Understanding Sports Companies (SADs) in Portugal: A Guide for Foreigners
When it comes to professional football in Portugal, one key concept stands out: the Sociedade Anónima Desportiva (SAD). If you're a foreigner trying to grasp how football clubs operate in the country, this article will help you understand what SADs are, their role, and their impact on Portuguese sports.
- 1 What is an SAD?
- 2 How Does an SAD Work?
- 3 Why Were SADs Introduced?
- 4 Examples of Portuguese Clubs with SADs
- 5 Challenges Facing SADs
- 6 SADs and Foreign Investment
- 7 Conclusion
A Sociedade Anónima Desportiva (Sports Joint-Stock Company) is a legal structure in Portugal designed to professionalize and manage sports clubs, particularly football clubs. Introduced in the 1990s, the SAD model was created to bring financial stability and transparency to sports o…
Fan Groups (Organized Supporter Groups) or GOA (Organized Fan Groups) in Portugal
What are the largest fan groups in Portugal?
In terms of members, Juve Leo (Sporting), Directivo Ultras XXI (Sporting), and No Name Boys (Benfica) are the fan groups with the most members, totaling over 17,000 members.
- 1 1st - Juventude Leonina or Juve Leo
- 2 2nd - Directivo Ultras XXI or DUXXI
- 3 3rd - No Name Boys or NN
- 4 Instances of Violence Involving Fan Groups
- 4.1 Top 5 Most Violent Incidents:
- 5 Extremist Groups Within Fan Clubs
- 6 How Are Fan Groups Regulated in Portugal?
- 7 Conclusion
Juve Leo is the oldest Portuguese fan group, founded in 1976. It is known for being the seventh most violent fan group in Europe and the eleventh in the world.
DUXXI is one of the newest fan groups in Portugal, founded in 2002 after Sporting won its last title before going nearly 20 years …
2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw
The draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has been completed. The tournament is set to take place from 14 June to 13 July 2025, featuring 32 clubs representing all six continents.
Group A
Palmeiras
Porto
Al Ahly
Inter Miami
Group B
Paris Saint-Germain
Atletico de Madrid
Botafogo
Seattle Sounders
Group C
Bayern Munich
Auckland City
Boca Juniors
Benfica
Group D
Flamengo
Esperance de Tunis
Chelsea
Leon
Group E
River Plate
Urawa Red Diamonds
Monterrey
Inter Milan
Group F
Fluminense
Borussia Dortmund
Ulsan
Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G
Manchester City
Wydad Casablanca
Al Ain
Juventus
Group H
Real Madrid
Al Hilal
Pachuca
Red Bull Salzburg
According to our points system, the following points will be awarded:
Champions: 150
Runners-up: 112
Semi-fina…
Most popular football clubs on Facebook
This is the list of most popular football clubs on Facebook:
UNDER CONSTRUCTION*
*Not all clubs have been included yet
Next steps
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2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup
The draw for the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup has been completed. The tournament is scheduled to take place from 22 September to 18 December 2024, featuring the following six clubs as continental champions:
- Al Ahly (CAF)
- Al Ain (AFC)
- Auckland City (OFC)
- Botafogo (CONMEBOL)
- Pachuca (CONCACAF)
- Real Madrid (UEFA)
According to our points system, the following points will be disputed:
Champions: 15
Runners-up: 11
Play-off: 7
Second round: 3
First round: 1
The matches will be as follows:
1st round (African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off)
22 September 2024 Al Ain 6 - 2 Auckland City
2nd round
(African–Asian–Pacific Cup)
29 October 2024 Al Ahly 3 - 0 Al Ain
(Derby of the Americas)
11 December 2024 Botafogo 0 - 3 Pachuca
Play-off (Challenger Cup)
14 Decemb…
Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2024
Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2024 just started and we will present the National Teams Ranking between participants of the tournament.
CONMEBOL Copa America 2024
CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 just started and we will present the National Teams Ranking between participants of the tournament. No points for The Ranking are distributed in this championship, as FIFA World Cup in the only national teams championship that distributes points.
UEFA Euro 2024
UEFA Euro 2024 begins today and we will present the National Teams Ranking between participants of the tournament. No points for The Ranking are distributed in this championship, as FIFA World Cup in the only national teams championship that distributes points.
2024 UEFA championships finals
We present the list of all 2024 UEFA championships finals:
UEFA Champions League
01/06/2024 - Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid
UEFA Europa League
22/05/2024 - Atalanta 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
UEFA Conference League
29/05/2024 - Olympiacos 1-0 (a.e.t.) Fiorentina
2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores group stage draw
The 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores group stage draw:
Group A (1249 points)
- Cerro Porteno (424 points)
- Colo-Colo (371 points)
- Fluminense (266 points)
- Alianza Lima (188 points)
Group B (1095 points)
- Sao Paulo (693 points)
- Barcelona Guayaquil (364 points)
- Talleres (29 points)
- Cobresal (9 points)
Group C (1136 points)
- Gremio (517 points)
- Estudiantes de La Plata (452 points)
- The Strongest (151 points)
- Huachipato (16 points)
Group D (832 points)
- Universitario (289 points)
- LDU Quito (286 points)
- Junior Barranquilla (132 points)
- Botafogo (125 points)
Group E (1030 points)
- Flamengo (498 points)
- Bolivar (265 points)
- Millonarios (220 points)
- Palestino (47 points)
Group F (1140 points)
- Palmeiras (655 points)
- San Lorenzo (38…
Most popular clubs, national teams and leagues in the world on WhatsApp Channels
National teams:
Indonesia - 1.620mi followers
Argentina - 1.300mi followers
France - 922k followers
England - 387k followers
Saudi Arabia - 107k followers
Switzerland - 47k followers
Qatar - 29k followers
Belgium - 27k followers
Uruguay - 15k followers
Guinea - 7k followers
Chile - 6k followers
Clubs:
Real Madrid - 56.636mi followers
Barcelona - 34.118mi followers
Manchester City - 29.592mi followers
Liverpool - 20.162mi followers
Manchester United - 16.296mi followers
Paris Saint-Germain - 9.159mi followers
Tottenham - 7.158mi followers
Bayern Munich - 5.718mi followers
Persib Bandung - 5.320mi followers
Arsenal - 4.821mi followers
Galatasaray - 4.283mi followers
Flamengo - 4.065mi followers
America - 3.879mi followers…
All 2023 champions
We present the list of all 2023 champions around the world:
FIFA champions:
2023 FIFA Club World Championship: Manchester City (1st title)
UEFA champions:
2022-23 UEFA Champions League: Manchester City (1st title)
2022-23 UEFA Europa League: Sevilla (7th title)
2022-23 UEFA Conference League: West Ham (1st title)
2023 UEFA Super Cup: Manchester City (1st title)
CONMEBOL champions:
2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Fluminense (1st title)
2023 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: LDU Quito (2nd title)
2023 CONMEBOL Recopa: Independiente del Valle (1st title)
CAF champions:
2022-23 CAF Champions League: Al Ahly (11th title)
2022-23 CAF Confederation Cup: USM Alger (1st title)
2023 African Football League: Mamelodi Sundowns (1st title)
2023 CAF Super Cup: USM Alger …
2023 FIFA Club World Cup draw
The draw of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup was held. The tournament will take place in Saudi Arabia from 12 to 22 December 2023, with the participation of the following clubs (6 continental champions + hosts):
- Al Ahly (CAF)
- Al Ittihad (AFC - Hosts)
- Auckland City (OFC)
- Fluminense (CONMEBOL)
- Leon (CONCACAF)
- Manchester City (UEFA)
- Urawa Red Diamonds (AFC)
According to our points system, the following points will be disputed:
Champions: 15
Runners-up: 11
Third-place: 7
Fourth-place: 5
2nd round: 3
1st round: 1
The matches will be:
1st round
12 December 2023 Al Ittihad 3 - 0 Auckland City
2nd round
15 December 2023 Leon 0 - 1 Urawa Red Diamonds
15 December 2023 Al Ahly 3 - 1 Al Ittihad
Semi-finals
18 December 2023 Fluminense 2 - 0 Al Ahly
19 Dece…
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
The draw of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was held. The tournament will take place in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August 2023, with the participation of the following 32 national teams:
Group A
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Philippines
- Switzerland
Group B
- Australia
- Ireland
- Nigeria
- Canada
Group C
- Spain
- Costa Rica
- Zambia
- Japan
Group D
- England
- Haiti
- Denmark
- China
Group E
- United States
- Vietnam
- Netherlands
- Portugal
Group F
- France
- Jamaica
- Brazil
- Panama
Group G
- Sweden
- South Africa
- Italy
- Argentina
Group H
- Germany
- Morocco
- Colombia
- South Korea
According to our points system, the following points will be disputed:
Champions: 200
Runners-up: 150
Third-place: 100
Fourth-place: 75
Quarter-finals: 50
Ro…
2022 FIFA Club World Cup draw
The draw of the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup was held. The tournament will take place in Morocco from 1 to 11 February 2023, with the participation of the following clubs (6 continental champions + hosts):
- Flamengo (CONMEBOL)
- Real Madrid (UEFA)
- Al Hilal (AFC)
- Auckland City (OFC)
- Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF)
- Wydad Casablanca (CAF)
- Al Ahly (CAF - Hosts*)
- Took the host Morocco's slot as Wydad Casablanca won the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.
According to our points system, the following points will be disputed:
Champions: 15
Runners-up: 11
Third-place: 7
Fourth-place: 5
2nd round: 3
1st round: 1
The first matches will be:
1st round
1 February 2023 Al Ahly 3 - 0 Auckland City
2nd round
4 February 2023 Wydad Casablanca 1 - 1 (a.e.t. - p. 3 - 5) Al Hil…
2021 FIFA Club World Cup draw
The draw of the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup was held. The tournament will take place in United Arab Emirates from 3 to 12 February, with the participation of the following clubs (6 continental champions + hosts):
- Chelsea (UEFA)
- Palmeiras (CONMEBOL)
- Al Ahly (CAF)
- Al Hilal (AFC)
- Monterrey (CONCACAF)
- Pirae (OFC)
- Al Jazira (AFC - Hosts)
According to our points system, the following points will be disputed:
Champions: 15
Runners-up: 11
Third-place: 7
Fourth-place: 5
Fifth-place: 3
Sixth-place: 2
Seventh-place: 1
The first matches will be:
1st round
3 February 2022 Al Jazira 4 - 1 Pirae
2nd round
5 February 2022 Al Ahly 1 - 0 Monterrey
6 February 2022 Al Hilal 6 - 1 Al Jazira
Semi-finals
8 February 2022 Palmeiras 2 - 0 Al Ahly
9 February 2022 Chelse…