Estádio da Luz hosts today (3pm, Canal 11 and BTV) the Benfica-Sporting women’s derby for the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, which could go down in history due to the number of supporters in the stands. The attendance record in an official women’s football match in Portugal is 14,221, also in a match with the eternal rivals, which was also played in Luz last year and which ultimately gave the Reds their second championship.
This afternoon, Benfica members do not pay a ticket, while the other supporters pay the single price of five euros (including Sporting members a maximum of three tickets per person), who can help put together the stands. This is also why all involved believe it is possible to overcome the biggest turnout of all, that of the 2019 derby, when lionesses and eagles met in a charity match, which brought 15,204 people to Estádio do Restelo in Lisbon.
The record in an official match was recorded on May 8, 2022, in a Benfica-Sporting match of the BPI League, with 14,221 people watching the match of the 12th round of the 2nd stage of the 2021-22 championship, the most of them Benfica fans who celebrated the victory (3-1) and the capture of the second consecutive championship title.
That match surpassed the previous official maximum, also between lionesses and eagles in the 4th round of the 2019-2020 championship, which ended with Benfica winning (3-0) and was witnessed by 12,812 spectators at Estádio da Luz. The 2019 Portuguese Cup Final, between Benfica and Valadares Gaia, had 12,632 people in the stands at Estádio Nacional, in Jamor.
Before Benfica came on the scene – it only has a female team since 2019 – the games with the most visitors were the two Portuguese Cup finals between Sporting and Sp. Braga, in 2017 and 2018. Thein total, there are seven official games in women’s soccer with five-figure assists (see table). Impressive, considering that until 2014 there was no match in the women’s group that reached almost 10,000 fans in the stands.
Another match with the highest attendance on Portuguese territory was an international duel. In 2014, Estádio do Restelo hosted the Women’s Champions League final, between Tyresö and Wofsburg, which was seen by 11,217. The German team was even linked to the world record when it visited Camp Nou on April 22 last year. This Champions League semi-final Barcelona-Wolfsburg (5-1), which was curiously refereed by the Portuguese Sandra Bastos, was watched live by 91,648 people.
The first derby in the cup and the third of the season
Benfica faces the 14th women’s derby in history, the third at Estádio da Luz, in the comfort of a season of nothing but victories in domestic competitions. In 2022-23, the Eagles have already met and won the Lionesses twice, in the Super Cup final (4-1, after extra time) and in the Championship (2-1) in Alcochete, with today the first ever derby counting towards the Portuguese Cup.
In the league, the teams are 10 points apart – Benfica is 1st with 33 points, Sporting is 4th with 23 -, but in the cup, the game has to be eliminated and the team led by Filipa Patão is doing less well in the queen race than in the championship. “It is another difficult obstacle to reach Jamor. I have already climbed that staircase as a player, I still have to climb it as coach of Benfica. It is the moment we look forward to,” said the coach, who won seven Cups. as a player in the December 1 and Benfica Football.
On the lion side, coach Mariana Cabral expects an adequate response. “We know the championship is difficult, but we will fight for all competitions until the end. We are the holders of the Portuguese Cup and our goal for now is to surpass the quarter-finals,” he said.
Today, at the same time as the Lisbon derby, the Albergaria-Sp. Braga. Before that, Famalicão-Damaiense will be played (1 p.m.). Tomorrow will be the last meeting of this round between Racing Power, the “survivor” of the II Division, and Amora. The semi-finals will be played over two legs and are scheduled for March 15 and April 30, while the final will take place in Jamor on May 27.
Portugal won over 4001 players in one year
According to data from the Observatory of the Portuguese Football Federation, the growth of women’s football has been tremendous over the past decade with growth exceeding 180%.
Last season ended with a new maximum of 9200 athletes taking part in the various championships, from under 7 to seniors, a category with 2211 players, with around 400 playing in the 12 top clubs.
That is, the 2021-22 season had 4,001 more athletes playing football than the 2020-21 season, a year that was partly heavily penalized by the absence of competition due to the covid-19 pandemic, and which ended with 5,199 federated athletes.
Source: DN
