Pedro Proença, Fernando Gomes and João Paulo Rebelo speak on day 1

After Bruno de Carvalho's opening speech, the president of the Portuguese Football League, Pedro Proença, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes, and the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, João Paulo Rebelo, took to the stage to share their thoughts.

Proença used the opportunity to highlight the importance of this kind of event: "Taking about the future of football is essential. Portuguese football has produced some great talents since the turn of the century and Sporting CP is one of the most relevant clubs in that. A lot of players made the move to big clubs in the 1990's, which lifted up the club's name too. All of those players have one thing in common: they are from the youth system. That is how your prepare the future."

The League president went on to speak further about the importance of Portugal's youth systems: "As a football country, we are one of the best. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon D'Or, we won Euro 2016 and Portuguese coaches continue to be some of the best in the world. We want to claim the place we should have on the world stage and this quality of conference contributes to that."

Fernando Gomes also highlighted the impact of the event. "This event will bring together an discussion in the future of national and international football. Sporting CP are our hosts and we thank the club for such an efficient organisation of a project that will help us reflect and learn from the best examples", said the Federation president, followed by the backing of João Paulo Rebelo: "Last year I said here that this event would carry on growing. Seeing who is taking part this year, I wasn't mistaken. Initiatives like this are essential for football."