EUSA Insider:
Nuno Loureiro
Secretary General: EUSA 3x3 Basketball 2019 Published 25 June 2019
Describe how and why did you get involved with the organisational aspect at EUSA events?
I have been involved in international university sports events since 2013, when I was a board member of Federação Académica do Porto (the regional student unions association) and, as so, the person in charge of university sports in the Porto region. In 2013 and 2014 I was the Vice-President of the Organising Committee for the European and World Universities Beach Volleyball Championships, and in 2017 and 2019 I worked as Secretary-General for the European Universities Championships of Football and 3x3 Basketball.
I believe that sports, and specifically international universities sports events, plays a huge role in developing the academic community by giving all participants the opportunity to connect with different people, other cultures, other countries and others perspectives and realities while also giving many volunteers the chance to be involved and develop their personal skills. This is why I love and want to be involved in international sports events!
Tell us about your involvement in sport.
Since I was five years old, sport played a major role in my life. My first contact with sports was as a Taekwondo athlete for seven years, participating in national and international competitions. After seven years, I started practicing Swimming and playing Futsal. It was in Futsal that I started to understand and develop the competence of being a team member and working for a common goal.
My first contact with university sports was in 2007 when I started to play Futsal and Football in my faculty and competed in regional and national events. Later on I began coaching both male and female Futsal teams in my faculty.
Nowadays I still play Futsal and I am a coach of a university team and of a young kids’ team, and this year I’m going to participate in EUC Futsal, in Braga, as a coach of the Sports Faculty of University of Porto women’s team.
Describe your experience of organising the European Universities Football Championships 2017. Was this your first time organising an international sports event?
Despite having already been involved in other international sports events, the EUC Football 2017 was my first experience as the Secretary-General at this type of event. It was very challenging, but I was grateful for the experience. We had around 500 participants, more than 200 people involved in the organisation and used three municipalities with two sports facilities each. Coordinating all this was very stressful sometimes, but fortunately I had a great team working with me and focused on giving to all these participants the best possible experience at our event. In the end, I believe that this European Championship was a great event not only for the participants, but for everyone involved – and that was my main goal!
“I believe that sports, and specifically international universities sports events, plays a huge role in developing the academic community.”
In 2019 you are involved in the organisation of EUC 3x3 Basketball in Porto. How are preparations going, and what can participants expect at the event?
The 3x3 is a street and show sport, so we are not only focused on the competition itself, but also in everything around this Championship. We are going to organise this competition next to the beach during high season, when hundreds of people, not only from Portugal but also tourists, pass by, during the day and night. Portugal and the district of Porto is known for its welcoming features, and prides itself in receiving everyone that wants to visit us very well. As such, we want to promote a positive atmosphere between the cities involved and their inhabitants and institutions, tourists and all the participants that can, together, make a truly memorable event.
What is your message to other university administrators across Europe who are thinking about hosting future EUSA events?
My message to possible event organisers across Europe is for them to look at these types of international events not only as a formal and typical sport event, but also as a great opportunity for their countries, cities, institutions and mainly their young people to interact and create empathy with other cultures, other customs and other realities. That is the secret to a brighter future and it is a great opportunity to strengthen relations and to build understanding around Europe and even the world.
EUSA would like to congratulate Nuno for his contribution to the successful organisation of EUC Football 2017 and we hope to see him again very soon, at the European Universities 3x3 Basketball Championships 2019!