Ana Azevedo, one of the biggest names in Portuguese futsal, received the Excellence Award at the 10th Famalicão Sports Gala, presented by the Mayor, Mário Passos. The ceremony took place on Sunday, November 9, at the Famalicão Municipal Pavilion, on a night when nearly three hundred athletes, managers and coaches from Famalicão were honoured for their recent sporting achievements.

Considered an inspiration in the sport, Ana Azevedo, from Famalicão, has had a long career in futsal, having won numerous national titles. She is the player with the most international caps in the history of the Portuguese national team, having worn the national team jersey 139 times, a gesture that still fills her with pride today. ‘After 15 years, I still go as if it were the first time. It's a huge source of pride,’ said the athlete, who is preparing to represent Portugal in the World Cup.

In a public speech filled with emotion and gratitude, Ana Azevedo highlighted the fundamental role of her family in her career and recalled the early days of her sporting career at Futebol Clube de Vermoim, the sporting “home” that saw her grow up. "I grew up knowing that we could reconcile ambition with respect. Over the years, I realised that to achieve my dreams I would have to sacrifice, fight and give my all. Above all, to face the obstacles in our lives, we must have great strength and a unique love," said the futsal player.

Ana Azevedo is currently in the final stages of preparation for the first edition of the Women's Futsal World Cup in Oeiras, which she considers the culmination of her career, sharing the ambition of bringing the cup to Portugal and giving Famalicão a futsal world champion. ‘I hope that on December 7, this land that saw me grow up will share this joy with me,’ she commented.

At this edition of the Famalicão Sports Gala, 270 athletes, coaches, associations, clubs and sports officials were honoured, receiving the Famalicense D'Ouro award for national and international titles achieved in 30 sports in the 2024 and 2024/2025 seasons.

‘This number clearly shows the sporting dimension of our municipality and the skill and talent of our award winners,’ said Mário Passos in his speech. "Vila Nova de Famalicão is extremely proud of all your effort and hard work. Your dedication and that of other sports agents has enabled our municipality to reach unprecedented levels of sporting excellence, making our municipality a major national and international sporting reference,‘ said the mayor, expressing his sincere gratitude to all those involved in sport for their "enormous contribution" to the sporting ecosystem of Famalicão. 

The mayor added that ‘just like these champions, we must have the ability to surpass ourselves (...) sport is a real school, a school where we must invest more and more, support more and more.’

During his speech, Mário Passos highlighted some of the local authority's most recent investments: the recently opened Skate Park in Sinçães; the Famalicão Athletics Centre in Talvai, which is at an advanced stage of construction; the recent acquisition of the Riba de Ave Sports Pavilion; the new Municipal Stadium, which is currently out to tender; and the refurbishment of the outdoor swimming pools in Famalicão, which will now have 50-metre lanes. According to the mayor, these projects reflect the municipality's strong commitment to quality sports infrastructure and to providing the best conditions for the development of sports.

In addition to the champions' awards and the Excellence Award, seven other jury awards were also presented at the 10th Sports Gala.

Futebol Clube de Famalicão won in the ‘Sports Association/Club of the Year’ category and the ‘Manager of the Year’ award went to Mário Oliveira, from Clube de Xadrez Associação Académica da Didáxis A2D.
As for the athletes who stood out the most in the last sporting season, Tiago Pereira (Sport Lisboa e Benfica) was considered ‘Male Revelation Athlete’ and Rita Cunha (Sporting Clube de Braga) deserved the title of ‘Female Revelation Athlete’.

Hugo Azevedo, national roller hockey coach, won the ‘Coach of the Year’ award for the second consecutive year, and the Vila Nova de Famalicão Referees' Association was once again in the spotlight with the ‘Referee of the Year’ award, with Patrícia Carneiro taking home the prize. 

The ‘Sports Event of the Year’, chosen by public vote, was awarded to the ‘XV Atlantic Axis Games’, an initiative of the Atlantic Axis Association of the Northwest Peninsula, which took place in the municipalities of Famalicão and Braga.