Keys to the beginning of the sports democratization process in Portugal (1974-1982)

From a historical perspective, at the end of the Portuguese dictatorship (1926-1974), a framework of remarkable changes was set up, which enhanced the modernization of society and the dissemination of an up-to-then scarcely generalized sports phenomenon among the population. Despite the political and social instability particular to the Processo Revolucionário em Curso (1974-1976), this first post-dictatorial period permitted some advance in the field of sports, mainly because of initiatives from associativism and related to the adoption of a sport for all model. The inflection point regarding the development of the sports issue took place when the first constitutional governments were formed and the Constituição da República Portuguesa (1976) was passed. From then, the implementation of decentralized sports policies allowed for its transformation towards a more generalized, diversified, and balanced model.