Sporting Clube da Praia
Sporting Clube da Praia, short form: Sporting Praia is a professional football club that plays in the Santiago South Premier Division in Cape Verde. It is based in the capital city of Praia in the island of Santiago, one of the unrelegated clubs in the south of the island along with three of the city's four historically mightiest clubs including Académica, Boavista and CD Travadores. Along with Académcia, Boavista, Desportivo, Travadores and Vitória, it is one of several teams that share the same ground, Estádio da Várzea, which has a capacity of 8,000. SCP regularly play home games in front of hundreds of spectators. Sporting has won six championships since independence and a few before independence. The first title was won in the summer of 1962 before independence. Sporting recently won the 2017 national title. Its current president is Carlos Daniel Caetano and its manager is Lito, who once played for Portuguese clubs as footballer.
Sporting Praia is one of the most decorated football clubs in Cape Verde and is the island's most decorated club, having won about 44 official titles, 14 of which are national titles and 30 which are regional titles.
History
The club was founded on 2 December 1923 and is the oldest club in both the city and the island, it is the third oldest on the nation. The name is identical to the Sporting Clube de Portugal and is the 20th affiliate. Sporting Praia is the second oldest Sporting CP affiliate in Africa and its islands after Sportin Clube de Luanda.In the regional competition
Before independence, Sporting won several regional titles in 1961, 1964 and in 1968. In the final years of Portuguese rule, Sporting Praia celebrated its 50th anniversary of its foundation in 1973. A year later, they won their final regional title before independence of the archipelago.From independence to the breakup of the Santiago Championships into two zones and after
Tó Lobo was manager of Sporting Praia in the 1980s and the early 1990s, he led to win a few regional titles in 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1991. Later Tóca was manager for most of the 1990s. Sporting won two more regional titles for Santiago in 1997 and in 1998.Notable players at the last decade of the 20th century and into the 21st included Piguita, Vargas and Ronny. For most of the time in the 20th century, some of its greatest players of the club played in Europe mostly Portugal.
In 1998, Sporting Praia celebrated its 75th anniversary of its foundation. Tó Lobo was once again coach for Sporting for the early 2000s. Tó Lobo led his team to win a regional title in 2002, the club finished with 38 points.
Sporting's success after the breakup of the Santiago Championships into two zones
became coach of the club in late 2004 and remained until 2012, he took the club to further successes. Sporting had a total of eight titles for the South Zone, their first was in 2005 and won four consecutive in 2008. Also in 2005, Sporting had their best season with 16 wins, not a single loss and most of all 49 points surpassed on 7 April 2017. Of any of the island leagues, Sporting held the record for the most points for eleven years when Santiago North Premier Division's Varandinha took it with 63 points in 2016, second would be Scorpion Vermelho with 61 which Sporting would be third.Sporting has the longest unbeaten record with 40 matches, it started on 30 April 2003 and ended on 10 December 2005.
On 10 November 2007, Sporting the champion faced Académica Praia, the cup winner in the 2007 regional super cup, the match had a goal draw and went into extra time, during that time, the stadium had a poor visibility and the match was halted, it was not replayed until 14 December, Sporting defeated Académica 2–1 and won their first super cup title for the South Zone.
Beto later led the club to its greatest success that Sporting had ever seen but not as they did in 2005 in 2009 and 2011, they were runner up of Santiago South, though the club entered the national championships on two occasions, the other as automatic holders of the national title. The greatest players of the time in the 2000s were Dário, Bock, Platini, Zé di Tchecha, Stopira, Alex, Babanco and later Tom Tavares, Patrick Andrade, Loloti and Figo who mainly led its successes even at the national level. In the early 2010s to 2015, one of its goalkeepers is the Senegalese Maguette. Another Senegalese played but a player named Théo Mendy. As did in its early decades of the club especially the 20th century, afterwards most of these greatest players later played in Europe predominantly Portugal.
Janito became coach in 2012 and kept its remaining regional successes going. Sporting underwent a 28 match unbeaten streak which started from 18 February 2012 to 16 November 2013. The team would win three titles in a row between 2012 and 2014 totalling eight.
In late 2012 Sporting Praia, entered as champion faced the regional cup winner Bairro, the island's most dynamic club entirely lost the chance for another super cup title and lost the title to Bairro. A year later, entered as champions, Sporting would achieve better than last season defeating Travadores, the cup winner and claimed another super cup title.
Two seasons with nearly successes
Later Beto retook the position for about two years up to 2015 and the season was not as successful as earlier. Paulo Veiga was chairman between 2013 and 2016, and ruined a bit of Sporting Praia's successes of the earliest part of the centuryIn the 2014–15 season, in the regional super cup in late November, Sporting Praia was to face Tchadense, a second place cup winner as Sporting won both the championship and a cup title, the match was postponed and then cancelled. Later in the regional championships on 22 February in a match with CD Travadores, Sporting fielded an ineligible player, he scored a goal. Fans didn't like it and Travadores was awarded three goals and Sporting lost the match, the club lost three points by the secretary, the recent in the regional competition.Janito Carvalho was again coach of the club for the season and no top successes the club would achieve as they did last time. Sporting's newly extended 2015/16 season results started at the lowest position in the first two weeks then climbed to second and did not got the number one spot until late in week 17, then third in week 20, then second and lastly returned to third and finished in that position with 46 points, 13 wins and 7 draws. Sporting had the championship's highest number goals scored with 49, less than half more than the previous season and was also the club's highest. Sporting's final match of the station numbering 7 was the championship's highest shared with Boavista and Desportivo. In the following season, Veiga's three-year presidential career went to an end. Carvalho moved to Académica da Praia in late 2016.
Carlos Daniel Caetano became president of the club in October or November 2016. Recently as of the 18th round, Sporting regained full success as the club has 14 wins and 4 draws and scored 21 goals, the goal total is second and is shared with Boavista's. Mbutidem Sunday, the Nigerian scored the most goals in the region numbering eleven alongside Travadores' Anilton. With a goal total of 46, it matches the previous season's totals but not 2012 total of 47, there is a possibility it will be shared with the 2005 point total and may become the greatest season ever led by the enlargement of the matches to 22. In the Santiago South Cup, Sporting was successful in the cup tournaments up to the third round when the club fielded two ineligible players in a match with Travadores, second overall, the original result was 2–0, the match was awarded 3–0 against the club and kicked out of the cup competition until the next season. Its success was also told in the regional cup competitions as the club defeated Ribeira Grande de Santiago in the cup semis on 13 April with the score of 0–1 and will appear in the cup final alongside Os Garridos, Sporting's next appearance at the cup final in three years.
A new turn towards another success
Started from 7 February 2016 with a win over Vitória, Sporting went on a 32 match unbeaten streak as of the 19th round of the 2016–17 season, of any island leagues, it is behind CS Mindelense with 34 matches which occurred between 2014 and 2016. Also Sporting had a 22 match unbeaten streak away at the regionals and surpassed that of São Vicente's, Mindelense's 18 match unbeaten streak at home and five more away which lasted from 2014 to April 2016. Overall, it is behind Académica Porto Novo's record of 30 which was from 2012 to April 2016. Sporting got 49 points, a club record tied with previous seasons with that total in 2005, Sporting achieved a large chance of becoming regional championship at the 20th round and became after their victory over Desportivo 0–1 on 7 April and also another seven match winning streak of the season was made. Sporting got the South Zone's ninth regional title. Also Sporting's points total which is the region's highest became 52, a new record made succeeding their 49 which they had in 2005. Sporting's attempt of making further club record in points completely vanished after their only loss to Boavista at the 23rd round, another mighty club of the city. Sporting's final match of the season was a victory over Tchadense and Sporting made 55 points, a club record that Sporting cherished. Of any of the island leagues in the nation, third it became behind Scorpion Vermelho's 61 of the north of the island. 17 wins Sporting got, a new club record superseded their 2005 totals and 43 goals scored, less than the previous season. In the 2017 regional cup, originally for 19 May, it was set for 7 May, Sporting defeated Garridos and won their recent cup title after winning 5–3 in the penalty shootout as the match ended in a goal draw. The regional Super Cup took place on 28 October and featured, Sporting defeated the cup runner-up Garridos and won their third and recent super cup title for the south of the island.Sporting started off the 2017–18 season being first place up to the second round, they though then attempt to continue their astonishing unbeaten streak even away, that finally came to an end as Sporting suffered another loss in four Premier Division matches to rival Académica Praia with the result 3–2, which ended their unbeaten streak away totaling 24 matches in the First/Premier Division. Also their recent loss dropped their position to fourth at the sixth round and remained until 29 December Two straight scoreless draws Sporting followed then two wins with the scored 4–0 each. In between, Sporting played their first cup match and defeated Desportivo 2–1 and proceeded to the second round. Sporting had 14 points and 15 goals scored, the region's highest but remained fourth. On 29 December, Sporting defeated Celtic 2–1 and put every club having a loss or more for the season in Santiago South. Another win was made over their inaugural match with Tira Chapéu with the result 1–0. At the 10th round Sporting remained fourth, behind Académica, Boavista and now below Celtic but ahead of Desportivo, ADESBA, Tchadense and Travadores. A scoreless draw was followed with the historically powerful Travadores on 12 January and had a nine-point difference over Desportivo, fifth place. Sporting made a miracle for another win as they defeated Benfica 0–2 away, but the club remains fourth and has 27 points, an 11-point difference over a fifth placed club Desportivo, later Tchadense. Sporting suffered with an unexpected loss to Ribeira Grande on 26 January, another scoreless draw, fourth one was made with Académcia Praia next. Another loss to Boavista was followed, a repeat of the late April match. Sporting played another regional cup match on 6 February and again defeated Benfica 0–2 and proceeded to the quarterfinals, their next will be a rivalry with Académica. Back at the championships. Sporting made a relief with another win over Desportivo on 16 February. Sporting made draw no. 5, this time, a goal each made with Eugénio Lima who will to face relegation. Their minimal successes continued as they defeated Bairro 3–0 next round. Académica's win had Sporting one final chance of winning their next regional title, they blew it after an unexpected loss to Tchadense on 11 March, not lost is their upcoming national participation. Sporting shared their 33 goals with Celtic, a club who later faced at the 20th round and astonishingly ended in a 1–0 victory and became Sporting's second back to back win. Sporting's faced their rival Travadores at the 22nd and final round, Sporting suffered a 1–2 loss and made their fifth seasonal loss, not that many in 15 years. Sporting finished with 41 points and had 39 goals scored, the last time they scored that many was in the 2006–07 season.