TRAVEL AGENCY AND TOURISM

Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho was born on January 10, 1949, in São Vicente, Cabo Verde where he began an athletic career as a soccer player for the Académica of Mindelo. In 1965, he traveled to Coimbra, Portugal to further his studies and ended up joining the Académica of Coimbra soccer team.

Following his success with the “briosa” of Coimbra, Alhinho played for Sporting, Benfica and FC Porto, making him the first athlete to play for the “Big Three” soccer teams of Portugal.
He was also a player on other major teams such as Racing White (Belgium), Bétis (Spain), New
England Tea Men (U.S.), Portimonense and Farense. Alhinho represented the Portuguese
National team on 20 separate occasions over a period of 9 years.

With a degree in agrarian technical engineering and a certificate in sports management, Alhinho coached teams such as Lusitano of Évora, Académico do Viseu, Penafiel, Portimonense, FAR (Morocco),
ASA (Angola), Badajoz (Spain), Al Alhy (Qatar) and Muhanrag (Barhein). He managed both the CapeVerdean and Angolan National teams, leading the Angolan “Palancas Negras” to the African National
Cup finals for the first time in 1996. In São Vicente, Cabo Verde, he founded the Carlos Alhinho
Academy. Carlos Alhinho is unanimously considered the best Cape Verdean athlete of the twentieth century for his international athleticism.

Alhinho was the victim of a fatal accident in Benguela, Angola on May 31, 2008. He had just signed a contract making him a four season coach for the Angolan team “1° de Maio.” After the death, his son, Carlos Eduardo Alhinho wrote that his father had always envisioned his return to Cabo Verde: “My mission in Portugal has been fulfilled. I want to spend the rest of my life in São
Vicente resting my bones with family and a fishing pole in hand!”