Patrícia Morais, Fátima Pinto, Tatiana Pinto, Diana Silva and Ana Borges for Portugal

The Portuguese female national team will see five Sporting CP players star in the Euro 2017 squad, taking place in the Netherlands on the 16th of July.

The five Alvalade ladies are Patrícia Morais (goalkeeper), Fátima Pinto (midfielder), Tatiana Pinto (midfielder), Diana Silva (forward) and Ana Borges (forward).

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Rute Costa (Sp. Braga), Patrícia Morais (SPORTING), Jamila Martins (Futebol Benfica)

Defenders: Carole (BV Cloppenburg/Germany), Matilde Fidalgo (Futebol Benfica), Mónica Mendes (FC Neunkirch/Switzerland), Sílvia Rebelo (Sp. Braga), Raquel Infante (Levante/Spain)

Midfielders: Amanda da Costa (Boston Breakers/United States), Andreia Norton (Sp. Braga), Cláudia Lima (Boavista), Cláudia Neto (Linköpings FC/Switzerland), Dolores Silva (Sp. Braga), Diana Gomes (Valadares Gaia), Tatiana Pinto (SPORTING), Fátima Pinto (SPORTING), Melissa Antunes (Sp. Braga), Vanessa Marques (Sp. Braga)

Forward: Ana Leite (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany), Ana Borges (SPORTING), Carolina Mendes (Grindavik FC/Iceland), Diana Silva (SPORTING), Jéssica Silva (Sp. Braga), Laura Luís (Sp. Braga), Suzane Pires (Santos/Brazil)

Solange Carvalhas, Fátima Pinto and Diana Silva all sign in on Sporting's return to female football

Twenty one years later, Sporting has once again brought together a female football team. This week saw the announcement of the first official signings, with Solange Carvalhas, Fátima Pinto and Diana Silva all confirmed in Alvalade.

The three have all notched up senior caps for Portugal already. In fact, Fátima and Diana made it to the quarter-finals of the 2012 Euros. "This initiative by the club will bring a lot of people to female football and it will be a really competitive league", said Fátima Pinto after the announcement, having moved from the Spanish side Santa Teresa to Sporting.

Solange Carvalhas also has international experience under her belt and she is keen to apply it at Alvalade: "I started really early, in the youth system at 1.º de Dezembro. Then I had the chance to play in Belgium, where I played for Anderlecht for two years, and that is where I had the chance to turn professional."