Sporting CP B
Reserve team of Sporting CP, based in Lisbon.
Sporting Clube de Portugal B, commonly known as Sporting CP B, is the reserve team of Portuguese football club Sporting CP, based in Lisbon. Unlike many reserve teams, Sporting CP B competes in the same league system as the senior team but is ineligible for promotion to the Primeira Liga and cannot participate in the Taça de Portugal or the Taça da Liga. The team plays at the Estádio Aurélio Pereira within the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete, which seats 1,180 spectators.
Quick Facts
- Clubname
- Sporting CP B
- Fullname
- Sporting Clube de Portugal B
- Short Name
- Sporting B
- Nickname
- Leões (Lions) / Verde-e-Brancos (Green and Whites)
- Ground
- Estádio Aurélio Pereira
- Capacity
- 1,180
- Chrtitle
- President
- Chairman
- Frederico Varandas
- Mgrtitle
- Head coach
- Manager
- Tiago Fernandes
- League
- Liga Portugal 2
- Season
- 2025–26
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Sporting CP B was founded in 2000 and competed in the third division until its dissolution after the 2003–2004 season. During this initial period, Cristiano Ronaldo made his domestic senior football competition debut for the B team on 1 September 2002 in a 2–1 defeat at S.C. Lusitânia. In May 2012, the league announced the incorporation of five B teams into the second division, and Sporting CP B returned for the 2012–2013 season, finishing fourth—its all-time best position—under coaches Oceano Cruz and José Dominguez. At the start of the 2013–2014 season, the B team represented the club in the Taça de Honra, defeating SL Benfica B and then beating G.D. Estoril Praia's reserve team on penalties to win its first trophy.
Reader's Guide
Sporting CP B serves as a developmental platform for young players and a bridge to the senior team. Its most notable alumnus is Cristiano Ronaldo, who made his domestic senior debut with the B side. The team has been dissolved and reactivated multiple times: after relegation in the 2017–2018 season, president Bruno de Carvalho terminated the B team, but president Frederico Varandas reactivated it in 2019 following a reorganization of the third division. The team returned to competition in the 2020–2021 season, eventually qualifying for the newly formed Liga 3. In the 2024–2025 season, despite three coaching changes, Sporting CP B finished second in the championship play-offs, earning promotion to Liga Portugal 2 for the 2025–2026 season after an eight-season absence. The reserve team's fluctuating existence reflects broader structural changes in Portuguese football, including the introduction of an under-23 championship.
Did You Know?
- Cristiano Ronaldo made his domestic senior football debut for Sporting CP B on 1 September 2002.
- Sporting CP B won its first trophy in the 2013–2014 Taça de Honra, defeating SL Benfica B and G.D. Estoril Praia's reserves.
- The team was dissolved after the 2003–2004 season and again after the 2017–2018 season before being reactivated in 2019.
- Sporting CP B returned to Liga Portugal 2 in the 2025–2026 season after an eight-season absence.
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