Football

Sporting Clube de Portugal (often misperceived as "Sporting Lisbon") is a sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. The club is particularly renowned for its football branch. With about 1 registered club members, Sporting is one the most successful and popular sports clubs in Portugal, its teams, athletes and supporters are often nicknamed "os Leões" - "the Lions".

Sporting Hightlights!

The club's foundation was instigated by José Holtreman Roquette (José of Alvalade), with the financial support of his grandfather, Alfredo Augusto das Neves Holtreman, Viscount of Alvalade. The Viscount of Alvalade was the first President of Sporting Clube de Portugal. The club was established in 1902 as Sport Club de Belas, which became Campo Grande Sporting Club in 1904, and took its definitive name of Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1906.

Within Portugal, the club is often referred to simply as "Sporting". Outside Portugal, the most commonly used designation for the club is "Sporting Lisbon". In the past the club has attempted to shed this name, particularly through ex-president Sousa Cintra and his staff, in an effort to become known abroad by its correct name. Despite this, the English-language media still uses Sporting Lisbon due to precedent and to avoid confusion with other clubs such as Sporting Braga, Sporting Covilhã and Sporting Gijón, instead of using a more accurate name like Sporting Portugal.

Sporting Clube de Portugal has been a major contender in the Portuguese League since its inception. The club's football department has developed an increasingly professionalized profile which operates in an increasingly competitive environment in both Portugal and Europe. In 1998, the football department of the club was reorganized into a company and issued stock on the market. Since then Sporting - Sociedade Desportiva de Futebol, S.A.D. is a publicly traded company which is listed on the Euronext Lisbon stock exchange.