On Saturday night, Rui Pedroto announced the creation of the FC Porto Foundation before Porto supporters with “75 or more years of connection and love for the Club, who helped make it greater,” describing it as “a flame that joins the flame of the Dragon” and emphasizing that its “main purpose will be to promote the realization of the fundamental rights of citizens, enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and its laws, thus contributing to the development of Portuguese society.”
After detailing the institutional nature of the new project, the vice-president described the foundation with its structural characteristics and outlined other central purposes of the organization, which include social objectives and closeness to the Club: “It is established exclusively within FC Porto and thus remains umbilically linked to it, with its own and inalienable assets, economically sustainable and with management autonomy, in a communion of interests and full symbiosis with the founding Club,” adding that the initiative aims, among other points, “to support the Club’s sustainability and social responsibility strategy, by designing and carrying out initiatives for its members, employees, athletes and former athletes, strengthening their connection to FC Porto and identification with its values, promoting the expansion of the Club’s membership base and coordination with its Casas, as well as projecting the FC Porto brand as a unifying, supportive, and sharing force, at the service of society and the communities where it establishes its presence.”
In an appeal addressed to the Porto community, Rui Pedroto invited everyone to contribute to this project and thanked those who made the initiative possible: Having issued the challenge to the “blue and white family” – “We count on everyone: members, fans, supporters, employees, leaders, sponsors, and partners of our great Club, so that we can fulfill our mission” – Rui Pedroto expressed “deep gratitude to the FC Porto employees who helped make all this possible” and concluded his speech about “the youngest child” of the Porto nation with unifying words: “United we will be stronger. Long live Futebol Clube do Porto.”
Diamond Values“First of all, I want to extend a very special greeting to those who are today honored with the Diamond Rosettes. It is 75 or more years of connection and love for the Club, which you have helped to make greater with your invaluable contribution and which make our FC Porto what it is today, a major symbol of our city, of the North, and of the country, and which throughout its history has played an undeniable role in projecting and enhancing the prestige of Portugal in the Concert of Nations. We have always been and will always be an example of tenacity, perseverance, resilience in the face of adversity, ambition, and a spirit of conquest, respecting the supreme values of sport: integrity, fair play, respect for others, where there are no enemies, only opponents. Opponents whom we want to share with us this way of feeling and living sport.”
The Purpose of Creating the Foundation“In this almost year and a half of the new Club Social Bodies’ term, marked by a bold and transformative agenda, the time has now come to establish our Foundation, the FC Porto Foundation, thus honoring a goal and an electoral commitment of our candidacy. The emergence of foundations originating from the sports world, of which there are countless examples in Europe and also in Portugal, follows a very clear trend: that clubs can and should go further and be a true driving force at the service of the community, contributing to the well-being and quality of life of citizens, particularly the most vulnerable. FC Porto could not remain on the sidelines of the great challenges of contemporary times in such a troubled world in which we live. After being approved by the Club’s General Assembly and its Board, the act of establishing the Foundation and its statutes will soon take place. A Foundation that is established exclusively within FC Porto and thus remains umbilically linked to it, with its own and inalienable assets, economically sustainable and with management autonomy, in a communion of interests and full symbiosis with the founding Club.”
The Challenges to Meet“Its main purpose will be to promote the realization of the fundamental rights of citizens, enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and its laws, thus contributing to the development of Portuguese society. The FC Porto Foundation will also aim to support the Club’s sustainability and social responsibility strategy, by designing and carrying out initiatives for its members, employees, athletes and former athletes, strengthening their connection to FC Porto and identification with its values, promoting the expansion of the Club’s membership base and coordination with its Casas, as well as projecting the FC Porto brand as a unifying, supportive, and sharing force, at the service of society and the communities where it establishes its presence. In the fields of social action, education, health and sport, culture, environment, on the international stage, particularly among Portuguese-speaking countries, with its own projects and working with a wide range of partners and similar organizations, we will thus be at the service of Portugal and the Portuguese, especially those who need us most, so that together we can contribute to a more just, cohesive, and supportive society.”
The Appeal to the Porto Family“We count on everyone: members, fans, supporters, employees, leaders, sponsors, and partners of our great Club, so that we can fulfill our mission. I evoke here, if you allow me, the memory of my father, for his love for FC Porto and for the man he was. An example of integrity, solidarity, and respect for others, values in which I fully recognize myself and which I have tried to follow throughout my life.”
The Motto for the Future“Finally, a deep and heartfelt thank you to all those who allow us to be here today celebrating this founding moment. To our President André Villas-Boasto my colleagues on the Board, to the Presidents of the General Assembly and Fiscal and Disciplinary Council, António Tavares and Angelino Ferreira, to Fernando Freire de Sousa, Vice-President of the Superior Council and, through them, to all other members of these Bodies, to the members of the SAD Administration and to the employees of FC Portowho helped us make all this possible. To the great blue and white family, its youngest child now joins, the FC Porto Foundation. It is another spark, another flame that joins the flame of the Dragon. United we will be stronger. Long live Futebol Clube do Porto. Thank you very much.”
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.
