The controversy surrounding the 'running license', announced last week by the Portuguese Athletics Federation (FPA), has caused discontent in Portugal and even led to the creation of a petition to cancel the measure, according to Sapo news who cites Expresso.

“To promote a safer, more regulated and sustainable practice of the sport.” This is how the Portuguese Athletics Federation (FPA) defends the creation of the “Membership for a Day” project, which consists of non-federated athletes over 18 years of age paying a license fee to have access to organised running events.

The measure states that, to participate in events with a registration fee of more than five euros, the athlete must present a license. The price of the license varies, depending on the payment method chosen:

Annual license, which costs 31 euros and is valid for the entire season;

Three euro license, which the athlete will have to pay individually whenever he wants to participate in a race.

The measure covers all organised running events recognised by the FPA, such as the Lisbon and Porto Half Marathons. The Federation states that the licence fee covers the cost of sports insurance, which must be paid for each event. However, there is no guarantee that paying the annual licence fee will mean a reduction in the entry fee for the events. The Federation states that organisations “that so wish” may choose to “reduce the entry fee” upon presentation of the licence.

The controversial decision by the FPA has already led to the creation of a petition, with more than ten thousand signatures , which calls for “the revocation of the mandatory license for athletics competitions”. It claims that “the mandatory nature of the aforementioned license represents a financial burden that could drive [amateur] athletes away from the competitions”.

Will you need to pay to run?

Not necessarily . The license does not apply to any type of individual running practice. It is false to say that you will have to pay to run. Anyone who wants to run on their own or with companions, without being part of any organised race, will still not have to pay anything to do so. Running in free races or races costing less than five euros will also not require a license.

Expresso contacted the Portuguese Athletics Federation to obtain clarification regarding the start date of the measure, the license prices and the impact that the decision may have on the number of participants, but at the time of publication of this article, it had not yet received a response.