This was said by Domingos Castro, President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation, who was in the municipality of Famalicão on Tuesday 10 December to attend the signing of the contract for the work and the laying of the foundation stone for the facility, which will be built on a 30,000 square metre plot of land located in Talvai, in the northern part of the city.

The project foresees the construction of an athletics track, with eight lanes and an indoor lawn, stands and various support buildings, changing rooms, as well as the construction of all the external arrangements outside the perimeter of the track, including a gravel warm-up course and lighting, an outdoor stand, a car park and roads. 

At stake is a municipal investment of more than 6 million euros, which will provide the municipality with a state-of-the-art sports facility, suitable for the practice of 23 athletics disciplines. 

‘We are increasingly a major driving force in the country, not just economically, but also in other areas of intervention and sport is clearly one of them,’ said Mayor Mário Passos, who was delighted to launch the project that will provide better conditions for the county's many athletes. ‘It's a great project, much sought after by us, by the people of Vila Nova de Famalicão and by the athletes, but it will also serve the sport and the country.’ 

Vila Nova de Famalicão is the municipality with the most athletes and clubs affiliated to the Braga Athletics Association (AAB). Over the last year, the municipality of Famalicão has hosted nearly half a hundred competitions, including road races, cross-country races and trails. 

‘I'm sure we'll gain even more expression and cement the growth of the many athletes who have achieved excellent results in national and international competitions. I'm sure that this improvement in conditions will also improve their results,’ noted Mário Passos.

The President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation also reinforced this idea. ‘With more and better conditions, we'll have more young people, more clubs and, naturally, we'll be closer to producing champions,’ said Domingos Castro, who also promised, “as soon as this development is ready, we'll bring a major competition to Famalicão because this facility deserves it”.

It should be remembered that the construction of the future Athletics Centre in Famalicão has an execution time of 645 days, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2026.