Elated Sporting fans celebrate club winning Portuguese title

LISBON: Thousands of elated Sporting fans gathered in the capital Lisbon until the early hours of Monday to celebrate their club being crowned Portuguese league champions for the twentieth time in their history.

Sporting clinched the Primeira Liga title on Sunday after Benfica lost 2-0 against lowly Famalicao, a result that left Ruben Amorim’s side with an unassailable eight-point lead in the standings with two games left.

Soon after Benfica’s defeat, cars started to beep their horns in celebration and thousands of fans headed to Lisbon’s main square, Marques do Pombal, where players arrived on an open-top bus at around 1.40 a.m. local time.

One by one, players went up a big stage set up at the square as upbeat songs were blasted from the speakers and fans waved flags and scarves. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, took to social media to congratulate Sporting, where he began his professional career. “Congratulations champions,” he wrote on Instagram.

Sporting reclaimed the title three years after their last win in 2021, when they ended a nearly two decade-drought. The celebrations in 2021 took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and were marred by clashes between the police and fans.