The House of Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Macau (Chinese: 澳門賓菲加體育會), simply known as Benfica de Macau, is a Macanese professional football club that currently competes in the Liga de Elite. The club plays its home games at the Macau Olympic Complex Stadium.
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| Full name | Casa do Sport Lisboa e Benfica em Macau 澳門賓菲加體育會 | ||
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| Nickname | BDM | ||
| Founded | 17 October 1951 | ||
| Ground | Macau Olympic Complex Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 16,272 | ||
| Chairman | Duarte Alves | ||
| Head coach | André Calado | ||
| League | Liga de Elite | ||
| 2025 Liga de Elite | Liga de Elite, 4th place | ||
| Website | www | ||
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Benfica de Macau have won six league titles and three Taça de Macau cups.
History
editBenfica de Macau was founded on 17 October 1951, as the House No. 232 of S.L. Benfica.
On 21 August 2016, Benfica de Macau defeated Guam club Rovers 4–2 in a 2017 AFC Cup Play-off qualifier in Bishkek. It was the first win ever for a Macanese club in any AFC competition.[1]
In 2018, Benfica de Macau became the first Macanese club to participate in the AFC Cup group stage.[2] On 7 March 2018, Benfica won 3–2 against Taiwan's Hang Yuen, becoming the first Macanese club to win an AFC group stage match.[3]
After a six-year title drought, Benfica de Macau secured the 2024 season league title, positioning the club to qualify for the second edition of the newly established third-tier continental tournament, the AFC Challenge League. However, systemic infrastructure issues within local football had already complicated the territory's regional standing; during the competitive season in June 2024, club president Duarte Alves expressed major frustration over the ongoing exclusion of Macanese clubs from AFC tournaments, publicly citing the tightening, increasingly rigid criteria imposed by the Asian Football Confederation on amateur and semi-professional structures.[4]
Alves specifically highlighted that mandatory club demands: such as operating independent financial audits, employing specialized coaching staff with an AFC "A" license, and maintaining robust multi-tier youth academies,remained largely out of reach due to a systemic lack of local government funding and developmental interest in football compared to other heavily sponsored, large-scale sporting events in Macau. This ongoing structural bottleneck ultimately meant that despite securing the 2024 championship, the club failed to obtain the mandatory AFC Club License. This left the territory's top clubs entirely excluded from the subsequent AFC Challenge League tournament cycle for the second consecutive year, mirroring the prior administrative issues that had previously hindered the association's teams in past competitive eras.
Continental history
edit| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | AFC Cup | Qualifying Round |  Alga Bishkek |
0–2 | 3rd | |
 Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi |
1–4 | |||||
| 2017 | AFC Cup | Qualifying Round |  Rovers |
4–2 | 2nd | |
| Dordoi Bishkek |
1–2 | |||||
| 2018 | AFC Cup | Group I |  Hang Yuen |
3–2 | 4–1 | 2nd |
 Hwaebul SC |
3–0 | 3–2 | ||||
| April 25 |
0–2 | 0–8 |
Players
editCurrent squad for the 2023 Liga de Elite
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
editLeague
editCup
edit- Taça de Macau
- Champions (4): 2013, 2014, 2017, 2025
- Runners-up (3): 2015, 2023, 2024
References
edit- ↑ "DUO SEAL KEY 2017 AFC CUP QUALIFYING WINS, STALEMATE IN GROUP C". The AFC.com. 21 August 2016.
- ↑ Renato Marques (18 January 2018). "Benfica de Macau kicks off season highlighting AFC Cup". Macau Daily Times.
- ↑ "BENFICA WINS 3-2 AND MAKES HISTORY FOR LOCAL FOOTBALL". Macau Daily Times. 7 March 2018.
- ↑ "Benfica de Macau pode voltar à AFC e pede mais apoio para o futebol". Jornal Tribuna de Macau. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
External links
edit- S.L. Benfica de Macau on Facebook
- Website: www.benficamacau.com
- benfica.macau on Instagram
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