S.L. Benfica

S.L. Benfica

Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Euronext: SLBEN), commonly known as Benfica or simply SLB, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. Although Benfica successfully competes in a number of different sports, it is mostly known for its football team.

Founded on 28 February 1904, at a meeting in Farmácia Franco involving 24 men led by Cosme Damião, Sport Lisboa e Benfica (originally known as Grupo Sport Lisboa) is one of the Três Grandes (Big Three) football clubs in Portugal, with Sporting and FC Porto being the other two clubs, Benfica's biggest rivals. Benfica has more than 14 million fans and holds the Guinness World Record for the football club in the world with most members. It is the most popular Portuguese club in the world and its supporters are often called Benfiquistas.

Benfica is the most successful football club in Portuguese competitions, with 67 titles, and the second most successful Portuguese club overall, with 70 titles. Benfica holds the record of 32 Portuguese League titles, the record of 24 Portuguese Cups (and record of 4 consecutively), the record of 4 Portuguese League Cups (totally and consecutively), 3 Championships of Portugal and 4 Portuguese SuperCups. Benfica has the distinction of being the first in the history of the Portuguese Liga to have completed an entire 30 game season unbeaten (in 1972–73) and the only one to do it twice (in 1977–78). Benfica has set the European winning streak record of 29 games (between 1971–72 and 1972–73).

Benfica was one of the founding members of the Primeira Liga in 1933 and it has never been relegated from the Primeira Divisão (First Division) of Portuguese football. Internationally, Benfica was the first and only Portuguese club to win a Latin Cup and 2 European Champions' Cups consecutively: the 1960–61 and the 1961–62 European Cups. In addition, Benfica were runners-up in the 1961 and 1962 Intercontinental Cups, in the 1962–63, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1987–88 and 1989–90 European Cups, and in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup; holding the national record of 8 European finals played.

As a sports club, Benfica currently has departments for futsal, roller hockey, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics, triathlon, rugby, table tennis, judo, among others. Due to the success and popularity of its football, Benfica has built the biggest fan base among the Três Grandes in Portugal. Benfica also has one of the biggest fan bases in the world, with many supporters outside of Portugal in countries like Andorra, Angola, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Croatia, France, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, United Kingdom, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, Switzerland, Netherlands and United States.

As one of the biggest clubs in the world, Sport Lisboa e Benfica has its own television channel called Benfica TV, a weekly newspaper called O Benfica, a bimonthly magazine called Mística and a multi-language website which includes a social network called SLB Fans. The club is involved in social intervention with Fundação Benfica (Benfica Foundation)..

In 2011, Benfica was considered the richest club outside of the five major European football leagues by the Deloitte Football Money League, being 21st in the list.