Early years Founded in 1919, Belenenses reached their first
Campeonato final in 1926, losing 2–0 to
Marítimo, and won the title the next season with a 3–0 win over
Vitória de Setúbal and winning a second championship in 1929. The club lost the 1932 title to
Porto 2–1 in a replay after a 4–4 draw. The club won its third and final Campeonato in 1933 after defeating
Sporting CP 3–1. With three Campeonato wins, Belenenses was one of Portugal's "Big Four". At this time, José Manuel Soares (Pepe), one of the first idols of Portuguese football, stood out. His story began in a match against Benfica in which, with 15 minutes to go, Belenenses were losing 4–1, but the club managed to draw level at 4-4. In the final minutes of the match, Belenenses had a penalty in their favor, and Pepe, who was making his debut, didn't flinch and made the score 4–5 in favor of "The Boys of the Beach". Unfortunately, Pepe died prematurely at the age of 23, accidentally poisoned by his mother. In his memory, Belenenses erected a mausoleum at the Restelo stadium, where Porto, whenever they play there, lay a wreath in honor of the player, in one of the oldest traditions in Portuguese football.
League champions The club won its only
Primeira Liga title in
1945–46, edging Benfica by one point, the first time that a club outside the
Big Three won the title. On 14 December 1947, they were the first team to face
Real Madrid at their newly inaugurated
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (then called the Nuevo Estadio Chamartín) in a friendly match won 3–1 by Madrid. The club were runners-up in the league in the
1954–55 season, level on 39 points with Benfica, losing the title just four minutes from the end with a draw against Sporting. The following year, Belenenses moved to the Estadio do Restelo, which involved a large investment and the sale of the best players, resulting in quality diminishing. It was not until 1973 that Belenenses finished as runners-up again, 18 points behind Benfica, and they never have since.
European forays Belenenses were the first club to compete in the
UEFA Cup in a two-legged 3–3 draw with
Hibernian at the
Estádio do Restelo in Belém. The club has also played in the
European Cup Winners' Cup. In the
1987–88 UEFA Cup, the club played
Barcelona. In the first leg, they lost 2–0 in the
Camp Nou, winning 1–0 at the Estádio do Restelo with Mapuata scoring, coached by
Marinho Peres, a former Barcelona player. Belenenses won their sixth (and to date last)
Taça de Portugal on 28 May 1989, defeating Benfica 2–1. Also that season, they knocked out the holders
Bayer Leverkusen from the Cup Winners' Cup.
Downfall and recovery Belenenses were relegated from the Primeira Liga for the first time in
1981–82, and have been relegated three other times since then.
21st century The
2005–06 season saw Belenenses finishing fourth from bottom, which would mean relegation for the team. However, as
Gil Vicente had fielded an ineligible player that season, Belenenses won a subsequent appeal which saw them remain in the top division with Gil Vincente being relegated instead. On 27 May 2007, coached by
Jorge Jesus, Belenenses reached their first Taça de Portugal final since their 1989 triumph, but were defeated 1–0 by Sporting CP.
Cabral Ferreira, who served as club president of Belenenses from 2005 until 2008, died on 26 February 2008 after a long illness. Belenenses were relegated in 2010 to the
Segunda Liga, but secured promotion back to the Primeira Liga in March 2013, their longest stint out of the top division, with a record breaking score of 96 points. During the
2014–15 season, Belenenses finished the championship in sixth place, thereby returning to European competition, qualifying for the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League. They reached the
group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League after eliminating
IFK Göteborg (2–1 on aggregate) and
Rheindorf Altach (1–0 on aggregate). They finished fourth and last in their group, recording a surprising 2–1 away win against
Basel, but drawing 0–0 twice against
Lech Poznań, losing the return match against Basel, and losing both matches to
Fiorentina.
Club split At the end of
2017–18 season, CF Os Belenenses (club) and
Belenenses SAD went their separate ways, as the "Protocol on the use of
Estádio do Restelo" ended and the SAD refused to negotiate a new contract with the club. So from the 2018–19 season, Belenenses SAD (the professional team) play their Primeira Liga home games at
Estádio Nacional, whereas CF Os Belenenses registered an amateur team in 1ª Divisão Distrital de Lisboa, the equivalent to the Sixth Division (lowest Portuguese division), with the support of the majority of fans and club members. As a consequence, Belenenses SAD was legally forbidden from using Belenenses' logo and name and now uses a new logo (along with being renamed to B-SAD after the 2021–22 season). In the first games of the season, the professional team saw home attendances of only a few hundred, whereas the new, amateur team saw home attendances of approximately 5,000, reversing a long decline in attendance figures. Since then, Belenenses have climbed up the division five times in a row, until they reach professional competition again in 2023, equaling the world record. Belenenses' first win in professional competition came at Tondela, in a game they won 1-0 and the scorer was André Serra, the only player in the squad to have made the whole journey with the club from the bottom of the Portuguese football.
Social Responsibility In September 2023, the club was distinguished with the
Liga Portugal Social Responsibility Award for the "Todos Podemos Fazer a Diferença"
Blood Donation and
Bone Marrow Registration Campaign organised in partnership with KUBOO Self-Storage and the Portuguese Blood Institute. From December 2023 on, the club, in partnership with KUBOO Self-Storage and IPEIP- As Descobertas organise and host at
Estádio do Restelo a celebration of the
International Day of People with Disabilities (December 3). The event is destined to young kids from the schools of Lisbon (regular and
special education), and consists on series of sporting and artistic activities throughout a morning. This celebration intends to raise awareness for equality, friendship and respect despite differences among young generations. ==Honours==