavilion, this year with a renewed image that brightened even more this night dedicated to the stars of sport. Nearly 200 athletes from 25 clubs and associations in the municipality took to the stage, achieving outstanding results in 21 sports.
«It is important that we recognize and reward all those who have distinguished themselves at a sporting level, regionally, nationally or internationally», said José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira.
The mayor recalled that in 2018 a large investment was made in this area, namely with the replacement of the Synthetic in Ferreiras, the new Athletics Track, the waterproofing of the Municipal Stadium bench, the placement of benches in several Pavilions and Synthetic Fields, the replacement from the floor of the Pavilhão de Olhos de Água and the EB 2,3 Dr. Francisco Cabrita, the construction of the Parque da Ribeira and the creation of new multipurpose rooms in the Municipal Swimming Pools that will increase the number of activities in this space.
“This year we are going to continue the projects started in 2018 and bet on the redevelopment of the existing sports park, designing new pavilions and rooms for training and sports practice. The objective is to diversify the offer of equipment that promotes formal and informal sports», said the president of the Chamber.
In addition to athletes, coaches and directors of local clubs, the municipality once again distinguished nationally-relevant personalities whose sporting career is worthy of praise. This year, the chosen ones were Ana Cabecinha, Jorge Braz and Paulo Sérgio.
The athlete, marcher with the highest number of titles and the best Olympic marks and distances at national level, confessed that she was happy to see the pavilion full, "a sign that the sport is alive" and highlighted the importance of this type of events that considers "fundamental to motivate athletes to work even harder to achieve titles, which are brought to our region and our city."
Ana Cabecinha praised the initiative of the Municipality of Albufeira, which «should be an example for other cities, so that the sport is increasingly valued and so that athletes feel supported to achieve better results».
Jorge Braz, national futsal coach who in 2018 brought to the country the title of European champion of the sport, was also honored by the municipality on this Gala night.
«The appreciation and recognition of merit is something extremely important to allow sports associations to continue to be motivated. Recognizing merit through an event of this nature is fantastic. It is a great pleasure to be here and get to know the sporting reality of Albufeira better», stressed the coach.
The third distinguished personality was Paulo Sérgio, coordinator of the Imortal Basket Club Training and under 18 men's coach, who won important titles both as coach and as a player at the Albufeirense club, where he was team captain.
In his speech, Paulo Sérgio thanked the City Council for «everything it has done in favor of sport in Albufeira» and advised young athletes to «continue to practice sport at the highest level, be ambitious, dream and raise the name of our City".
In addition to financial support for clubs and associations, which in 2018 exceeded 300 euros, José Carlos Rolo assured that investment in sport will cover other aspects.
«The municipality will apply for the organization of the 2021 World Crossing Championship and the 2022 Swimming World Championship for Athletes with Down Syndrome, taking advantage of the Açoteias Track and the Municipal Swimming Pools, two excellent facilities in the county'.
The mayor also guaranteed that the City Council is committed to recovering the Albufeira Summer Cup, as well as boosting the recently reclassified Municipal Athletics Track, «if possible bringing Portugal's Athletics championships to Albufeira».
The municipality will also continue the partnership with clubs and associations, with a view to holding major events, such as the Volta ao Algarve by Bike, the Algarve Cup, in Women's Football, the U-17 Football Tournament, the Crosse das Amendoeiras em Flor, «among many others that we helped to implement», said the mayor of Albufeira.
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