Desportivo da Praia

History

The club was founded in 1979 by the Cape Verdean Armed Forces. Its first appearance in the national competition came in 1990, when it advanced to the finals and faced CS Mindelense, losing both matches; this remains its greatest national position. In 2004, Desportivo da Praia celebrated its 25th anniversary. On December 16, 2011, during the third round of the season, the team defeated Varanda 7–0, the region's highest result that season; that same season, 46 goals were scored, the region's highest ahead of Sporting Praia. Desportivo finished as runner-up to Sporting with 41 points and did not qualify for the nationals. The club won its second regional title in 26 years, its first since the breakup for the South Zone, finishing with a record 47 points and scoring 43 goals; the points record is shared with Sporting's 2013 total and is behind Sporting's 2012 total of 48 and 2005 total of 49 in the region, and is one of the highest of any island league in Cape Verde. In its third national appearance, Desportivo was placed in Group A; its first match was a second-round scoreless draw with CD Sinagoga from Santo Antão North. On June 1, it played its rescheduled first-round match against Varandinha from Tarrafal, losing 1–3. Its last match ended in a 2–1 win over Sporting Brava. Desportivo finished third with 7 points, two wins, one loss, one draw, and seven goals scored. For the first time, the club also headed to the regional super cup in late 2016. Desportivo qualified for the 2015–16 Super Cup; as the Boavista-Delta cup final was not played in May 2016, the match was rescheduled for April 15, 2017, and Desportivo was to face cup winner Delta in the rescheduled 2016 regional super cup as early as May 2017.