A The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced, in the form of a statement issued through official platforms late this Friday morning, that it requested the “settlement of an amount of at least 2,603,838 euros, relating to contributions considered missing in the period between December 2021 and December 2022, to which will be added late payment interest and fines, which are not yet accounted for”, regarding Fernando Santos’ contract.
The management led by Pedro Proença clarifies that, “given the seriousness of a notification received from Social Security regarding contracts with the company Femacosa, concluded by the previous administration”, headed by Fernando Gomes, it called “an emergency meeting, which took place last Tuesday, January 20th”, which culminated in this decision.
“It is therefore estimated that the overall amount to be settled will be substantially higher, with a highly serious and significant impact on the financial situation and budgetary balance of the Portuguese Football Federation for the current season, which predicted a positive result of 3.1 million euros”, it can be read.
“Social Security imputes legal non-conformity to the labor architecture conceived in the period in question, based on the interposition of several commercial companies to the detriment of the conclusion of a contract of a sporting nature with the technical team – contrary to what was until then a common procedure and which is, moreover, practiced with the current national coach”, he adds, referring to Roberto Martínez.
In conclusion, the FPF ensures “absolute commitment to good management practices, as well as total transparency and uncompromising defense of the good name and reputation of this institution, principles that guided other deliberations regarding this case, namely when, in April 2025, it decided to withdraw the appeal filed with the Constitutional Court regarding the successive decisions, in the most diverse instances, regarding the request from media bodies for access to a set of documents related to this process”.
“In line with previous deliberations, in addition to independent legal opinions that conclude the manifest futility of maintaining the dispute – given the reduced probability of success of a possible challenge and the high associated costs, namely legal fees, increased late payment interest and increased fines -, the Board of the Portuguese Football Federation unanimously decided to proceed with the immediate settlement of the outstanding amounts”, he points out.
“It was, however, decided that, given the fact that this process was inherited from the previous Administration and taking into account the seriousness of the facts in question, the Management will give timely and formal notice of the same to the FPF’s Governing Bodies, as well as its Ordinary Members, at the General Assembly, for the purposes deemed pertinent”, he adds.
The controversy in question
Fernando Santos, remember, held the position of national coach between 2014 and 2022, having, in between, won a European Championship (in 2016) and a Nations League (in 2019). At issue is the fact that the salaries were paid by the FPF through its company, called Femacosa.
After saying goodbye to Portugal, the 71-year-old coach took charge of Poland, Besiktas and, more recently, Azerbaijan, and in this last ‘adventure’ he ended up being fired in September 2025, due to a series of negative results.
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