Taking sports practice to every corner in the Porto Metropolitan Area and involving different local entities in strategies to promote physical activity were some of the needs detected during a meeting of the Local Stakeholders Group, within the scope of the SportsCom Project, in which the metropolitan executive officer Orlando Leal participated.

The meeting, which took place in Maia with about 30 participants (from the Porto Metropolitan Area, its 17 municipalities and the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth) allowed to find some solutions to the challenges associated with community sport as an instrument to promote the health, social inclusion, well-being and resilience of the region’s communities.

Among the solutions found in the “Workshop on Solutions for Community Sport”, emphasis was placed on the need to define itinerant sports strategies, including mobile units and the purchase of vehicles for the transport of participants, technicians and materials. For example, most participants agreed on the creation of an itinerant sports practice model (“Rota Ativa” [Active Route]).

This measure aims to address barriers in the accessibility to sports in the region, particularly in territories marked by population dispersion and poorly articulated transport networks, which restrains regular access to physical activity, especially by more vulnerable or isolated populations.

Participants also proposed the integration of different local entities in strategies to promote physical activity, namely through the involvement of Local Health Units, Parish Councils, parishes, local commerce and other community structures.

In this context, the possibility of strengthening the link between public health and sports practice was particularly valued, through the recommendation of physical activity by health professionals as a preventive tool and promoter of well-being, in a logic of sport "prescription".

The meeting of the Local Stakeholders Group also served to take stock of the SportsCom project, which aims to help regional and local governments across Europe to develop and promote best sports practices.

The meeting was attended by the Maia City Councillor for Sports, Hernâni Ribeiro, who exemplified as best practice the activity developed by the Maia Senior club, under a municipal policy that seeks to create comprehensive programs for all ages and capacities, using sport as a vehicle for integration and active promotion of physical and mental well-being.