According to ECO, the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia will present their joint candidacy for the World Capital of Sport in 2027 during the presentation of the 18th Conference of Ministers of Sport of the Council of Europe. The mayor even considers that this event – which will bring together 46 European representatives from 8 to 10 October 2024, in the cities of Matosinhos, Porto, and Gaia – can serve as a "launching pad for the candidacy".

During the presentation of the 18th Conference of Ministers of Sport of the Council of Europe, Rui Moreira considered that the event would be "a good time to warm up their engines" within the scope of the "muscular" candidacy of Porto and Gaia to the World Capital of Sport to the Association of European Capitals and Cities of Sport (ACES Europe).

The two cities announced this intention on 7 June 2024 and on the occasion explained the added value of hosting international sporting events and having policies to encourage the practice of sports, in addition to a vast network of equipment, and varied sports development programs. They also pulled out of the hat the trump card of supporting more than 20 thousand federated athletes as a motto of territorial cohesion, inclusion, and education for citizenship.

Asked by ECO/Local Online what is the biggest asset of cities at the moment, Moreira replied: "The range of sports activities in Portugal and in our cities, in particular, has expanded a lot. That has, in this case, a huge potential for us to achieve greater success in this candidacy." In the specific case of Invicta, it has the largest number of federated athletes.

Now, the municipalities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia — led by Rui Moreira and Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, respectively — are "doing hard work" to present a "credible" candidacy by the end of this year. "It would be convenient for the [candidacy] to be presented by the end of the year," he said.

The municipalities are, therefore, "preparing a detailed menu of what is their commitment, but also of what are the valences that exist in the two cities".

"We are convinced that we have good conditions – also with the support of the Government and the IPDJ [Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth] to present a muscular candidacy," said Moreira. The mayor is convinced of the fulfillment of this aspiration, not least because of the country's victorious past in this matter: "You never know if we will be able to win or not, but Portugal has been very successful in candidacies in recent years".

Then, the fact that Matosinhos is the European City of Sport 2025 can also be a strong contribution to achieving this aspiration. At this point, the councilor responsible for Sports of the municipality of Matosinhos, Nuno Matos, said that the municipality "invests a lot in sports training", accounting for more than 10 thousand federated athletes and more than seven thousand athletes in training.

The 18th Conference of Sport Ministers of the Council of Europe takes place every two years and brings together the sports ministers of 46 European countries, which are part of the Council of Europe, as well as three other countries – Canada, Israel, and Morocco. This year it will be the turn of the three northern cities to serve as the stage for this event that costs 400 thousand euros and will project the region and the country worldwide, according to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pedro Duarte, during the session.