<>
“We have reached an agreement with our first club, Florgrade FC, a project that TFF has been putting into practice for months and now has an identity and a home.”
London-based investment platform The Football Factory has officially selected Florgrade FC, a club competing in the Campeonato de Portugal, as the launchpad for an ambitious European blueprint to construct standardized football cities, as reported by Jornal de Negócios.
The Ovar Summit Secures TFF’s Inaugural Citadel
On December 8 in Ovar, TFF founder and CEO Edoardo Giacone sat down with Florgrade FC founder and leader José Carlos Ferreira to formalize the agreement. The accord places the Portuguese side into the London investment platform’s portfolio as its very first partner.
The deal remains subject to certain pending conditions. Once fully cleared, it establishes that Florgrade FC will host the premiere “football citadel”—a standardized, replicable destination model structured squarely around a modern stadium.
Inside the Blueprint for Year-Round Operations
Neither side disclosed exact financial investment figures for the undertaking.
However, the company outlined a sweeping vision for the site. The concept merges professional football with hospitality, gastronomy, commerce, a training academy, and mixed residential and commercial spaces. Rather than lying dormant between fixtures, the complex is engineered to function 365 days a year.
Giacone expressed clear enthusiasm for the choice of Portugal. He pointed to the region as an ideal launchpad for a model specifically engineered to blend athletic development with deep community strengthening.
Roots in Cortegaça and Local Ambitions
For the leadership in Ovar, the partnership offers a sweeping platform for regional growth. José Carlos Ferreira stated that the agreement serves the absolute best interests of Ovar and everyone associated with the club.
He noted that the alliance represents a vital opportunity to generate economic value and elevate the overall quality of life throughout the local community, expressing absolute certainty that the project will deliver positive and concrete changes.
A Rapid Rise Through Portuguese Football
Ferreira brings a distinct background to the boardroom as a former central defender. He is also a member of the family that owns Florgrade, a prominent cork manufacturer based in Rio Meão, Santa Maria da Feira.
The club itself is remarkably young, having been founded just over seven years ago. The organization shifted its official headquarters in March 2022 to the neighboring municipality of Ovar, where it currently contests its home fixtures at the Campo Desportivo do Buçaquinho located in the village of Cortegaça.
>
