EUSA Insider:
Manuel Guedes
Age: 22
Place of Birth: Porto, Portugal
University: University of Porto (POR)
Sport: Futsal Published 2 July 2019
How and why did you get involved in Futsal?
I have practiced Futsal since I was a kid. When I was about 12 years old, I asked my parents to join a team, and since then the passion started growing, and even now at 22 years old, I play it!
What do you study, and how do you balance your study, training and competition?
I am currently doing my Master’s at FEP - Faculdade de Economia do Porto. Sometimes it was not easy to balance my studies with training, especially during my youth, but now it is getting easier because our federated team (Leça FC / AEFEP) is composed by the same players and coach of the university team, and the training schedule is adapted to our schedules.
Tell us about your experiences at the European Universities Championships 2017. Was it your first time at a EUSA event, and what did you enjoy the most?
The European Universities Championships 2017 was my first time at a EUSA event. It was really exciting and cool! At the beginning we were a little bit surprised and reluctant about the place where it would occur because we had never heard about it. It was in Çorum, Turkey, but afterwards we loved the place, despite the city being small. We were in a nice hotel surrounded by a small but nice city, and every volunteer were very nice.
Why do you think taking part in university sport is important?
It is important because we learn a lot of things that we do not learn at federated sports, and we can make friendships for life.
In 2019 the European Universities Futsal Championships will take place in Braga, Portugal. Do you hope to be there, and if so, how have your preparations been, and what do you hope to achieve?
I hoped to be there during this year, but we did not qualify for it, since we lost at the quarter-finals of our national championship.
“We can make friendships for life.”
What is your favourite university sport moment?
When my team won the National Championship in 2017 that allowed us to go and compete on the European stage. It was unexpected and we had our moments. 
What is your message to European student-athletes like yourself?
To never stop doing what you like, even if sometimes you feel sad or mad about some results that you got that do not correspond with your work! But more important than everything is to try to have fun – do not be anxious or nervous at the games, because you will have better results if you enjoy what you are doing!
EUSA would like to congratulate Manuel for his success at the EUSA Championships and we wish him all the best for the future!