School of Champions

“The Internacional Club of Almancil is a club where the level of training has resulted in the winning of the highest number of titles in the Algarve. We’ve won everything there is to win. Last year we were in the only (Algarvian) team in the first division of the national championship for juniors”, Luis Carlos Donnes began by telling us.

“Our principle objective is to try and give, year after year, the best training possible to our youngsters – particularly to the smallest ones. They’re our greatest investment. Until two years ago, we didn’t even charge their parents a subscription fee”, he added.

The “smallest ones” are children aged from 5 to 10 years old, who early on start developing their sense of teamwork, and collective spirit. “We have athletes who have already left us and are now playing for premier league clubs – for example Olhanense.

Joshua Silva’s there – a lad who was chosen to play for the National Under-21 Selection. And right now, we have five players leaving the juniors who are on their way to first division clubs.

One may well end up going to the «Futebol Clube de Porto», and the other to «Nacional da Madeira»”, he added.

“I tend to say – and I think this is important – that all our athletes attain a level in life that comes from sport, in terms of discipline, rigor and work. We try to encourage our youngsters to apply what they’ve learned in football to life in general”, he explains.

But the training given in this club doesn’t limit itself to football. The club HQ “also functions as a tutoring centre. When the children leave school, they can come and do their homework here before starting training”, Luis Donnes adds.

“Very soon, we’re going to introduce a new initiative that’s going to act as a link between school and football. There’ll be communication between the teachers and our team of trainers so that we’ll know if the pupils are performing properly at school, and so that we can interact with the whole pedagogic side of their lives”, explains the president.

“Football schools have to evolve. We see often that kids are punished for not getting good enough grades – and then the parents stop them from coming to club training. So, we’d prefer to be able to give this educational boost to children so that they can continue their training. If not, we all lose out”.

Right now “we have four teams of 7-a-side football, and five of 11-a-side. This structure may stay the same next year, or it may not. It all depends on the funds we raise from our various initiatives.”

“Unfortunately, as we’re all well aware, there’s a crisis out there, and we’re supported in a big way by Loulé town council” which itself “is experiencing difficulties and has cut back substantially on the support it gives us”.

Next season the club will need around 60.000 euros. “At this precise moment, we have half that amount covered”.

One of the many events organized to raise funds and keep the club active is a golf tournament scheduled for 10th July at Quinta do Lago. “The event is open to anyone who wants to play – they don’t need any specific handicap”. Subscriptions have been set at €50, but the price is flexible and can alter according to the financial situation of each participant.

In terms of numbers, the structure of the club involves 2-3 coaches for each scale (seven in total). Each scale has a technical director and requires logistical back-up: transport, pitch bookings, games bookings and alterations.

“We’re talking of between 30-40 people – each one with their own responsibility and function”, Donnes tots the figures up. And “we try to bring in the best trainers possible (within the financial limitations of the club)”.

“Roughly 90 per cent of our athletes are from the borough of Almancil, and the rest are from Faro and Olhão. We always have a time when we do a kind of talent-spotting of youngsters. We organize matches at primary schools, and then invite youngsters to come and train with us”.

Another way of recruiting players is through “parents who want their children to play football. Whatever the way in, the club is open to everyone. It’s not just for the kids that know how to play. We have some that really aren’t that good but who manage to end up integrating well”. Or going even further…

“You have to work at talent. Our teams that have been really successful were made up of players who weren’t snapped up by other clubs. The potential was there, but it wasn’t developed”, he explains.

“We’re also one of the only clubs that has a female team, for the 14 to 18-year-olds. It’s a new initiative, only 6 months old or so. As there’s no women’s championships in the Algarve, we’ll have to organize some tournaments for our athletes”.

“It’s funny because it was the girls that came to us and asked us if we would be interested in a female team. We have a technical team that looks after them, and it has all gone very well”.

And football is still the king, when it comes to youngsters? “Time’s are different. Kids these days have games consoles, computers, the Internet – all of which end up being quite strong competition. In the old days there were less distractions and maybe because of this, football was lived with more intensity”, says Donnes. “It was taken more seriously”.

“We have some youngsters who really want to be professional footballers in the future – but we also have others who play the piano, who are theatre artists, or who have other aspirations that are not connected to football.

I think youngsters today see football in another way”, the president considers. “I know many who play, and then continue with their studies to college/ university”.

Finally, Luis Carlos Donnes calls for “parents to take more part in their children’s sporting lives, and to create synergies with clubs, who need this kind of help. I would like parents to incentivate their children to practice sport – whether it’s football, or something else.

These days, all the new technologies mean our youngsters are less and less sociable, less healthy and a lot fatter, than before”.