Álvaro Lopes started working at Banco Português do Atlântico at the age of 13 and years later served as branch director at Banco Santander. Father of two daughters and always supported by his wife, he was director of Leixões and in 1990 he joined the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, to exercise the functions of director, a position he still holds today. At the time, he felt that there were many deficiencies in the infrastructure at various levels and went with Prof. Vicente Araújo, then President of the Federation, who managed to get around the situation, making the federation what it is today. In 2016, Álvaro Lopes was elected president of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, for the period 2016/2020. At the moment, he is the federative director at national level with the most years in activity. The rigorous work in favor of volleyball and sport makes Álvaro Lopes one of the figures of Matosinhos that NM magazine highlights.