STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
The President of the Republic of Portugal bestowed his gratitude upon players, delegates, officials, and coaches, on Tuesday
The Palácio de Belém in Lisbon was ornately decorated and set-up for the recognition ceremony for the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes. Gomes acknowledged the hard work everyone put into winning these awards, saying, “No one wins without humility, without effort and without sharing.” The President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, gave an award to the man who helped his nation win the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 this past July. Players, coaches and officials of the National Beach Soccer Team, who won the FIFA World Cup 2015 held in Espinho, and the European Championship, held in Estonia, was also decorated by the President with various esteemed Portuguese honours.
Portugal had one of the best possible years that a beach soccer team can have and the residing President, Fernando Gomes, over saw it all. The foresight was remarkable as the team and country put forth a very concerted effort to improve upon a already very well developed beach soccer structure. The investment more than paid off and going forward, Portugal has solidified their place as a leader in the sport and will be for years to come with permanent beach soccer pitches and facilities becoming a norm for the Iberian country.
Among the distinguished honorees was one of the Directors of the Portuguese Football Federation and Head of Delegation, Pedro Dias, went on to say, “Portugal has a unique coastline and a set of popular beaches all over the world” and that “this was one of the biggest reasons for the Federation quest for investment in this mode”. The Portuguese National Selection, in attendance as well, will aim to win back-to-back titles in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The Bahamas 2017, but they will first need to qualify in 2016 in the Europe Regional Qualifiers, but as if the future was not bright before, it is being recognized now as more than such.
