Sport Lisboa e Benfica is a Portuguese sports club based in Lisbon that was formed in Belém in 1904 by 24 football enthusiasts, including Cosme Damião.[1] Benfica have been part of the Portuguese football top flight, Primeira Liga, since its inception in 1934. They have won 38 championships, 26 Taça de Portugal, 7 Taça da Liga, 8 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, 3 Campeonato de Portugal, 1 Latin Cup and 2 European Cups.
The supporters of Benfica, who are called benfiquistas, have played an important part in the club's growth during its 120-year existence. One of those cases was in the early days of the construction of the original Estádio da Luz, when club president Joaquim Ferreira Bogalho asked them for free concrete to build the stadium. They responded by offering 900,000 tons.[2] During the Portuguese Estado Novo, the Censorship Services prohibited national newspapers from referring to the football team as Vermelhos (Reds), so it was not confused with communism. Instead, the team was referred to as Encarnados (Flesh-coloured), which is still used, even after the transition to democracy.[3][4]
Benfica supporters can vary from regular ones, who do not possess any formal membership with the club, to sócios, club members, who are eligible to vote in the club's presidential elections and other matters. In addition, there are Benfica Houses (Casas do Benfica), which are fan clubs affiliated with the sócios and that have an eligible vote decided by the House leaders.
In 2005, club president Luís Filipe Vieira implemented an aggressive membership campaign with the intent of reaching 300,000 members.[5] From roughly 95,000 members in 2000,[6] the club reached 160,000 in 2006 – a Guinness World record back then – only one year after the beginning of the campaign.[7] After Benfica's scheduled renumbering of members in 2015, the number decreased from 247,859 to 156,916 members, with the club losing roughly 35% of its paying associates.[8] By October 2021, Benfica had over 250,000 members, of which 115,681 were eligible to vote in club elections.[9]
- ^ Almanaque do Benfica (1 ed.). Lua de Papel. 2012. p. 11. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
- ^ Pereira 2014, p. 88.
- ^ Pereira 2014, p. 157.
- ^ "As Verdades Deturpadas da História do Benfica - E ainda..." [The Twisted Truths of Benfica History - Moreover...] (PDF). S.L. Benfica. p. 20.
- ^ "Nove anos depois, Vieira insiste nos 300 mil sócios" [Nine years later, Vieira insists on 300,000 members]. Diário de Noticias (in Portuguese). 4 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "Maisfutebol, 13 anos: que grande ganhou mais sócios?" [13 years: which three won more members?]. Maisfutebol. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "Most widely supported football club". guinnessworldrecords.com. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "Benfica perdeu 100 mil sócios" [Benfica lost 100 thousand members] (in Portuguese). Sapo Desporto. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ "Eleições do Benfica: podem votar perto de 116 mil sócios" [Benfica elections: around 116,000 members can vote]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 October 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.