Portuguese NOC News

17 March 2025 - Find here the latest news from the National Olympic Committee: events, courses, general assemblies and elections, trophies and much more.

17 March 2025 - On International Women’s Day, a talk on women in sports was organised by Valsassina College in which Rita Nunes, Director of the NOC's Department of Education and Olympic Memory, took part. Various topics were discussed with the students, including the participation of women in sport and the Olympic Games, the results obtained, and total parity in the area of participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Some examples were also given of the path that still needs to be followed to achieve full equality between women and men in sport and other spheres of society. Details here. Furthermore, meeting at the beginning of the week, members of the NOC’s advisory committees had the opportunity to share knowledge and take stock of the activities carried out during the 2022-2025 term of the governing bodies. Details here.

20 September 2024 - José Manuel Constantino, the NOC President, passed away on 11 August at the age of 74 while he was in Paris for the Olympic Games. Elected for the first time in 2013, he was re-elected in 2017 and 2021. He previously led the Portuguese Sports Institute. He had extensive experience in education, both at university and primary level, spanning 30 years. In the 1960s, he was a football player for Leões de Santarém.

In the 1980s, he became technical secretary of the Board of Sport Algés e Dafundo, and later served as an advisor to the Board of the Portuguese Weightlifting Federation. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Porto and the University of Lisbon. More info here on the NOC website and also here on the website of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

27 November 2023 - The NOC President, José Manuel Constantino, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lisbon at a ceremony held on 22 November at the Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMH). The ceremony was attended by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and a large audience made up of teachers; students; sports federation leaders; government representatives, including Ana Catarina Mendes, Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and for Parliamentary Affairs, and João Paulo Correia, Secretary of State for Youth and Sport; the President of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth, Vítor Pataco; FMH President Luís Bettencourt Sardinha; the rector of the university, Luís Ferreira; and a number of Constantino’s friends and family members. In his speech, the Portuguese President underlined Constantino’s immense contribution to the Portuguese Olympic and sporting movement, and said that the ceremony marked a day of celebration for sport, as it was paying tribute to a man who had dedicated his life to his passion, sport, and who was a remarkable advocate for the Olympic spirit in Portugal. Full details here.

30 January 2023 - More than 100 athletes and coaches attended the 2023 National Meeting of Olympic Hopes, organised by the NOC of Portugal on 21 and 22 January at the High Performance Centre in Jamor. The meeting aimed to prepare young hopefuls for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032. Patrícia Mamona, triple jump Olympic silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, and Telma Monteiro, judo Olympic bronze medallist at Rio 2016, were present to share their Olympic experiences and inspire all those attending. On the first day, athletes took part in activities related to Olympic education, integrity, nutrition, communication and the fight against doping. The coaches participated in the “Olympic Hopes” seminar and the “Evaluation and Control of Training” workshop. On the second day, evaluation and training control tests were carried out for the athletes in the laboratory at the Centre. More details here.

23 May 2022 - The NOC of Portugal has released a paper entitled “Priority areas and general recommendations for Portuguese sport”. Published in English, the document covers several case studies and sports policies from several European countries, along with one-to-one interviews with experts and key stakeholders. The study’s general recommendations aim to encourage all stakeholders to reflect on the present and future of sport in Portugal, after analysing other European countries’ systems and solutions. More details here.

14 January 2022 - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Portuguese Republic, has honoured Tokyo 2020 medallists Pedro Pichardo and Jorge Fonseca and the President of the Portuguese NOC, José Manuel Constantino. Pichardo, the Olympic triple jump champion, was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit. Fonseca, a bronze medallist in judo (-100kg), received the insignia of Commander of the Order Infante D. Henrique. Constantino was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Public Instruction for his role “over many years regarding the Olympic representations of Portugal” and also for his work, which has had a “training and pedagogical mission of national scope and international repercussion”. More details here.

3 May 2021 - The uniforms for the athletes of Team Portugal for Tokyo 2020 were unveiled during Portugal Fashion, a fashion event that promotes the national image, asserting itself as a reference for the creativity and aesthetic sophistication of Portugal abroad. Several Portuguese athletes – Carla Salomé Rocha, Evelise Veiga, Francisco Belo and Sara Catarina Ribeiro (athletics), Diogo Costa and Pedro Costa (sailing), Emanuel Silva (canoeing), Rui Silva (handball), Tamila Holub (swimming) and Tiago Apolónia (table tennis) – were models on the catwalk (photo), along with some professional models. More info here on the Portuguese NOC’s website.

16 April 2021 - To mark the 100-day countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the NOC of Portugal and Repsol launched the Equipa Portugal app, which will allow all Portuguese people to follow the activities of Team Portugal athletes preparing for the Games. The Equipa Portugal app provides information on competitions, results, the agenda and the biographies of the athletes who have qualified and are preparing for the Olympic Games. The app was presented during an online event (see photo) attended by the NOC President, José Manuel Constantino, and the Managing Director of Repsol Portugal, Armando Oliveira. More info here.

01 February 2021 - The Portuguese NOC took part in a “Women in Sport” webinar organised by the Portuguese Badminton Federation as part of a programme developed with the European Badminton Association. NOC Project Manager and former President of the Hockey Federation Joana Gonçalves, NOC Women and Sport Commission Chair Elisabete Jacinto, and Olympic badminton champion Ana Moura gave presentations on the current situation and strategies to increase women’s participation. More info here. In addition, NOC Sports Director Pedro Roque took part in a webinar on the theme “COVID vs Sport: from schools to federations”. More info here. Furthermore, the NOC has informed us that, at the beginning of the current Olympic cycle, it established the goal to improve support to all stakeholders of the Olympic Preparation Programme. “The Olympic Performance” programme was then developed, aiming disseminate scientific knowledge, and acting directly on the field. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, webinars were organised in a multidisciplinary perspective. The next cycle will be centred on preparations for Tokyo 2020. Full details here.