First decision of the season in national football, first place in the new season that brought up old fights. Pinto da Costa, president of FC Porto, showed hope in a Super Cup final between the Dragones and Tondela, now relegated to the Second League, “that it could be an excellent sporting show and that it ends with a new victory for the club that holds hegemony of this competition.” competition”. However, and in light of the Aveiro meeting, the Porto leader did not fail to criticize the existing centrality in the country, putting football at the launch of Saturday’s game as a way to “give an example of democracy in a country where it is not yet fully implemented.”
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“In a stupidly centralized country, It is a rare source of satisfaction to see that an important football title will be discussed in Aveiro between a team from the North and another from the Center. There are several reasons that make football a very important activity for the Portuguese economy and society”, he begins by saying in the message published in the official program of the Football Federation for the Super Cup.
“Whether you like it or not, it is football that contributes the most to carrying the name of the country around the world. Whether we like it or not, with very rare exceptions, the most recognized Portuguese figures in football are. Whether we like it or not, it is football that often allows politicians to appear publicly and associate themselves with successes to which they have not contributed, but which they try to capitalize on in popularity. Whether you like it or not soccer, suffocated in taxes, represents an attractive source of income for the State. Whether we like it or not – and there are more and more people who don’t like it, I have no doubt – it is football that is usually at the forefront of the fight against many injustices, that is, those that cause unsustainable imbalances between different territories of the country.”, he continued, pointing to various points of society.
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“An FC Porto-Tondela played in Aveiro is one more proof of how football can lead the way and give an example of democracy in a country where it is not yet fully implemented. Contrary to what many would like, democracy does not end with elections. Portugal will only be fully democratic when there are equal opportunities for all citizens throughout the country. I am sure that this Super Cup will contribute to the happiness of many people in many places that are chronically forgotten”, he reinforced regarding the official premiere of the 2002/23 season at the national level.
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“My expectation, of course, is that in addition to this small contribution to mitigating blatant injustices, this game can also be an excellent sporting spectacle and culminates with a new victory for the club that holds the hegemony of this competition”, concluded Pinto da Costa.
Source: Observadora
