The Municipality of Famalicão received once again, for the fourth consecutive year, the title of "Sport-Friendly Municipality", a distinction awarded by the Associação Portuguesa de Gestão do Desporto Portuguese (APOGESD) (“Association of Sports Management”) in partnership with the Social City and with the institutional support of the Portuguese Republic.
The revalidation of the title took place last Wednesday, December 30th, in a ceremony that took place in the neighbouring municipality of Póvoa de Varzim.
Also under this programme, the famalicense municipality was awarded second place in the "Digital Presence of Sport and Physical Activity" competition and saw the activities promoted in times of pandemic recognised by receiving the "Recommended" award in the "COVID-19 Intervention in Sport and Physical Activity" competition.
The free and population-oriented sports activities, namely with the programmes "Famalicão em Forma" and "Mais e Melhores Anos", registration and insurance of young athletes in the different sports federations supported by the City council, the support to the activities of associations and communities, the extension and modernisation of the municipality's sports park and its permanent maintenance, the promotion of children's motor skills and the organisation of multiple sports events are some of the arguments that make Famalicão a national public recognition for its sports policies and dynamics.
The Mayor Paulo Cunha believes that "committing on sport is committing on the quality of life, well-being and health of the famalicenses" and that, therefore, "this is a distinction that leaves us all very satisfied and certain that this work cannot stop".
On the other two distinctions received, the Mayor adds that "in times of pandemic the digital has gained even more dimension" and that the online sports classes and the newly created YouTube channel "Famalicão Senior" were and still are very important "to bring inspiration and energy to people's lives".
It is recalled that the objective of the “Sport-Friendly Municipality" programme is to monitor, recognise and disseminate good practices of intervention, in the municipal scope, in the development of practices that enhance regular physical activity and Portuguese sports development, starting from practices implemented by each municipality adhering to the programme.
The national head of the programme, Pedro Mortágua Soares, highlights the fact that, in a year marked by the pandemic, the municipalities have "continued their work, adapting it to current circumstances, but not ceasing to use sport and physical activity as vehicles for promoting a healthy life".