The application aims to support the recovery of the Grupo Desportivo da Ilha infrastructure damaged by Storm Kristin, ensuring the restoration of safety conditions and the full return of sporting activity for the community.
Tropical Storm Kristin left a trail of destruction in the facilities of the Island Sports Group, severely affecting the space where dozens of athletes train, compete, and grow as a team and community every day.
The damage affected several essential club infrastructures, including lighting systems, exterior fencing, goalposts, substitutes' bench, roofs, and other structures supporting sports practice. Some of this equipment was rendered completely unusable, compromising the normal functioning of sporting activities.
Faced with this difficult scenario, the club community responded immediately. In the days following the storm, several volunteers came together to clear access routes, remove debris, and begin initial repairs, allowing the first steps towards a return to normality to be taken.
Despite this enormous collective effort, there are still important repairs to be completed to ensure adequate and safe conditions for all athletes.
This campaign was born with a simple but fundamental objective: to rebuild our space and give back to the community a place where sport, camaraderie, and team spirit can continue to grow .
Every contribution, however small, will help to rebuild what the storm destroyed and ensure that the club continues to be a meeting point for present and future generations.
About the author
The Ilha Sports Group is much more than a sports club. It is a meeting place, a training and growth opportunity for children, young people and adults in the community.
The Grupo Desportivo da Ilha (Island Sports Group) was founded on May 2nd, 1975, with the clear objective of promoting formal and informal sports practice in the Ilha region, with football being the main catalyst for its dynamism from the beginning. In recent years, Grupo Desportivo da Ilha is the club with the most athletes registered with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in the Leiria district, even though it is located in a town with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. The club is especially dedicated to the practice of football, futsal, beach soccer, and walking football. The club is a national reference in the promotion of women's sports, having been used as an example in a recent study by the Portugal Football Observatory due to the growth in the number of female athletes in football and futsal, which now exceed 35% of the total registered in these sports by GDIlha (this was reported in several national media outlets). Grupo Desportivo da Ilha is also a reference as a Football Training Entity, having received this certification from the Portuguese Football Federation, being a 3-star Training Entity certified by the FPF. In addition to federated sports, the Club also promotes informal sports practice in modalities such as Beach Volleyball, Beach Footvolley, and Esports.
Budget and due dates
The budget for repairing the damage caused by Storm Kristin to the facilities of the Ilha Sports Group is €22,901.37 (VAT included) , but in this fundraising campaign we are only seeking 50% of that amount.
This amount covers several essential interventions to restore the operational conditions of the club's infrastructure, namely:
- Repair of the countertop cover;
- Repair and replacement of lighting systems (football field, beach soccer field and parking lot);
- Waterproofing work on the roofs of sanitary facilities;
- Repair of the roofs of the changing rooms and the engine room;
- Reconstruction of the field's outer fence;
- Repair or replacement of damaged sports equipment, such as goalposts and substitutes' cabin;
- Repair of the ball-catching net on the beach soccer field;
- Interventions in external piping, gutters and chimneys.
Regarding the schedule, the infrastructure recovery is being carried out in phases, according to safety priorities and the club's financial availability.
In the first phase, the interventions considered urgent to allow the gradual return of sporting activity have already been carried out, including the partial repair of the lighting on the main field, waterproofing of roofs, roof repairs and reconstruction of the exterior fence.
The remaining interventions are scheduled to take place throughout 2026 , with some planned for the second quarter of 2026 , such as repairing the grandstand roof, replacing the substitutes' cabin, repairing the ball-catching net, and replacing various damaged equipment.
This phased plan ensures the resumption of sporting activity with minimum safety conditions, while the full recovery of the affected infrastructure is progressively carried out.
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