Press release - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação, Cultura e Desporto

The Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport clarifies the framework of the support granted for participation in the National Under-19 Men's Football Championship, following contacts and information recently made public.

Over the past two seasons (2024/2025 and 2025/2026), the regular phase of this competition has been covered under a programme contract that supports annual events. This arrangement allows for the sharing of travel costs and provides additional assistance.

The non-regular phase of the competition, as in all sports, is the result of a qualifying process that begins at the local level, continues to the regional level and culminates in the national phase. As such, it is subject to a different framework as regards support.

Qualification for this phase depends on the programme contracts to be signed with sports associations, based on their respective Sports Development Programme (PDD), which must be submitted by December 31, 2025, as well as the regional budget available for this area.

In 2025, programme contracts were signed in the context of "regional, national and refereeing activities" with the three football associations of the Azores, totalling €240,314.00, for an aggregate PDD of over €400,000.

For 2026, and according to the budget approved by the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, it was communicated to the organisations that the available reference amount remains the same as the previous year, i.e. €240,314.00.

It should be noted that the Government of the Azores only provides partial funding for sporting activities, which applies to all sports. Therefore, it is up to the sports associations to define, within the available budget, the conditions to be included in the programme contracts. For the Government of the Azores, priority should be given to the participation of youth teams and athletes training in the Region.

In the context of "regional, national and refereeing activities," football and futsal account for more than 20% of the amount of support granted for all sports.

It should also be noted that the competitive structures under the Portuguese Football Federation have undergone successive changes in recent years, without fully ensuring the principles of fairness and competitive access for teams from the autonomous regions, given their island status.

In the specific case of football, the regulations stipulate that the federation will cover the costs of air travel for the Under-17 Men's and Under-19 Women's teams, except for the Under-19 Men's National Football Championship.

The Government of the Azores acknowledges the sporting and educational merit of the team involved, Sport Club Angrense, which is entirely based in the Azores and belongs to a priority age group within the National Sports Development Plan. There have been ongoing calls for dialogue, common sense, and internal cooperation within the sector through regional associations and the club to identify a solution that enables participation in the competition.