Boavista F.C.

Foundation and the chequered shirts (1903–1933) The club was founded on 1 August 1903, in the Boavista area of the western part of the city of Porto, by two English brothers, Harry and Dick Lowe. Having received an imported football from their father in England, they founded The Boavista Footballers, and an early rival was another English club in the city, the Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club. The team had an early schism as its British contingent refused to play on Sundays due to their Anglican faith, while the Catholic locals could only play on Sundays due to work commitments; the locals won, drastically changing the demographics of the club. The team bounced back to the top flight by 1970 with two consecutive promotions, finished renovation of its stadium two years later and in 1974 hired manager José Maria Pedroto and president Valentim Loureiro. In their first year, Boavista achieved their best classification of fourth in the 1974-1975 championship, and won the Taça de Portugal for the first time after defeating Benfica 2–1 in the final. and defended their cup title by defeating Vitória de Guimarães 2–1 in the 1976 final at rival Porto's Estádio das Antas; Pedroto left for Porto at the end of the season. Experienced English manager Jimmy Hagan led the club to its third Taça de Portugal win in five years after defeating Sporting CP 1–0 in the replay of the 1979 final, after a 1–1 draw occurred the day prior. At the beginning of the following season, Porto and Boavista organised the first edition of the Portuguese Supercup, a season-opening match between the league and cup holders. The match was contested at the Estádio das Antas, and Boavista (with new manager Mário Lino) beat Pedroto's Porto 2–1 in a violent match where Boavista had two men sent off. From contenders to champions and European forays (1980–2003) is the club symbol and nickname. In 1997, Valentim Loureiro was succeeded as president by his son João, who at 34 was the youngest in the whole league. After finishing runners-up to Sporting a year later, the squad began to break up, with Petit heading to Benfica and fellow midfielder Pedro Emanuel going to Porto; both skippered their new teams. Boavista were regulars in UEFA competitions in the 1990 and early 2000s. In the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, they reached the semi-finals before a 2–1 aggregate loss to Celtic due to a late Henrik Larsson strike; they would have faced Porto in the final. Downfall and return (2008–2024) In June 2008, Boavista was sentenced to relegation for its part in the Apito Dourado (Golden Whistle) matchfixing scandal, for three games in the 2003–04 season. A year later, the club was relegated again: originally saved by promoted club Vizela being sanctioned for corruption, the team withdrew from the second division for financial reasons. In January 2013, João Loureiro, pressed by thousands of members of the club to return to the presidency, was elected president once again. After a long legal battle, in June 2013, Boavista was entitled the right to come back to the Primeira Liga. Also, after a negotiation with the creditors of the club, the €65 million debt was cut in half. Petit returned as manager, leading the club to the Taça da Liga semi-finals for the first time in 2021–22. Fall to district leagues (2024–) After being prohibited from signing players in five transfer windows by FIFA, Boavista signed nine players in one day in February 2025. In 2024–25, the team were relegated in last place after a 4–1 loss away to Arouca on the final day, prompting a pitch invasion by some of the 2,000 travelling fans. The club were barred from playing in Liga Portugal 2 by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional, resulting in relegated team Oliveirense receiving a reprieve. Boavista was also refused registration in 2025 to the third-tier Liga 3 or fourth-tier Campeonato de Portugal, resulting in the Sociedade Anónima Desportiva (SAD) of the club starting the new season in the Liga Pro, the new elite league of the Porto Football Association. The club itself entered a team in the fourth division of the district leagues, a decision which led to the establishment of Panteras Negras F.C. by the supporters' group of the same name. Having had losses by default as a result of never turning up for games, the club-run team withdrew from competition at the end of October. ==Honours==

• Primeira Liga • Winners (1): 2000–01 • 2nd place (3): 1975–76, 1998–99, 2001–02 • Taça de Portugal • Winners (5): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1991–92, 1996–97 • Runners-up (1): 1992–93 • Supertaça de Portugal • Winners (3): 1979, 1992, 1997 • Runners-up (1): 2001 • Segunda Divisão • Winners (2): 1936–37, 1949–50 • Campeonato do Porto • Winners (1): 1913–14 • 1.ª Divisão da AF Porto • Winners (1): 1967–68 ==League and cup history==

The club has made 55 appearances at the top level of Portuguese football and has won the Portuguese cup five times. In 1979, it also won the first edition of the national supercup. : Top scorer : Champions : Promoted : Promoted in court : Relegated : Relegated in court As of 19 May 2024 Sources: Soccer Library, Fora de Jogo. ==European record==

Overview • Biggest win: Boavista 8–0 Sliema Wanderers, 05/10/1979, Estádio do Bessa, Porto • Biggest defeat: Lazio 5–0 Boavista, 28/09/1977, Stadio Olimpico, Rome • Players with most UEFA appearances: Erwin Sánchez and Ricardo, 35 matches • Top scorers in UEFA club competitions: Elpídio Silva, 11 goals Matches ==Players==

Current squad Out on loan Retired numbers ==Statistics==

Most appearances Top goalscorers ==Club Officials==

Since 1970 • Fernando Caiado (1970–71) • Joaquim Meirim (1971) • Jaime Garcia (caretaker manager) (1971) • António Teixeira (1971–72) • Jaime Garcia (caretaker manager) (1972) • Dante Bianchi (1972) • Aymoré Moreira (1972–1974) • José Maria Pedroto (1974–1976) • Mário Wilson (1976–1977) • Fernando Caiado (1977) • Jimmy Hagan (1978) • José Carlos (1978) • Jimmy Hagan (1978–1979) • Mário Lino (1979–1980) • António Teixeira (1980) • Henrique Calisto (1981) • Mário Lino (1981–1982) • Álvaro Carolino (1982) • Hermann Stessl (1982) • Joaquim Meirim (1982) • Ferdinand Smetana (1982–1983) • Manuel Barbosa (1983) • Henrique Calisto (1983–1984) • Mário Wilson (1984) • João Alves (1984–1986) • José Torres (1987) • Pepe (1987–1988) • Raul Águas (1988–1989) • Manuel Barbosa (1989–1990) • João Alves (1990) • Raul Águas (1990–1991) • Manuel José (1991–1996) • João Alves (1996–1997) • Zoran Filipović (1997) • Rui Casaca (1997) • Mário Reis (1997–1998) • Jaime Pacheco (1998–2004) • Erwin Sánchez (2004) • Jaime Pacheco (2004) • Pedro Barny (2005) • Carlos Brito (2005–2006) • Jesualdo Ferreira (2006) • Pedro Barny (caretaker manager) (2006) • Željko Petrović (2006) • Jaime Pacheco (2006–08) • Rui Bento (2008–2009) • Jorge Madureira (2009) • Vítor Paneira (2009–2010) • Rui Ferreira (2010–11) • Filipe Gouveia (2011) • Mário Silva (2011) • Rui Amorim (caretaker manager) (2011) • Ferreirinha (2011–2012) • Amândio Barreiras (2012) • Petit (2012–2015) • Erwin Sánchez (2015–2016) • Miguel Leal (2016–2017) • Jorge Simão (2017–2019) • Jorge Couto (caretaker) (2019) • Lito Vidigal (2019) • Daniel Ramos (2019–2020) • Vasco Seabra (2020) • Jesualdo Ferreira (2021) • João Pedro Sousa (2021) • Petit (2021–2023) • Jorge Couto (caretaker) (2023) • Ricardo Paiva (2023–2024) • Jorge Simão (2024) • Cristiano Bacci (2024–2025) • Lito Vidigal (2025) • Jorge Couto (caretaker) (2025) • Stuart Baxter (2025) • Luís Merêncio (2025–) ==Stadium==

The Estádio do Bessa (later Estádio do Bessa XXI) is Boavista's home ground, used for football and occasionally for music concerts. The stadium was first used in 1911, then known as 'Campo do Bessa'. The stadium had several renovations in its history, namely in 1967–72, where turf was installed as well as floodlights. Like other stadiums used in UEFA Euro 2004, the stadium was rebuilt for the competition, but on top of the old stands, and each one of them at a different time, allowing Boavista to continue playing there. It cost €45,409,134 to build, from which €7,785,735 were supported from the Portuguese state, and featured an all-seater capacity of 28,263 spectators. Plans for improvement actually existed before the organization of the Euro 2004 was given to Portugal in 1999, and by then, the first works were already underway. It was designed by Grupo 3 Arquitectura. The stadium has also been used several times in matches of the Portuguese national team. ==Colours==

Boavista's black-and-white chequered shirt was introduced by journalist and club president Artur Oliveira Valença, based on a French team he had seen. Kit evolution ==Women's team==

The women's team is one of the prominent in Portugal, having won several titles in a row during the 1990s, as well as the formation U-19, U-17. U-15 and U-13 teams, that won all national championships, and brought up several famous international players. ==See also==