Written by Bjorn Slootweg
Lisbon. Besides being the capital, it is also the epicentre of football in Portugal. Two of the original big three football clubs hail from this particularly touristy part of the country: Benfica and Sporting CP. We will tell you more about these two giants later. In fact, there are about four other clubs in Lisbon. Each of these four has its own story, each one special. We have categorised Lisbon football clubs by the league they play in, starting with the lowest.
Directly to:
– Atlético CP
– CF Os Belenenses
– Estrela de Amadora
– Belenenses SAD
– Sporting CP
– SL Benfica
| Number | Name of the club | Division | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Atlético CP | Campeonato de Portugal Prio (4th league) | Estádio da Tapadinha | 15.000 |
| 5 | CF Os Belenenses | Campeonato de Portugal Prio (4th league) | Estádio do Restelo | 19.856 |
| 4 | Estrela de Amadora | Liga Portugal 2 | Estádio José Gomes | 9.288 |
| 3 | Belenenses SAD | Liga Portugal 2 | Estádio Nacional | 37.593 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | Primeira Liga | Estádio José Alvalade | 50.095 |
| 1 | SL Benfica | Primeira Liga | Estádio da Luz | 65.000 |
The first two football clubs in Lisbon play in Portugal’s fourth tier, the Campeonato de Portugal Prio. Let us begin with Atlético Clube de Portugal, also known as Atlético CP. Founded in 1942, the club played regularly at the highest level over the years. This was until the club experienced financial distress that was too high to cope with, and a foreign investor had to be sought. One was eventually found, but this actually only made the club worse.
After a veritable revolution by the supporters, the club is now run by them and Atlético CP has been playing at the fourth level of Portugal for several years. It plays its matches at the Estádio da Tapadinha, which can accommodate around 15,000 people. This capacity cannot be fully utilised, however, as the stadium is so old that more than half of it has been condemned due to danger of collapse. Regardless, the club is still alive and kicking thanks to a solid core of dedicated people who not only manage the club, but more importantly support it. Thanks to them, Atlético CP is still one of Lisbon’s football gems.
The other football club in Lisbon that plays in the Campeonato de Portugal Prio is CF Os Belenenses. The real Belenenses, for the club’s supporters. How exactly that came about is a bit like the Atlético CP story above. Belenenses was always the third football club from Lisbon. It was so until disagreements arose with CodeCity, who was the owner of the club at that time. Thanks in part to the backing of supporters, the club decided to renounce its professional licence. Said licence went to a part of Belenenses that did want to continue with the owner, Belenenses SAD, more on that later.
The part of the club (along with the part of the supporters) that wanted a new start became an amateur club. They started at the sixth level and have worked their way up from there to Portugal’s fourth level. All this happened from the Estádio do Restelo. This stadium is open from one side, providing a great view over the city.
The third football club in Lisbon comes from the city’s Amadora district. A district that most prefer to avoid, for the figures of poverty and crime there are somewhat daunting. But where football is concerned, the essential supporters are happy to make an exception. Estrela de Amadora literally means Star of Amadora. The club was founded in 1932, but unfortunately went bankrupt in 2009 due to financial hardship. In the process, they also lost the right to use the club’s name, logo and other expressions.
Only a decade later, supporters managed to give Estrela de Amadora a new start. This was under a slightly different name and a slightly different logo, but in the same Estádio José Gomes, which has fallen into considerable disrepair over the years. In their free time, supporters come in to help refurbish their much-loved stadium. The team did have to start in Portugal’s lowest league. Since then, this Lisbon football club has moved up to the Liga Portugal 2, the second tier.
Another Belenenses on the list, that’s right! The second club we mentioned was CF Os Belenenses, the club that lost its pro licence. Belenenses SAD is the part of the club that continued with the licence. They thus retained the spot in the Primeira Liga. The club has since been relegated once and now plays its matches in the Liga Portugal 2.
Our fourth football club in Lisbon plays its matches at the Olympic Stadium located on the outskirts of the city: Estádio Nacional. During the matches of B-SAD, as the club is also called, the stadium is far from full. Besides B-SAD matches, this stadium is also used for the Portuguese Cup finals and a European Cup I final was played there in 1967.
Moving on to the two superpowers when it comes to football clubs in Lisbon. First, Sporting Clube de Portugal, which plays in the classic green and white striped shirt. With 19 championships and a total of 21 cup wins, across two cup competitions, the title superpower is justified.
Sporting plays its matches at the José Alvalade, which can accommodate as many as 50,000 spectators. This brings us straight to an important point. Sporting is known for its passionate supporters. Several supporter groups are at odds with the board. This is partly due to a huge low point that took place in 2018. Back then, 50 ‘supporters’ stormed the training complex in Lisbon and attacked some players there. Crazy, right!? On a lighter note, Sporting CP won the Primeira Liga in 2021. After 19 years without a title, which brought tremendous joy to players and supporters alike.
37 times champions and 26 cup wins. These figures speak for themselves. Benfica can rightly call itself the biggest when looking at football clubs in Lisbon. The immense Estádio Da Luz has room for up to 65,000 supporters and is only a ten-minute drive from the stadium of archrival Sporting CP. The big two football clubs from Lisbon have a common dislike for FC Porto, and together they form the big three of Portugal.
Benfica’s last championship win was in 2019, so for supporters it is high time their club won the Primeira Liga again. In the Portuguese league, Benfica has always fared relatively well. In the European ligue, this football club from Lisbon is less successful. This might be due to Guttmann’s curse. He was the coach under which the club won the European Cup I in 1961 and 62. After accomplishing this feat, he asked for a pay rise from the club, which he was denied. Because of this, Guttmann left the club and said that without him, Benfica would not be winning any more European titles. Since then, in the span of about 60 years, Benfica has played five European finals, but lost all of them.
Want to experience the atmosphere and intensity of one of Lisbon’s football clubs in real life? Feel the electricity among the passionate supporters of Sporting CP and shout the club to victory. Or how about a game of Benfica at the mighty Estádio da Luz.
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