Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, is a professional volleyball team based in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the volleyball section of Sporting CP.

History Volleyball was introduced in Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 1930s by influence of Salazar Carreira, constituting the club itself as one of the founders of the Association of Volleyball of Lisbon on 28 December 1938.

The club would only reach its first titles in the fifties thanks to the dynamism of Professor Moniz Pereira, who was a manager, coach and player of the team that, in the 1953/54 season, broke the hegemony of the Instituto Superior Técnico volleyball team that until then had conquered all National Championships, which were disputed since 1947. In addition to Moniz Pereira, the Yugoslavs Jost and Budisin, Xara Brazil, Marques Pereira, Fernando Fezas Vital, Machado da Costa, Anibal Rebelo and Plácido Martins, helped the team to win several trophies.

At the women's level the first official competition in Portugal began in June 1951, and Sporting Clube de Portugal was one of four clubs that took part in the competition, with the Lionesses being in second place. After a brilliant period with the achievement of winning the National Championships of 1953/54 and 1955/56, the sport competitiveness of Sporting Portugal’s volleyball department declined, being fundamentally supported by successes at youth training and development levels and at the women’s team, ending up being extinguished at the beginning of the 1964/65 season with the club's restructuring.

At the end of almost two decades of interregnum, the sport was again practiced in 1981/82, first only in women's volleyball at senior and junior levels, but later the sport returned at its full competitive scale to Sporting Portugal and those return to the sport, in men’s and women’s competitions were truly golden years for the club. In the 1990s, with a team led by António Rodrigues, and with some of the best players of the time, such as Nilson Júnior, Carlos Natário, Miguel Maia, Wagner Silva, Luís Cláudio, Magrão, Filipe Vitó, Marcelo and Maurício Cavalcanti. Carlos Silveira, Miguel Soares and Américo Silva, Sporting was National Champion in three seasons and won a Portuguese Cup and two Super Cups.

In the first half of the decade of 1990, to the referred conquests were added still more two Cups of Portugal and a Supertaça (Supercup). However, the victorious momentum was abruptly interrupted at the beginning of the Roquette Project (after José Roquette who was the president of Sporting Portugal at the time) in 1995. One of the first measures of financial reorganization of the Board chaired by Pedro Santana Lopes was to end various high competition modalities at Sporting Portugal, including volleyball.

In November 1995, a group of coaches, athletes and their parents from the former section belonging to Sporting Portugal that had been extinguished at the sports club decided to found the Lisbon Volleyball Center, a non-profit sports institution dedicated to teaching and practicing volleyball.

On 5 June 2017, Sporting Clube de Portugal officially announced that volleyball will become part of the club’s eclectic vision, mission and purpose again, with the men's senior team competing in the First National Division in the 2017/18 season, with the help of star player Miguel Maia. Sporting Clube de Portugal reactivated its women's volleyball team in the 2017/18 season, with a senior squad competing in the Portuguese 3rd division. This came after the sport was discontinued in 1995 due to financial measures by the management at the time. The successful project, led by Rui Pedro Costa, propelled the senior team to the top national league in just two seasons, after having won two national women’s championships in the third and second divisions.

Facilities

Pavilhão João Rocha Pavilhão João Rocha is a multi-sports arena located in Lisbon. Located next to the Estádio José Alvalade, it is the home of Sporting CP indoor sports teams and was named after former club president João Rocha.

Honours

Men's Domestic Competitions Portuguese Volleyball First Division: 8 1953/1954, 1955/1956, 1991/1992, 1992/1993, 1993/1994, 2017/2018, 2024/2025, 2025/2026

Portuguese Volleyball Cup: 6 1990/1991, 1992/1993, 1994/1995, 2020/2021, 2023/2024, 2025/2026

Portuguese Volleyball Super Cup: 5 1991, 1992, 1993, 2024, 2025

Portuguese Federation Cup: 1 2022/2023

Portuguese Volleyball Second Division: 3 1958/1959, 1983/1984, 1984/1985

Portuguese Volleyball Third Division: 1 1982/1983

International Competitions Iberian Cup: 1 2024

Women's Domestic Competitions Portuguese First Division Women's Volleyball League 1958/1959

Portuguese Women's Volleyball Cup: 4 1984/1985, 1985/1986, 2022/2023, 2024/2025

Portuguese Women's Volleyball Super Cup: 1 1986/1987

Portuguese Federation Cup: 2 2020/2021, 2021/2022

Portuguese Women's Volleyball Second Division: 1 2018/2019

Portuguese Women's Volleyball Third Division: 1 2017/2018

Roster Season 2020–2021, as of September 2020. Number Player Position Height (m) Weight (kg) Birth date1 José RojasOutside hitter1.89973 Éder LeviMiddle blocker2.061034 Victor HugoMiddle blocker1.99925 Paulo VictorOpposite1.981027 André SalibaOpposite2.01918 Miguel MaiaSetter1.81929 José VinhaOutside hitter1.846910 Robinson DvoranenOutside hitter2.018811 Gil Meireles Libero1.767013 Hugo VinhaSetter1.856115 André Sousa Middle blocker1.887916 Renan Purificação Outside hitter1.968917 João FidalgoLibero1.726718 Bruno AlvesSetter1.898719 Hélio SanchesMiddle blocker2.019320 Miguel SáLibero1.8480

New Signings 23-24 Season NamePositionHeight Weight Date of birth Jose CarrascoSetter1.938720 May 1989 (age 34)Kevin KobrineOpposite 1.958027 January 2000 (age 23)Armando VelasquezSetter1.898018 September 1988 (age 34)Jan GalabovOutside Hitter1.938912 June 1996 (age 27)Martin LieckOutside Hitter1.97835 January 1995 (age 28)

References

External links