His appearance marks his return to the Portuguese championship after being away for two years while competing against the world's elite.

“Frederico Morais, currently the best Portuguese surfer, is to be present at Allianz Ericeira Pro, which takes place from 1 to 3 March in Ribeira d’Ilhas,” the National Surf Association (ANS) told Lusa on Tuesday, highlighting that the surfer “is positioned to fight for the title of national surfing champion and the leadership of the Santander Ranking.”

‘Kikas’, who competed the last two seasons in the World Surfing Circuit, is to return to the Portuguese league two years after his last participation.

He has two Portuguese titles (2013 and 2015) and is in the record-winning stage in the MEO Surf League with 12 victories, after having started the international season in Brazil, at the Fernando de Noronha tournament, the qualification circuit, where he came 37th.

The Portuguese surf championship begins on 1 March and ends on 5 October and has five stages.

“We have a full year ahead of us,” Francisco Rodrigues, the ANS president, said pointing to the improvement of monetary prizes (€100,000 compared to €90,000 in 2018) and to the strengthening sustainability.

The first stage of MEO Surf League is scheduled for Ericeira, at Ribeira d’Ilhas (1 to 3 March), followed by Figueira da Foz (20 to 31 March), Porto (17 to 19 May), the Algarve (21 to 23 June) and Cascais (3 to 5 October).

In addition to the switch of Sintra for the Algarve (Amado beach, Aljezur), MEO, Portugal's leading telecommunications and broadband provider, is to broadcast the entire championship live.