Porto City Hall extends fee exemption to city clubs and associations until July 2021

Porto City Hall has extended the time limit exemption for city clubs and associations to use municipal sports equipment until July. This measure had been issued early November last year and it was in place until the end of February, this year. This measure is renovated until the end of the sports season 2020/21, and its financial impact extends beyond 225 thousand euros. It includes 25 clubs in the city and a total of 11 sports categories, in 12 equipment within the municipal sports network.

The Municipality of Porto is aware of the growing constraints that sports clubs are enduring in such troubled times, thus it advanced this measure to exempt all clubs and associations from paying any fees to make use of the municipal facilities. This extraordinary measure is now extended until the end of July.

“In the context of such unprecedented times we live in, many sporting operators face serious cash-flow difficulties, so it is fundamental to renew this institutional support and extend it until the end of the sports season”, affirmed councillor for Youth and Sports, Catarina Araújo.

The Municipality of Porto decided to extend this exemptive measure for another five months because “it is not only an important aide, but also a strong appeal to the city’s clubs and associations not to give up and continue to ensure their relevant role as regards physical activity and sports development”, furthered Catarina Araújo.

This extraordinary measure applies to 12 equipment within the municipal network and it directly benefits 25 clubs and associations in town, namely Académico Futebol Clube, the Centro de Atletismo do Porto, the Clube Desportivo de Portugal, the Escola de Rugby do Porto, the Grupo Desportivo do Viso, the Núcleo Desportivo do Bairro do Bom Pastor, the Ramaldense Futebol Clube, the Sport Comércio and Salgueiros, among others.

It supports the modalities of athletics, badminton, basketball, football, futsal (indoor soccer), karate, kendo, kickboxing, rugby and volleyball.

This is but one of the measures approved by the Municipality of Porto to support the city’s clubs and associations, for example, the creation of an Emergency Support Line to Associations in Porto, a financial assistance of 200 thousand euros or the doubling of the Fund Allocation to Associativism in Porto, which is now 800 thousand euros.