The talent of many Portuguese national team players have been spotted at mass volley events over the years.

Lisbon, Portugal, August 20, 2013 - The sport of volleyball has definitely made its mark in Portugal. Following several Volley All Festivals that were organised through the Gira Volei programme in the country in 2013, the Portuguese Federation has reported a 50% increase in participation from last year.

The Gira Volei programme is currently one of the most successful children’s volleyball programme worldwide, with 150’000 children participating in this year along.

The final festival event of the year took place in in the town of Castelo de Vide on June 1 and 2, where the finalist teams from the various regions in Portugal came together to compete. The event received a great deal of local press coverage and the national federation were able to reach out to a broader audience will their well-planned Facebook campaign.

The preliminary regional qualification rounds started in Coimbra in April and were followed by similar tournaments in Vila Viçosa, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Mertola, Paredes de Coura, Amares, Sintra, Alter do Chão, Viana do Castelo, Obidos, Sátãs, Famalicão, Guarda, Barcelos and Mondim de Basto meetings. In the Azores and Madeira islands, these events were organised by the local associations.

It is from the masses that the future stars of volleyball are generated. And as Portugal is an excellent example of what these events can do to further the sport especially since the talent of many national team players came to light at such events.

The mission of the Volley All Festival is to encourage each National Federation the occasion to organise an annual event, which combines the promotion of sports, youth interest, and media at the local and international level.

A calendar of upcoming Volley All events can be found here

Click here for more information on the Volley All Festival