27 Feb 2020

Transversal growth to stay on top of the game

By Madjer, FPF Beach Soccer Coordinator

Madjer is FPF Beach Soccer Coordinator

After more than two decades of putting on the Portuguese jersey and fighting for my country on the sand, the time has come for me to leave the field and start a new venture... 

From the sand, I will step into an office at the FPF (Federação Portuguesa de Futebol) headquarters, and occupy my mind completely with finding ways to improve my team, the development of the sport in my country and, at the same time, fostering the young talent to scaffold a brighter future for Portugal’s beach soccer. As I see it, this is equally as exciting as scoring goals for my country…

Many people have asked me already, what my priorities are, what are the things I want to tackle, which are the areas that I want to take care of first… But the answer is: do we have to think of the different areas individually? Isn’t beach soccer a team sport? Isn’t each player involved in the sport relevant for the collective goal? 

I think they are, and I see beach soccer development as a set of actions and strategies made up of various fields. It is a transversal approach involving the pillars on which beach soccer is supported. 

Of course there is the formation of the athletes, coaches and referees taking part in beach soccer at all levels. But another key area, which absolutely deserves huge attention, is the development of women’s beach soccer, one of the primary elements on which we need to work on. But it also involves youth formation and the promotion and development of youth categories, competitions and national teams. 

If there is one thing we have learned in recent years, it is how the increase in international, club and women’s competitions worldwide is helping the sport grow both on a global and local scale. Momentum is vital in sport, and this is something that we need to keep up.  

Because when thinking about ways to grow a sport and help it achieve its potential, you cannot stop, you just need to keep pushing and experimenting. 

The same thing happens in any team. No matter you are the defending world champion. No matter if you are the best, you constantly need to think about how to stay on top. It is my firm belief that investing in the scouting and formation of young talent is the way to advance. After all, they are the players that will one day wear our national teams’ jerseys.

The simple fact is that, the more top-class players we have, the brighter the future of Portugal’s beach soccer will be. On a larger scale, the higher the level of our sport across the globe is, the bigger the benefits will be for the entire beach soccer world. 

It is a matter, again, of teamwork.