Berta Cabral congratulates Clube União Micaelense for organising International Football Tournament 2025 - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral, congratulated Clube União Micaelense for organising the 2025 edition of the International Football Tournament, which took place in Ponta Delgada and brought new dynamics to the sports and tourism scene on São Miguel Island.

Berta Cabral, who chaired the closing session of the tournament on behalf of the President of the Government, emphasised the high quality of the initiative. This year, it brought together over 90 clubs from 18 countries, involving 5 thousand participants, including players, coaches, family members and support teams.

According to Berta Cabral, this significant mobilisation “demonstrates the growing importance of sport as a driving force for social and economic development, and the regional tourism sector."

For the government official, "this combination of sport and tourism is particularly relevant in the current context, where the attractiveness of the Azores as a destination for diversified and quality experiences all year round is being reinforced."

Although the tournament is taking place at the beginning of the IATA summer, Berta Cabral noted that "it is important to stress that this type of initiative does not compete with traditional tourism; on the contrary, it complements and improves it.  The event brings in new audiences, builds visitor loyalty and contributes to further consolidating the internationalisation of our destination."

She also highlighted the crucial role played by Clube União Micaelense in structuring and running the initiative. 

"The work carried out by this century-old institution is worthy of recognition. The organisational capacity, the involvement of the local community, the mobilisation of volunteers and the logistical excellence demonstrate that the Azores have the conditions to host international high-level sporting events," she said.

Berta Cabral also offered a word of encouragement for this project to continue, emphasising its importance as an international benchmark.

"As such, the International Football Tournament deserves our recognition," she said.