‘Talent alone is not enough, you have to work hard.’ It was with this statement of determination and humility that Ana Azevedo, captain of the Portuguese national futsal team and the player with the most international caps ever for Portugal, summed up the mindset that took her to the top of the world.
The athlete was welcomed on Monday, 22 December, by the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Mário Passos, at the Town Hall, in a symbolic moment that celebrated her achievement of becoming world runner-up. This historic achievement was accomplished in the first edition of the Women's Futsal World Cup, held in the Philippines between 21 November and 7 December 2025.
During the meeting, Mário Passos praised the player's extraordinary career, who was also honoured with the Excellence Award at the Famalicão Sports Gala earlier this year.
For the mayor, Ana Azevedo is ‘one of the greatest references in national futsal and a source of enormous pride for the people of Famalicão. She is an example that, with sacrifice and resilience, it is possible to achieve the most ambitious goals.’ The mayor also emphasised the importance of local associations, recalling that the athlete's career began at the Grupo Cultural Recreativo de Vermoim and reiterated ‘the municipality's commitment to investing in sports infrastructure so that women's sport can be increasingly promoted in a wide range of disciplines’.
At 39, Ana Azevedo confessed that, despite the ‘bitter taste’ of not winning the final, the real trophy was the social impact of the sport in Portugal. Regarding the future, she revealed that her immediate focus is to finish the current season, ensuring that she will continue to play as long as she feels capable of competing at the highest level.
This reception also served to mark the awarding of a Vote of Praise to the athlete, approved at the last City Council Meeting, formalising the gratitude and pride for the exemplary way in which Ana Azevedo, as a record holder for international appearances and a notable figure in national sport, has taken the name of Vila Nova de Famalicão beyond borders.
