The decision was taken “in order to provide everyone who so wishes, the possibility of watching Portugal-Japan live”, at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, a venue that “was built to host Euro2004” football.

Among other competitions, the seventh round of the Division of Honor, the main Portuguese competitive level, was scheduled for November 13th.

"This game will represent a great opportunity for Portuguese rugby to assert itself, for the value of the opponent, for the moment it is taking place and, above all, for the opportunity to show international entities, national partners and the general public the good spell our team is experiencing" , justified the FPR in its weekly newsletter.

In addition to the challenge facing the 10th place in the world ranking, Coimbra will host, on the same day, the final of the U-20 European Championship, a “competition of fundamental importance for the future of rugby in Portugal” and which constitutes “an additional reason for no national competitions to be held on that day”, adds the FPR.

Alternatively, the FPR suggests rescheduling the matches for the previous or following days, or postponing it to another weekend, and warns that "in case the clubs do not reach an agreement" as to the date and time of the game, "the FPR will decide and schedule” the meetings.

The body that oversees the sport in Portugal, led by Carlos Amado da Silva, also took advantage of the communication to "invite the presidents of Portuguese clubs to be present in the presidential box at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra to watch the Portugal-Japan game".

The Portuguese rugby team welcomes Japan on November 13, in a match scheduled to start at 17:10 at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, a week after facing Canada, on November 6, at Jamor's High Performance Centre.

The Japanese, who occupy the 10th place in the world ranking, are the most valuable opponent that the Portuguese team has faced since the 2007 World Cup, when they played, in France, against Scotland and New Zealand.