Sporting Clube de Portugal : Ask Biography

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Sporting Clube de Portugal OM ComM MH IH (-ptˈspɔɾtĩɡ ˈklub(ɨ) dɨ puɾtuˈɡaɫ) (Euronext - SCP), also known as Sporting or Sporting CP, and in English often unofficially and wrongly referred as Sporting Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Portugal's capital city of Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Sporting is mostly known for its association football team. Founded in Lisbon in July 1, 1906, it is one of the "Três Grandes" (The Big Three, in English) football clubs in Portugal, with Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Futebol Clube do Porto being the other two clubs, Sporting's two biggest rivals.

With more than 100,000 registered club members

, its teams, athletes and supporters are often nicknamed Leões ( ) by its fans.

During the first century of the club's existence, the teams and the athletes of Sporting won 1 Olympic gold medal, as well as many silver and gold medals and thousands of national and district titles.

During the founding period (1906), José Alvalade made known his wish to transform Sporting into a "....big Club, as big as the biggest in Europe". Daring to clear pathways in a time when, in Portugal, sports were still activities in their developmental stages and having mainly elitist characteristics, the first "Sportinguistas" managed to found what became the present day successful Sporting Clube de Portugal. Sporting Clube de Portugal has more than three million fans on all continents with up to 300 supporters' clubs, offices and delegations, as well as more than 150,000 affiliates.

Domestically, Sporting won a total of 18 Portuguese Liga titles, 19 Championship of Portugal/Portuguese Cup titles and 7 Portuguese SuperCup titles (44 national titles). Internationally, Sporting won the 1963 � 64 European Cup Winners' Cup, and were runners-up in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup.