Portugal U18 beach volleyball teams compete in Spain for European Championship qualification

Portugal starts its participation this Thursday in the WEVZA Tournament of the 1st Zonal Qualification Phase for the U18 European Beach Volleyball Championship, held in Lorca, Spain, until August 1st. The Portuguese delegation enters the competition with four high-potential pairs, aiming for the two direct spots in the major European final phase scheduled for September in Foça, Izmir Province, Turkey.

Men's and Women's Pairs

In the men's category, the national colors will be defended by:

• Nuno Gonçalves / Luís Pinto
• André Coelho / João Damião

In the women's category, responsibility falls on the pairs:

• Ema Mello / Filipa Campos
• Matilde Silva / Matilde Soares

The Portuguese squad will face high-level competition in the Western European Zonal Association tournament, measuring strength against representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and host Spain.

Qualification and Ranking Points

Alongside the coveted direct qualification for the final phase—reserved only for the top two finishers—first place in Lorca guarantees:

• 40 points for the European Country Ranking (CEV)
• 128 individual points per athlete in the International Ranking (FIVB)

Development Strategy

Ricardo Rocha, coordinator of the national teams, highlighted the strategy outlined for development:

"We want to compete and achieve good results, but the priority is to develop athletes, consolidate skills, and create solid foundations for the future, without the pressure of immediate results."

Buzzing in Cortegaça

The young internationals representing the country came from a pool of athletes who underwent an intensive training camp at the FPV Beach Volleyball High-Performance Centre (CAR) in Cortegaça. The space became a true hub of activity and unity, bringing together talents from various reference clubs, such as:

• Ala de Nun'Álvares de Gondomar
• Esmoriz GC
• AA Espinho
• Sp. Espinho
• Leixões

"In the youth categories, the focus is directed towards preparation for the U18 WEVZA tournaments and the respective European Championships. The work has a medium and long-term perspective. We want to compete and achieve good results, but the priority is to develop athletes, consolidate skills, and create solid foundations for the future, without the pressure of immediate results," said Ricardo Rocha.

"All training camp moments are absolutely fundamental to creating a common identity, strengthening the team culture, and investing in the future of Portuguese beach volleyball," concluded the Portuguese leader, confident that this rigorous work will bear fruit in the coming years.

João Pedrosa and Hugo Campos Face Titanic Challenge

Stare Jablonki, Poland, hosts the European Beach Volleyball Championship from August 12th to 16th. Four-time national champions João Pedrosa and Hugo Campos will face, in Pool B:

• David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig (Sweden) – Olympic and world champions
• Friedli / Jordan (Switzerland)
• Elazar / Cuzmiciov (Israel)

National coach Ricardo Rocha highlighted the merit of qualification:

"For the 3rd consecutive year, we have managed to be among the best teams in Europe, which reflects well the difficulty of reaching this final phase. The level of this Olympic cycle has increased."

The coach criticized the competition format and guaranteed maximum ambition:

"The fact that the format is 'modified pool play' means we face the current Olympic champions in the very first game. It's a format that doesn't make much sense for a European Championship final phase. It will be a very difficult task, but we will prepare in the best way possible. We always enter to win!"