The EUC will take place from the 15^th to the 23^rd of July in Braga.

Portuguese National Futsal Team is training at the University of Minho’s (UMinho) Sports Complex to prepare for the two friendly matches scheduled for 22^nd and 23^rd of June against Norway, in Fafe.

The Portuguese delegation has expressed its full support for the European Universities Futsal Championship, highlighting the importance that these international events have in the promotion of the sport, the region and the country.

By training at the University of Minho’s Sports Complex, the National Futsal Team and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) show their full support for the competition, ensuring their belief in the organizational and sporting success of the event.

The competition will be organized by UMinho and UMinho’s Students Union (AAUM), with the support of the Portuguese University Sports Federation (FADU), the FPF and Braga City Council.

There will be 28 teams participating in the competition (17 men and 11 women) from countries all across Europe. This will be one of the biggest sports event of the year, with about one thousand people involved, taking place at the UMinho Sports Complex, Altice Forum Braga and Lamaçães Sports Hall.

This will be the 3rd International Futsal Championship organized by UMinho after the 1998 and 2012 World Championships. "UMinho is the institution of higher education that has organized more international sports events, which leave an important organizational legacy," said the Director of FPF, Pedro Dias, highlighting the organizational capability of the University. For Pedro Dias "these are exceptional events for promoting the sport", and added “We fully supported it right from the beginning.”

The Director of the FPF pointed out that these kind of events also show the importance of “dual careers” as the number of students that can manage sports and academic success “is increasing” and that UMinho is “pioneer” in supporting students to that end.

One of these athletes was André Coelho. The player of SL Benfica and of the National Team studied Civil Engineering at UMinho, reconciling and achieving success in both (futsal and studies). "It's difficult, but UMinho gave me all the conditions to be able to reconcile both", ensuring that the university competitions, both national and international, are good experiences for those who want to pursue a career in futsal. "It's an excellent professional preparation, but also an incredible personal experience," he added. André concluded that “being a UMinho organization it will most certainly be a 5 star event."

Tiago Brito, another example of a successful “dual career” player appealed “to all participants to give their best and above all to enjoy the city of Braga and all the event’s excellent infrastructures”.

"Participating in these kind of university competitions is something that marks their careers." Said Jorge Braz, National Futsal Coach, who pointed out the importance of combining sport and studies. "It is important we have well-formed futsal players," said the coach who led Portugal to the title of European Champions in 2018. Jorge Braz hopes that the Championship is, above all, "an excellent experience for all teams and players" and revealed that he will be following the event, confident that organizational success will be accompanied by sports success.