Varandas re-elected president of Sporting with 89% of the votes. A club of “happy members”

The president with the most football trophies at the service of the Alvalade club, who did not run an electoral campaign, reinforced his status as the second most voted president in the history of the “lions”.

The president of Sporting, Frederico Varandaswas re-elected this Saturday to the position he has held since September 2018, with 89.47% of the votes in the elections for the four-year period until 2030, announced João Palma, outgoing president of the Board of the General Assembly.

Varandas considered that his re-election reveals that the ‘Leonine’ emblem is a club of “happy partners for experiencing one of the best phases” in their history.

“The conclusion I draw is that Sporting is a club of members happy to live one of the best phases in the club’s history. These elections demonstrated that the partners want the direction we started in 2018”, he stated.

The former clinical director of the ‘lions’, aged 46, won the electoral event held at the Pavilhão João Rocha, in Lisbon, by adding 67,106 votesagainst the businessman’s 919 Bruno Sorreluzknown as Bruno Sá (6.28%).

Of the 75,817 members qualified to vote in these elections, they participated 18,268 votersof which 14,337 were validated, choosing a single slate for the club’s three governing bodies, General Assembly Board (MAG), Board of Directors (CD) and Fiscal and Disciplinary Board (CFD).

The acting president presented practically the same cast who was re-elected, on March 5, 2022, when the clinician met 85.8% of the votesamong the 14,795 voters, imposing itself on the suffrage of Nuno Sousa (7.3%) and Ricardo Oliveira (2.95%), except for the leadership of MAG, with Pedro Almeida Cabral in place of João Palma, for the mandate until March 2030.

The 46-year-old doctor, clinical director of Sporting between 2011 and 2018, was elected as 44th president of Sporting on September 18, 2018, when he won the most participated elections ever at the club, with 22,510 voters.

At the time, he received 42.32% of the votes (8,717 voters), compared to 36.84% (9,735) of John Benedicteven surpassing the candidates José Maria Ricciardi (14,55%), José Dias Ferreira (2.35%), Fernando Tavares Ferreira (0.9%) and Rui Jorge Rêgo (0.51%).

During these two terms, he became the president with the most trophies footballl in the service of the ‘green and white’, by snatching 9 titlesagainst the eight of Antonio José Ribeiro Ferreira, leader between 1946 and 1953.

In addition to 3 League Cups (2018/19, 2020/21 e 2021/22), 2 Portuguese Cups (2018/19 and 2024/25) e a Super Cup Cândido de Oliveira (2021), Sporting was crowned, with Varandas, national champion 3 times in the last 5 years: in 2020/21 and 2023/24, with Rúben Amorim as coach, and in 2024/25 with Rui Borges.

Lisboners broke a 19-year hiatus in the I Leaguethe biggest in the club’s history, in 2020/21, before, last season, they revalidated the title for the first time in more than seven decades and sealed the first ‘double’ after 23 years.

Varandas was proud of the significant victory he obtained – 89.47% of the votes and 12,897 of the 14,337 voters – but highlighted that the responsibility and mission are the same: “continue to grow, to win and making Sporting fans proud.”

“I hope, in four years’ time, to have Sporting’s associative mass very happy”, said the president of the lions, who announced that Sporting will “innovative” works at the José Alvalade Stadium, hoping to have, in 2029, a “fantastic venue and make all Sporting fans proud.”

Just over an hour after the results were announced, in the ‘VIP hall’ of the ‘green and white’ stadium, Varandas, which did not run an election campaignpresented two priorities for the four-year period: win titles and increase the number of members of the club.

Balconies reinforced the status of second most voted president in history of Sporting (12,897 voters), surpassing the 12,523 members who voted for them in 2022, just behind Bruno de Carvalho’s record of 16,605 voters em 2017.

The former clinical director stated that this increase is due to the fruits of his management’s work in recent years and also to increase in the number of members of the club.

“Having more voters has to do with the results of this administration over the last four years. There are more members and their dues are up to dateand that is our mission. But the responsibility is equal. I won’t sleep euphoric because I remember being there outside the Stadium eight years ago, with a lot of happy people, and I I was already focused in the mission that was to put Sporting first. I’m already worried about tomorrow,” he said.

The leader of the Alvalade club also left a word of appreciation to your opponent in this electoral dispute, Bruno Sorreluz, praising his “democratic spirit and fighting.” “My first word goes to Bruno Sá: when it comes to the game, with intention of doing something for the club is never lost. His democratic and fighting spirit is to be praised”, he said.

Asked about the possible contract renewal of football coach Rui Borges, the president of the ‘lions’ said this is not the time to address this topic and preferred to focus attention on the electoral act and the stability that the ‘green and white’ club experiences.

If he fulfills the mandate for which he was elected on Saturday, until 2030, Varandas, aged 46, will be just behind João Rocha (1973-1986) on the list of presidents of the ‘lions’ with the greatest longevity, passing Joaquim Oliveira Duarte and Guilherme Brás Medeiros.