Roger Navarro on the role of social networks in the modern game

With just a click of a single button, the Future of Football International Congress moved into its final session. Who better than Roger Navarro, a man used to managing a Barcelona fan base of more than 300,000,000. Social networks are the theme of the day, acting as an instantaneous way for clubs to keep in touch with their fans.

"We have more than 300,000,000 followers all over the work and of course we cannot be with all of them all of the time. If in Spain each fan has their own specific likes, imagine interacting with fans from other cultures. It needs different strategies, but what you get out of it is also different. The most important thing is to be aware of where people live in the world. We have created databases which allow us to give value to every single fan. We try and communicate as directly as possible, because we know that is the best way to get the best out of our relationship. We have to try and communicate in as many languages as possible and of course agreements with third parties help us", said Barcelona's digital platforms director at the congress.

Bruno de Carvalho on Football as a Science and Conscience

"I am here as a father, not as the president of Sporting Clube de Portugal.” That is how Bruno de Carvalho opened a powerful speech at the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday, stepping in for Professor Manuel Sérgio at the last minute.

“Football is not just a world of emotions and reactions. We are going through a real crisis of values. Bringing together the science of football with a conscience of what football should be in terms of humanity is not easy", affirmed the Alvalade boss, going on to add a personal touch to his intervention: "My opinion is no secret. We need new paradigms and to change things for the better. How we look at life and how we should behave in sport is what will dictate our role as part of the thousands of people who are involved and the sport and the handful who actually make a difference."

Susana Cova on the Development of Female Football in Portugal

Susana Cova was invited to speak as part of the Future of Football International Congress this Wednesday. Affirming that the SuperCup Women was an excellent way to bring visibility and credibly to female sport, but cautioned that there is still a lot of work to be done, including in Portugal.

“As well as the SuperCup Women back in August, the National 9-a-side Junior Football Champion also started this year. There is a day for female football, on the same day as the final of the Portuguese Cup, and training centres that bring together female players for six-month spells", opened Susana Cova, going on to reveal what can be expected in 2016/2017: "There will be a female league called Liga Feminina Allianz, an under-19 National Cup and a series of seminars."

Despite the good intentions, female participation in football in Portugal is still relatively low, explaining the country's 40th place in the FIFA rankings and 23rd in the European rankings.

“Our under-16 players are making their debut in international competitions. They are fighting hard to do the country proud", finished Susana Cova.

ISCTE professor Pedro Dionísio on tribalism in football

University Professor Pedro Dionísio was another big name speaking at the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday. Another specialist focusing on the important role of fans, Dionísio looked at some of the psychology behind the beautiful game.

“Football fans are the new tribes. They look to create links between people, moving away from individualism and into a kind of neo-tribalism. Tribes build up really strong emotional links. How many times do you come across fans of your club in other cities, members of the same tribe?", opened the professor, going on to add a word on the commercial aspect of fans' support: "Commercial brands like Coca-Cola or Super Bock love this kind of affection and emotion. Football fans have their rivals, their places in common and their collective image. Tribal consumers look more at the emotional links between them, rather than loyalty cards and that sort of thing. Not only material things motivate fans, but their emotions above anything else."

José Curado affirms the quality of Portuguese coaches

José Curado shared a touch of his vast experience on about the training of coaches as part of the Future of Football International Congress in this Tuesday's session.

“If there a future for football without quality coaches? Would it be possible to have such a quality sport with poor quality coaches? Can we have good doctors with bad training? I don't think so", opened Curado in his presentation, focusing in on the role of coaching in Portugal.

Reflecting on the success of Portuguese coaches, Curado sees his colleagues as worthy of a case study: "Portuguese coaches are always in the headlines, also because there are a lot of them, but also because everyone recognises their quality. We have a lot of Portuguese coaches in a lot of sports abroad, despite how fragile our training process is. Look at the NBA project in India, taking the sport to the world's most populous country. The project is led by a group of Portuguese coaches, under the coordination of Carlos Barroca. Mário Palma, for example, got Angola into the Olympic Games three times. The first woman invited to train a professional team was Portuguese, Helena Costa."

University lecturer Alexandre Mestre focuses on inclusion and transparency

Geared around university students, the first day of the Future of Football International Congress focused in on the role of fans in football, the future of training coaches, the development female football and also the game off the pitch. Universidade Europeia lecturer and lawyer Alexandre Mestre was invited to speak on the issues, as well as problems he sees in Portuguese football.

“When we speak about Portuguese football, as a lawyer I have to add a bit about how we can develop the idea of transparency, public involvement in decision-making and the integration of women and disabled people into the sport. There are various issues off the pitch which are really relevant, including things that can help the fans believe in true sportsmanship", affirmed Alexandre Mestre.

Moving on to an analysis of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), the lecture added: "The PFF is one of the 19 federations within a total group of 209 in FIFA which publishes its regulations and statutes. It is important to mention the good things too. On the other hand, there is room for improvement in terms of cooperation and togetherness between organisations. I always give the example of shops which sell the same thing, always wanting their competitors to close, but clubs need their competitors economically and financially. Anything that can promote a greater union between clubs should be given priority. Another important issue is the transparency of clubs, because sometimes it is difficult to understand what regulations they are working with."

Alfredo Silva focuses on a variety of issues in relation to fans

The Rio Maior Technical School's Professor Alfredo Silva was the lucky name chosen to open the series of seminars on the first day of the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday. Focusing on the theme of "Fans for the Future of Football", the professor's presentation distinguished the difference between spectators and fans and their link with clubs.

“This kind of initiative is is really important for the younger generations, who are the future leaders of the country. To organise an event on the Future of Football is to look that little bit further ahead. We have to focus on ethical issues off the pitch as well. Today, we are also here to acknowledge that there are different kinds of fans too", explained Alfredo Silva, going on to reflect how Sporting in particular develops its link with the fans: "I have a special admiration for sporting and I know that the the club really studies their fan base. Only by doing that can you better understand the fans and, as a result, make them happy. You can see a reflection of the hard work Sporting has been doing in the fact that the club's fans are so knowledgeable."

One of the highlights of the Rio Maior Technical School professor's presentation was a section on spectators numbers in the stadiums of Portugal's big three. At 70% capacity, Alfredo Silva indicated a possible increase to 80% and resulting extra revenue of 3.9 million euros. To reach this target, the professor affirms that clubs need to do their homework: "I think it is really important that the big clubs also play a big social role too. They have supporters' clubs and coverage on free channels. With the crisis people have lost income, but fans carry on as members of the clubs they love, because they feel a kind of identification with the club. What I see is that the smaller clubs have to adopt strategies for increasing their fan bases. Nothing is built in a day and it will take years, but it is a serious bit of work that needs to be done. There In bigger countries there are more big cities, which is the opposite of in Portugal and that also has an influence. Fan bases are proportional to the population of each city."

Gijs de Jong on new technologies

The Dutch Football Federation's Director of Operations, Gijs de Jong, is one of the names who will speak at this year's The Future of Football International Congress, being hosted in Alvalade on the 20th and 21st of April.

Speaking with the club's official website this afternoon, de Jong touched on the issues of new technologies in football: "The video referee is the future of football. Technologies has developed so much in recent years that it is time for us to use it for the development of football. I am sure that in a fer years we will look back at how the video referee changed football."

Gijs de Jong is responsible for the Dutch Football Federations' ‘Refereeing 2.0’ project, launched in 2013 with the goal of supporting referees. The project is centred around goal-line technology, fifth and sixth assistant referees and the use of the video referee.

Find out more about this week's International Congress

Sporting Clube de Portugal will host the second edition of The Future of Football International Congress this week, from the 18th to the 21st of April. It isn't too late to get involved and you can sign up at www.thefutureoffootball.org.

the congress itself will open on Wednesday afternoon (14h30) in the Artur Agostinho Auditorium, with an open session attended by Bruno de Carvalho, President of Sporting CP, João Wengorovius Meneses, Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, and Fernando Gomes, President of the UEFA Competitions Committee and the Portuguese Football Federation.

The first panel, titled Innovation in Football, will get underway at 15h00 and will touch on themes including new technologies, innovation in other sports, technologies and new rules and metrics in football. After a coffee break at 17h00 a panel titled Relation with the Media will get underway, focusing on issues such as counter-information, bias vs. impartiality, the impact of public figures and social networks.

On the 21st of April, the day will begin at 09h30, with a panel on New Sources of Revenue for Clubs, including themes such as advertising, television right and growth strategy. To finish a session on Emerging Markets will start at 11h30, including India, the United States, Asia and Africa.

The closing session will be attended by Sporting Clube de Portugal President Bruno de Carvalho, FIFA Vice-President Ángel Maria Villar and the President of the League Pedro Proença.

Panel dedicated to Inovation in Football at The Future of Football International Congress

A little over a year after the first The Future of Football International Congress, the sport that we love really has changed. Today, in no small part due to the hard work of Sporting CP, football has begun a long process of reform. The International Board has began testing video refereeing and UEFA has approved the use of goal-line technology for the 2016 European Championships and for UEFA competitions in 2016/17.

Going back to the first conference, Sporting hosted names such as Harry Collins, Professor at the University of Cardiff; Ian Treseder, MCC Digital Manager; Keith Hackett, former Premier League referee; Dirk Schlemmer, head of goal-line technology in the Bundesliga; and Björn Lindner, president of the company Goalcontrol. Their main conclusion: technology can be introduced into football without taking away from the game.

Gijs de Jong, the Dutch Football Federation's Director of Operations, has already been involved in testing new technologies in the Eredivisie, in a match between Feyenoord and Heerenveen. David McHugh, from the Welsh Rugby Federation, also has something to say on the issue after the recent Rugby World Cup, while Darren Bailey and Paul Neilson also bring extensive experience to the table.

The first panel at II Future of Football International Congress, titled INOVATION IN FOOTBALL, will be composed of the following speakers:

- MODERATOR: Emanuel Medeiros, CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)

- NEW TECHNOLOGIES: Gijs de Jong, Director of Operations for the Dutch Football Federation

- INOVATION IN OTHER SPORTS: David McHugh, Welsh Rugby Federation

- TECNOLOGY AND NEW RULES: Darren Bailey, Director of Football Regulation and Administration of Football Associations

- METRICS IN FOOTBALL: Paul Neilson, Global Head of Performance Lab Prozone

The second edition of The Future of Football International Congress will take place on the 20th and 21st of April, in Estádio José Alvalade. To get involved, visit www.thefutureoffootball.org