University lecturer Alexandre Mestre focuses on inclusion and transparency

Geared around university students, the first day of the Future of Football International Congress focused in on the role of fans in football, the future of training coaches, the development female football and also the game off the pitch. Universidade Europeia lecturer and lawyer Alexandre Mestre was invited to speak on the issues, as well as problems he sees in Portuguese football.

“When we speak about Portuguese football, as a lawyer I have to add a bit about how we can develop the idea of transparency, public involvement in decision-making and the integration of women and disabled people into the sport. There are various issues off the pitch which are really relevant, including things that can help the fans believe in true sportsmanship", affirmed Alexandre Mestre.

Moving on to an analysis of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), the lecture added: "The PFF is one of the 19 federations within a total group of 209 in FIFA which publishes its regulations and statutes. It is important to mention the good things too. On the other hand, there is room for improvement in terms of cooperation and togetherness between organisations. I always give the example of shops which sell the same thing, always wanting their competitors to close, but clubs need their competitors economically and financially. Anything that can promote a greater union between clubs should be given priority. Another important issue is the transparency of clubs, because sometimes it is difficult to understand what regulations they are working with."

Alfredo Silva focuses on a variety of issues in relation to fans

The Rio Maior Technical School's Professor Alfredo Silva was the lucky name chosen to open the series of seminars on the first day of the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday. Focusing on the theme of "Fans for the Future of Football", the professor's presentation distinguished the difference between spectators and fans and their link with clubs.

“This kind of initiative is is really important for the younger generations, who are the future leaders of the country. To organise an event on the Future of Football is to look that little bit further ahead. We have to focus on ethical issues off the pitch as well. Today, we are also here to acknowledge that there are different kinds of fans too", explained Alfredo Silva, going on to reflect how Sporting in particular develops its link with the fans: "I have a special admiration for sporting and I know that the the club really studies their fan base. Only by doing that can you better understand the fans and, as a result, make them happy. You can see a reflection of the hard work Sporting has been doing in the fact that the club's fans are so knowledgeable."

One of the highlights of the Rio Maior Technical School professor's presentation was a section on spectators numbers in the stadiums of Portugal's big three. At 70% capacity, Alfredo Silva indicated a possible increase to 80% and resulting extra revenue of 3.9 million euros. To reach this target, the professor affirms that clubs need to do their homework: "I think it is really important that the big clubs also play a big social role too. They have supporters' clubs and coverage on free channels. With the crisis people have lost income, but fans carry on as members of the clubs they love, because they feel a kind of identification with the club. What I see is that the smaller clubs have to adopt strategies for increasing their fan bases. Nothing is built in a day and it will take years, but it is a serious bit of work that needs to be done. There In bigger countries there are more big cities, which is the opposite of in Portugal and that also has an influence. Fan bases are proportional to the population of each city."

Gijs de Jong on new technologies

The Dutch Football Federation's Director of Operations, Gijs de Jong, is one of the names who will speak at this year's The Future of Football International Congress, being hosted in Alvalade on the 20th and 21st of April.

Speaking with the club's official website this afternoon, de Jong touched on the issues of new technologies in football: "The video referee is the future of football. Technologies has developed so much in recent years that it is time for us to use it for the development of football. I am sure that in a fer years we will look back at how the video referee changed football."

Gijs de Jong is responsible for the Dutch Football Federations' ‘Refereeing 2.0’ project, launched in 2013 with the goal of supporting referees. The project is centred around goal-line technology, fifth and sixth assistant referees and the use of the video referee.

Find out more about this week's International Congress

Sporting Clube de Portugal will host the second edition of The Future of Football International Congress this week, from the 18th to the 21st of April. It isn't too late to get involved and you can sign up at www.thefutureoffootball.org.

the congress itself will open on Wednesday afternoon (14h30) in the Artur Agostinho Auditorium, with an open session attended by Bruno de Carvalho, President of Sporting CP, João Wengorovius Meneses, Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, and Fernando Gomes, President of the UEFA Competitions Committee and the Portuguese Football Federation.

The first panel, titled Innovation in Football, will get underway at 15h00 and will touch on themes including new technologies, innovation in other sports, technologies and new rules and metrics in football. After a coffee break at 17h00 a panel titled Relation with the Media will get underway, focusing on issues such as counter-information, bias vs. impartiality, the impact of public figures and social networks.

On the 21st of April, the day will begin at 09h30, with a panel on New Sources of Revenue for Clubs, including themes such as advertising, television right and growth strategy. To finish a session on Emerging Markets will start at 11h30, including India, the United States, Asia and Africa.

The closing session will be attended by Sporting Clube de Portugal President Bruno de Carvalho, FIFA Vice-President Ángel Maria Villar and the President of the League Pedro Proença.

Panel dedicated to Inovation in Football at The Future of Football International Congress

A little over a year after the first The Future of Football International Congress, the sport that we love really has changed. Today, in no small part due to the hard work of Sporting CP, football has begun a long process of reform. The International Board has began testing video refereeing and UEFA has approved the use of goal-line technology for the 2016 European Championships and for UEFA competitions in 2016/17.

Going back to the first conference, Sporting hosted names such as Harry Collins, Professor at the University of Cardiff; Ian Treseder, MCC Digital Manager; Keith Hackett, former Premier League referee; Dirk Schlemmer, head of goal-line technology in the Bundesliga; and Björn Lindner, president of the company Goalcontrol. Their main conclusion: technology can be introduced into football without taking away from the game.

Gijs de Jong, the Dutch Football Federation's Director of Operations, has already been involved in testing new technologies in the Eredivisie, in a match between Feyenoord and Heerenveen. David McHugh, from the Welsh Rugby Federation, also has something to say on the issue after the recent Rugby World Cup, while Darren Bailey and Paul Neilson also bring extensive experience to the table.

The first panel at II Future of Football International Congress, titled INOVATION IN FOOTBALL, will be composed of the following speakers:

- MODERATOR: Emanuel Medeiros, CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)

- NEW TECHNOLOGIES: Gijs de Jong, Director of Operations for the Dutch Football Federation

- INOVATION IN OTHER SPORTS: David McHugh, Welsh Rugby Federation

- TECNOLOGY AND NEW RULES: Darren Bailey, Director of Football Regulation and Administration of Football Associations

- METRICS IN FOOTBALL: Paul Neilson, Global Head of Performance Lab Prozone

The second edition of The Future of Football International Congress will take place on the 20th and 21st of April, in Estádio José Alvalade. To get involved, visit www.thefutureoffootball.org

The Future of Football Congress sent for second running

After the outstanding success of the first Future of Football Congress, Sporting will host a second edition, on the 20th and 21st of April. Board Member Luís Roque spoke with the Sporting website this week about what we can expect from the event.

“We want it to be a congress with international visibility, with a quality that is just as good as the last one or maybe even better. We want the fans to get involved, along with everyone else who likes football. The idea is for the congress to generate discussions which can contribute to a variety of football related themes. The questions which we will tackle can add to the football debate around Europe and the rest of the World. The congress gives us the chance to bring together people who are really relevant for football in Europe and around the world, which allows us share ideas that will help Sporting going into the future", explained Luís Roque, before speaking about the speakers who have been invited to take part: "The panels are pretty much all new. About 90% of the speakers are participating for the first time and they will contribute with very distinct things. We have a panel on inovation, which will talk about new technologies. Sporting is the only club in Portugal which supports the use of technologies to help referees and that is an example of the kind of ideas we can bring to the world of football."

For more information, or to get involved, visit www.thefutureoffootball.org