Sporting (handball)

Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP is a professional handball team based in Lisbon, Portugal since 1932 and plays in top tier Andebol 1. The club is one of the most decorated handball clubs in Portugal, having won 47 national titles, 16 Regional titles and 2 International titles.

History

Handball was introduced in Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1932, under the influence of Salazar Carreira, who introduced the sport to the club. It was on 10 April that a Sporting Portugal team played its first game in the sport, then in the eleven-a-side variant, the only one practised at the time, with the team beating Centro de Armas 1-0. The first official match would take place a month later against the same opponent, on 15 May 1932.

Indoor handball, which later became known as seven-a-side handball, was approved by the International Handball Federation in 1937, but the first demonstration of this variant in Portugal only took place on 12 September 1949 at the Cascais skating rink, when a Sporting team faced and beat another from Dramático de Cascais by 25-5, setting the tone for what would become one of the most emblematic sports in Portugal: Evaristo Ribeiro; Artur Mira and Rui Lanceiro; Fernando Nunes; Pereira de Sousa; Domingos Vicente and Joaquim Chagas, with Pinto dos Santos deputising.

Officially, Sporting started seven-a-side handball in the 1950-51 season and the sport immediately took root in the club, winning the first national championship in Portugal the following season. Initially, the seven-a-side handball season began in the summer after the 11-a-side competitions had finished, which was justified by the fact that the players were practically the same.

Sporting dominated Portuguese handball, particularly in the sixties and seventies and even in the eighties, with emphasis on the period from 1966 to 1973, in which seven National Championships were won in eight possible, five of which were consecutive, with a mythical team that became known as ''Os Sete Magníficos'' (The Magnificent Seven).

In 1995, Sporting fans were forced to choose the modalities to keep in the club, due to financial problems, having chosen handball and futsal, leading to the closure of the basketball, rink hockey and volleyball sections (which in the meantime would be reactivated).

Sporting CP completed the 2023-24 league season undefeated in its 22 home and away matches and completed its first domestic triple. They completed a second domestic triple in the 2025 season surpassing their northern rivals for domestic titles won. They also achieved its highest EHF Champions League 2024-25 placing, by reaching the quarter finals.

Facilities

Pavilhão João Rocha

Pavilhão João Rocha is a multi-sports pavilion located in the parish of Lumiar, in Lisbon. Located next to the Estádio José Alvalade, it is the home of Sporting CP indoor sports. In honor of one of the most distinguished figures in the history of Sporting, the pavilion was named after former club president, João Rocha, who remained in office from September 1973 to October 1986. Its inauguration took place on the day 21 June 2017.

Kits

Honours

Domestic Competitionss

* Portuguese League: 23
: 1951–52, 1955–56, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1985–86, 2000–01, ''2004-05*'', ''2005-06*'', 2016–17, 2017–18, 2023–24, 2024–25
* * Notes : Divisão de Elite:
* Portuguese Cup – record : 19
: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
* Portuguese Super Cup: 5
: 1998, 2002, 2014, 2023, 2024
* Campeonato De Lisboa Regional: 16
: 1950–51 • 1951–52 • 1952–53 • 1954–55 • 1955–56 • 1956–57 • 1957–58 • 1959–60 • 1960–61 • 1961–62 • 1962–63 • 1963–64 • 1964–65 • 1965–66 • 1967–68 • 1968–69

National & International Competitions

* Double
:Winners (6): 1971–72, 1972–73, 1980–81, 2000–01, 2023-24, 2024-25

* Triple
:Winners (2): 2023–24, 2024-25

*EHF European Cup: 2
: 2009–10, 2016–17

Current squad

:''Squad for the 2024–25 season''

;Goalkeepers
* 20 André Kristensen
* 92
* 99 Santiago Póvoas
;Left Wingers
* 17 Orri Freyr Þorkelsson
* 22 Diogo Branquinho
;Right Wingers
*4 Pedro Portela
* 19 Mamadou Gassama
;Line players
*2 Edy Silva
* 10 William Höghielm
* 44 Christian Moga

;Left Backs
* 13 Salvador Salvador
* 41 Maiko Vázquez
* 79 Martim Costa
;Central Backs
*7 Natan Suárez
*8 Jan Gurri
*9 Pedro Martínez
;Right Backs
*6 Francisco Costa
* 23 João Gomes
* 97 Rafael Vasconcelos

Staff

* Head coach:
* Assistant coach: Pedro Biscaia
* Assistant coach: Ricardo Candeias

Results in European competitions

Note: Sporting score is always listed first.

References

External links

Sporting Official Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sporting Clube De Portugal (Handball)
Sporting CP sports
Handball clubs in Portugal
Handball clubs established in 1932