The mayor of Albufeira has signed a commitment to spend €301,000 on the Council's Sports Development Programme.
In total, 17 contracts will benefit 3,063 athletes involved in 27 types of sport, including basketball, gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, karate, soccer, futsal, athletics, jiu-jitsu, muay thai, cycling, squash, judo, ballroom dancing, fishing, fencing, hip hop, ballet, yoga, boxing, volleyball, martial arts, self defence, dancing, swimming and figure skating.
By the end of the year, the Council will sort out contracts with the remaining clubs and associations which had not got their application paperwork in on time.
In 2017, the Council spent about €230,000 on these sport support grants, so the 2018 grant programme is a 35% increase over the previous year.
The criteria set by the Council are based on: the number of federated athletes, the total number of practitioners, the competitive level, number of trainers and the results over the last year.
"The Municipality has followed an active policy of collaboration with clubs that mobilise local participants. In addition to the financial contribution, we also provide logistical and promotional support, we provide transportation and fuel, as well as facilities for training and games," explained the mayor.
The Council also will spend €33,700 on transportation, "mostly for the rental of vehicles for teams, since the municipality does not have the capacity to lend municipal transport to all the clubs."
This is all part of the Sports Association Support Plan which aims to support sports in the municipality by helping clubs promote access to sport, both in terms of training and the stopping young people getting bored, and generally promoting healthy life style habits.