Africa-Press – Angola. On the day of the 46th anniversary of the foundation of the 1.o de Agosto sports club, the chairman of the board, Carlos Hendrick, assessed the current status of the association, with emphasis on infrastructure.
The leader of the “military” club said that sporting issues, especially infrastructure, had all been resolved, stressing that he was only concerned with the succession in the association he has led since 2011.
In an interview with Jornal dos Esportes, on the occasion of the event that is being celebrated yesterday, he said that the greatness of 1.o de Agosto is a result of the hard work and dedication of all those who have passed through the board since its foundation, in 1977.
He referred that his squad was able to manage the club due, also, to the economic improvement of the country when he was elected, being already in his second mandate.
As for infrastructure, the club has the “França Ndalu” stadium, a pavilion for indoor sports, swimming pools, a gym and other game courts spread across the Sports Complex of Miramar, in the former RI/20 (headquarters) and in the National Military Sports Committee (CODENM), in Maianga.
The collective, which has already won national and continental titles, moves football, basketball, handball, canoeing, judo, karate, athletics, swimming, fishing, taekwondo, table tennis and chess.
Among the association’s presidents, Santana André Pitra “Petroff”, Pedro de Castro Van-Dúnem “Loy”, Iko Carreira, Justino Fernandes, Melo Xavier, Pedro Neto, Raúl Hendrick and the current Carlos Hendrick stand out.
As part of the festivities, this Tuesday (August 1st) a lecture was held on the essence of the club, since its inception in 1977.
The foundation of Clube Desportivo 1.o de Agosto was due to a strategy for the promotion and development of sport defined by the then Popular Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola – FAPLA, through the National Military Sports Committee – CODENM.
Club’s current status
Involved in financial problems since 2021, when the Ministry of Finance reduced the monthly amount allocated to the guild from kz 900 million to kz 200 million, management has not been peaceful.
This situation has had repercussions, not only in the completion of infrastructures, but also in the management and maintenance of sports, fundamentally football, handball and basketball.
Payments in arrears, game prizes and unfulfilled contracts suggest a 1.o de Agosto undercapitalized in proportion to needs and unable to halt a wave of discontent on the part of officials and athletes.
Edson Ndoniema, Islando Manuel “Papá Ngulo” and Gildo Santos (basketball players) are examples of this, at a time when even a strike was recorded in the birthday boy’s community.
The 1.o de Agosto football team prepares for the current season (2023-24) at its facilities (Cidade Desportiva), a decision seen by society as being forced compared to the previous period in which the internships were all done abroad .
The fact that the team is committed to participating in the Champions League, in addition to domestic competitions such as the first edition of the Angola Football League (formerly Girabola), League Cup and Super Cup, are reasons, according to popular reasoning, that preparation had to take place outside the country, given the importance of competitions.
Carlos Hendrick will still have to find a new date, after the first one was unfeasible, for the holding of the General Assembly later this year, where his performance during the two terms will be scrutinized under the condition or not of continuing at the head of the “Red-in” Blacks”.
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