Nuno Lobo is officially a candidate for president of the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), whose elections should take place at the beginning of 2025.
When presenting the candidacy, he spoke of a crisis in national football, promised support of 20 million and a revolution in competitive frameworks, from the districts to the I League and the creation of a subsidiary of Cidade de Futebol to the north.
Leader of the Lisbon Football Association (AFL) for the last 12 years, Lobo is, in this way, the first face to present himself to succeed Fernando Gomes, a leader to whom he left a lot of praise in his presentation speech, contrary to the criticisms expressed against “ someone who is said to be a candidate for the Federation”, in reference to Pedro Proença, president of Liga Portugal.
Lawyer and sports director at AFL, Nuno Lobo considers that the position he is applying for and “aspires to” will always be his “dream chair”, a “distinguished place for any Portuguese football director”, he highlights.
In an indirect statement to Pedro Proença, he refuses to make “this place a springboard for international organizations or merely instrumental for the ego of those who do not think about Portuguese football, but only in their navels”, he said in the presentation held at a hotel in Marquês de Pombal , in Lisbon, reserved for journalists.
“Commitment” was a word widely repeated by the now candidate who publicly admits that he will fulfill his mandate until the end, in reference, once again, to Pedro Proença, whose mandate in Liga Portugal only ends in 2027.
The three axes: A Football City in the North and 20 million supports
Nuno Lobo revealed “three basic axes” on which the program he will present will be based. “The Football City in Lisbon is exhausted”, they propose “the construction of a delegation and a decentralized Football City in the north of the country”, on an axis “between Porto and Braga” and which could house the “national teams, women’s football or futsal”, he explained.
At the same time, it intends to support the “professionalization of the 29 ordinary members of the FPF”, a measure budgeted at five million euros and also the “creation of an emergency fund for professional and non-professional football, worth 15 million, with the aim of reinforcing the competitiveness of clubs and SAD’s (Sports Joint Stock Companies)”. 20 million euros distributed following a formula that “I will present at the right time”, he added.
More concerned with the future than living on the laurels of past achievements, Nuno Lobo recalled that Portuguese football moves “at two speeds”, separating what lives under the purview of the FPF and that of the Liga Portugal.
For the AFL leader and candidate for the Portuguese Football Federation, football under the supervision of the FPF is thriving” and the teams are “respected and feared in the
men’s football, men’s and women’s futsal, beach football and women’s football growing and developing”.
However, on the other side of the coin, in professional football, “we have lost competitiveness at European level, sports societies are decapitalized, facing great difficulties, recurring debts with the State, athletes and suppliers, and their directors are on a knife’s edge and handed over to lucky,” he added.
“The II League is completely financially unviable and the 1st League does not distribute funds that belong to the clubs, spending them in an incomprehensible and irresponsible way”, he criticized.
He wants the restructuring of the “competitive frameworks from the base to the top”, that is, a revolution that encompasses the “last district” up to the main competition in Portuguese football, a path to be taken after a “serious debate and national public discussion”, he highlighted .
Changes that must pass, in the case of Portuguese Cup games, allow smaller clubs, district and national, to welcome the “big ones” at their home.
If elected, “as President of the Federation I will not resign from intervening, when necessary, in professional football”, he promised.
Having kicked off, he guaranteed that “from now on until election day”, he will cover “all fields in the country”, speak “with everyone, new contributions and new solutions” and “debate with all 29 partners ordinary members of the FPF and the 84 delegates”, he assured.
Fernando Gomes’ abstention, the meeting with Figo and Martínez to maintain
Directing praise to Fernando Gomes, “the best president of all time”, he believes that the highest federative leader will not take “sides in the elections” and should, rather, want to leave the FPF “as a historic, unique leader”.
Support is always a topic that attracts attention in the media. In response to journalists, he guarantees that he has support “not only from clubs, but also from delegates from class associations and regional associations”, he said. “To apply I have to have the support that allows me to be a candidate, have the minimum subscriptions. I’ve never run for anything to meet a calendar. I’m going to win, I have no doubt about that”, he reinforced.
Asked about a meeting in which he was seen alongside Luís Figo, he was evasive as to whether it would be a demonstration of support for the former Portuguese international. “A candidate cannot fail to listen to the great captain. Luís Figo will always be part of the federation with me”, he confirmed.
Defending that the arbitration sector should remain within the federation, he also spoke in relation to Roberto Martínez and guarantees that he is not thinking about replacing the current national coach. “There is a contract and I undertake my commitments. I always assume everything I promise and have on the table. It’s not even up for discussion. He is my selector”, concluded Nuno Lobo.
