Defender at Alvalade for the 2016/2017 season

Sporting has extended its loan with the player Sebastián Coates.

Official statement: 

"Sporting Clube de Portugal, Futebol, SAD has reached an agreement with Sunderland AFC for the athlete Sebastián Coates for the extension of his loan until the end of the 2016/2017 season. Sporting SAD wishes Sebastián Coates the best of professional and personal success".

Coates arrived at Alvalade in the January transfer window and has played a crucial role at the heart of the Sporting defence, featuring 12 times already in Liga NOS and Europa League matches.

Tickets for the last match of the season on sale as of Wednesday

Sporting will travel to the Braga Municipal Stadium, for a 17h00 kick-off on Sunday the 15th of May, on Liga NOS matchda 34 (last game of the season).

Tickets are on sale as follows:

WEDNESDAY | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and who have held a Member Gamebox for 13 years (100%)
THURSDAY | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and who have held a Member Gamebox from 7 to 12 years
FRIDAY | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and who have held a Member Gamebox for 1 to 6 years
SATURDAY | Club Members in general

Until tickets sell out, the Estádio José Alvalade ticket office will be open from 10h00 to 20h00.

€20 | Sector A16 + A15
€30 | Sector A14
€60 | Sector A13

A valid Member Gamebox must be shown on purchase of tickets (with April 2016 fees paid. Each Member Gamebox is valid for 1 ticket. Each person can bring a maximum of 4 cards.

Music festival in Estádio de Alvalade cancelled

The schedule for the Alvalade Rocks festival, promoted by Brian, was initially set for the 21st of May, in Estádio José Alvalade.

The schedule of the festival was designed around work to improve the pitch. However, studies undertaken since the announcement of the festival has indicated that further work will be needed.

In light of this development, the Club Brain have cancelled the Alvalade Rocks festival.

We take this opportunity to thank all fans who were going to take part. all tickets can be refunded at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices, as of 10h00 on Monday the 9th of May.

Olympic Office brings together athletes, coaches and managers

Sporting's Olympic Office organised a seminar in Alvalade this week, focusing on "Optimisation of Sports Performance".

Club president Bruno de Carvalho was on hand to open the session, leading ahead of a session with Tomaz Morais, Portugal's coordinator of rugby coach training and the country's female sevens team on the theme of "Motivation nad Leadership in High Performance Training". The former rugby star focused in on the importance of motivation and confidence, as well as the role of managers and coaches.

A second session followed with João Valente-dos-Santos, Sporting's roller hockey assistant coach and fitness coach. Geared around "Optimisation and Monitoring of High Performance", his presentation was based on scientific measurements and the importance of injury prevention.

The day finished with closing comments from Commanader Vicente de Moura, Sporting's vice-president for sports, stressing the importance of internal meetings within the club.

Group of 70 children meet their favourite stars

Estádio José Alvalade hosted a group of children from Cantanhede, in the district of Coimbra this weekend, in a visit attended by Rui Patrício and Bruno César.

For the Sporting goalkeeper, the youngsters had more than earned the meeting with their favourite stars, after traveling 219km to the Portuguese capital. “This type of initiatives are really important for the kids. Being a fan of a club is something that starts when we are young. It is really special for us as players to be with them when they visit the stadium and the museum", said Rui Patrício at the end of the visit.

The Cantanhede Primary School's coordinator, Maria do Céu Pinto, also enjoyed the day: "It was an hour to meet President Bruno de Carvalho, with Rui Patrício and Bruno César. We are really thankful. Most of the kids are in their first year of school and they had never been anywhere near the players before. We are really happy with Sporting having accepted our visit."

Partnership with ECADInt for the construction of ten facilities

Following on from Canada and South Africa, the Sporting Academy Schools have now arrived in China! Through a partnership with the company ECADInt, a total of ten Sporting Academy Schools will be built around the world's most populous nation.

The partnership was officially signed off this morning in Estádio José Alvalade, signaling a giant step for Sporting on the international stage. “This is an important day for us. We want to show people the real dimension of this Club and this is confirmation that the world sees the value of Sporting. We are a global club, with Members and fans around the world and this is the result of the hard working people have been putting in. Now in Asia, the first step has been taken in the heart of China", said the Sporting President Bruno de Carvalho at the signing, continuing: “We have been looking to develop the Sporting brand abroad and the construction of Sporting Academy Schools in China and this partnership with ECADInt really contributes to that. This link between our two countries is massively important. China is developing football and their government is really backing the sport. Sporting is a strategic partner for training good local players to team up with the really good names who are already playing in China."

The Ballo d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo are both products of the famous Alvalade youth system, acting as the benchmark for all promising young stars learning the trade at the Sporting Academy Schools.

“Cooperaiton between Portuguese and Chinese companies has been increasing and Portuguese football is really relevant. The Sporting Academy Schools are really good and the players who come out of them are known for their quality. This partnership leaves football in China on a good footing for the future", explained Xu Weili, Chinese Consul, in a backing reaffirmed by the president of ECADInt Portugal, Lin Han: "We wanted to being together people's desire to develop sport in China with Sporting's knowledge. Investment helps develop football in our country, but only the knowledge and talent of this Club can make it brilliant."

President Bruno de Carvalho, who will take advantage of Sporting's Europa League visit to Moscow (26th of November) to travel to Beijing to take part in a similar ceremony, went on to explain the difference between the Sporting Academy Schools and other youth systems around the world, paving the way for initiatives like the partnership with ECADInt: “The main focus of the agreement is building ten Academy Schools in China and we will be working on other initiatives too. ECADInt are 100% with us and contrary to other clubs, Sporting doesn't give its brand to anybody, we just work with local partners. That allows us to visit the spaces which we have built on a regular basis. We follow our Academies closely and that makes the difference. It is really important for Chinese footballers that we pay attention to the players at the Academies and one of the most important vectors is promoting the development of players with our know-how, but we will also be working with the coaches and teachers. We are open to exchange programmes with players from the Sporting Academy Schools in China, like we have done with the Toronto Academy for example."

“A lot of national and international clubs would like to be sitting here signing this partnership. Our policy focuses on training and Sporting will carry on to be a reference in the area. Training is in our DNA and that is why people recognise our capacity. this is a really important day for our Club and for Portugal, because Sporting is an ambassador for this country and we will continue to be", finished the Alvalade boss.

Partnership to provide study scholarships in the USA

Building on a partnership with the Sporting Foundation which has already seen Paulo Pereira, a youngster supported by the project, receive a study scholarship in the United States, Next Level Sports signed a protocol this week with the CIF Sporting Academy School, with the Alvalade club heading up the ceremony and partnership.

“It is with great satisfaction that we are taking another step in Next Level Sports' strategy. We have been around for a year now, but we want to carry on for many more. We believe that we can build a new generation of athletes and footballers. We trust in the kids who are at the Academy and we know that fitting studying and their sports lives together is really important", affirmed Tasslim Sualehe, CEO of Next Level Sports, at the signing, continuing: “We are to here to support the youngsters and we know they can do it. We think that it is really important for them to carry on with their academic lives, because not everyone reaches the top level of competition. It is important that they don't only focus on football."

This partnership between the CIF Sporting Academy School and Next Level Sports will provide the Academy's young players with the chance to earn study scholarships in the United States. "We are sure that this project will be a reference and motivation for our young athletes", concluded the CIF president, António Rebelo. 

Bruno Moreira shares his thoughts on EHF second-leg against Team Tvis Holstebro

Sporting may have lost out in the EHF Cup second round first-leg against Team Tvis Holstebro, but the 36-31 scoreline leaves the fixture open for the return leg in Lisbon.

“We have to be a lot more aggressive in defence and to not miss so many chances on goal, because that lets our opponent go on the counter-attack where they are strongest”, said captain Bruno Moreira in the build up to the second-leg, continuing: “We have to do everything to make sure that they don’t do the same thing again. We want the fans to believe we can turn it around, because we believe we can. Of course it won’t be easy against a good team, but we have a lot of quality and we want to get into the next round.”

Montero and Paulo Oliveira on Sporting's Europa League opener

Fredy Montero spoke with radio journalists after his side’s loss in their Europa League opener this Thursday. “It wasn’t the start that we wanted and things didn’t go how we wanted them to. Now we have to pick up away the points that we have dropped at home”, affirmed the Colombian at the final whistle.

In parallel, Paulo Oliveira highlighted that there are still plenty of games to tally up points: “We conceded on the break, but we didn’t let it get to us and we went looking for the result. We still have five games and nothing is decided yet.”