01-08-2023
Margarida António started playing roller hockey at a very young age, when she joined Sport Alenquer e Benfica with her sister. At the time, she was far from imagining that she would have a career in the sport.
In 2021, he received an offer to play in Spain for Berenguela, the club he had represented for the last two seasons. A unique and very positive experience. "I had the chance to experience something different, because in Spain they're much more committed to women's sport. It's a much bigger country compared to ours, it has a much larger supply of players, but in terms of support for women's sport, and in my sport in particular, there's no comparison. The mentality is very different, they look at sport in a different way."
At the start of last season, a month before she was due to return to Spain and start pre-season work, she received the sad news that her sister had a health problem.
had a health problem, which made her start what was to be her last season in Spain with less desire. "I wasn't in the best condition to go with all my strength and batteries recharged, not least because the summer wasn't anything like it should have been, it wasn't a normal summer, to come, enjoy, be with my family. It was a slightly different summer because of that event. Of course, then I got into the routine and things just happened," explains Margarida António.
The bet on Oliveira de Azeméis
After an atypical and gruelling season, the athlete thought it might be time to return to Portugal. Margarida António says she could have gone on to play in the
OK Liga, the top division of Spanish women's hockey, but decided to accept the invitation from Escola Livre de Azeméis.
Family and the opportunity to exercise her profession as a sports manager and sales technician were two very important factors in her decision. "In Oliveira de Azeméis there is the number one brand of hockey sticks, and over the years they have also developed sports equipment to protect players and goalkeepers. And the possibility arose of the club offering the accommodation and also including me in the company's marketing department," factors that made Margarida António accept the offer to return to Portugal.
The player from Alenquerque is confident of her commitment and believes that the project at the Oliveira de Azeméis club is very challenging. "It's a project that has a lot of
young girls with quality, they're putting a lot into it, not least because they've brought in five or six reinforcements, one of them Argentinian. They're trying to do something different, to focus on women, and that's very important to me."
Even at a considerable distance from Alenquer, Margarida António will continue to follow Sport Alenquer e Benfica assiduously, just as she did while she was in the neighbouring country. "During these two years, wherever I could, I always followed the games on my mobile phone. I've always followed Alenquer hockey," she tells us.
Women's hockey in Portugal
Despite being a sport with a long tradition in Portugal, women's roller hockey, according to Margarida António, is still not highly valued in Portugal and for this reason she considers it impossible to make a living from the sport. "In hockey we're a long way off, because in men's hockey there are clubs that aren't professional and the players have their jobs and give up their time to play. For example, Sporting's women's hockey team ended this year, which is a shame, because a club like Sporting is an incentive for hockey and women's sport.