NOC of Portugal hosted the national conference

National conference on investments in sport in Portugal was held on 2 July 2019 in the conference room of the National Olympic Committee of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference was organised by the NOC of Portugal as a partner organisation in the iSport project.

After the introduction by the conference moderator Rita Nunes, participants were welcomed by Joao Paulo Almeida, Director General of the NOC of Portugal. On behalf of the national Ministry of Sport, introductory speech was given by Fernando Tenreiro. Following the opening of the conference, Alma Papić presented the objectives of the iSport project and provided information to participants about the latest development in the  negotiations for the next EU programming period and the position of sport as an eligible area of investment. Guidelines on investments in sport were presented by Guenther Grohall and Themis Kokolakakis.

After the presentations, participants discussed about the presented empirical results and their use in policy-making and decision-making. One of the key obstacles mentioned was the inability to collect statistical data on sport in Portugal. They faced many difficulties when they were construction the Sport Satellite Account Portugal. However, they concluded that Portugal needs data that can clearly present the impact that sport generates in Portugal. They also had difficulties in collecting data on sport halls, and the representative of the Association of Gyms and Academies of Portugal committed to work in collaboration with Statistics Portugal.

In conclusion, participants agreed on the importance of the iSport study to show decision-makers that it is worthy to invest in sport. National participants concluded that there is a need to strengthen cooperation between Portuguese national entities to contribute to better statistics in the field of sport.

The next conference on investments in sport will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania.