João Manuel da Silva Roquette was born in Lisbon on 10 June 1960. He graduated in Physical Education and Sport from the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the Technical University of Lisbon, where he has been a lecturer in the Department of Sport since 1985 and a PhD candidate since 2016, enrolled on the PhD programme in Human Kinetics, specialising in Sports Training.
In 1992, he completed a Master’s degree in Sports Science at the Faculty of Human Kinetics, Technical University of Lisbon (FMH-UTL), and has published several articles and papers in the field of Sports Science.
He served as Technical Director of the Portuguese Judo Federation between September 1994 and September 1997, during which time he coordinated the Olympic preparation programme for judo ahead of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
He served as Coordinator of Technical and Sports Services at the Lisbon University Stadium (EUL) between September 1997 and 2000.
In 2000, he was appointed Director of EULisboa, taking up the post of President from 2002.
He served as Secretary-General of the European Network of Academic Sports Services (ENAS) from 2001 to 2011, an organisation bringing together the Academic Sports Services of leading European higher education institutions.
In 2003, he served on the National Coordination Committee for the European Year of Education through Sport (AEED-2004), representing the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
In 2004, he chaired the organising committee for the FISU Lisbon Forum 2004, and in the same year was invited to join the Committee for the Development Plan of the Coimbra University Stadium, representing the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education.
He collaborated with the University of Évora on the Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science.