Alvalade coach dispels doubts surrounding his future

Bruno de Carvalho today announced the renewal of coach Jorge Jesus' contract until the end of the 2018/2019 season.

"I want to thank the SAD and Sporting board of directors for their faith in me and in everyone who works with me. Two months ago the president invited me to renew my contract for another year. It was a show of confidence and it touched me and convinced me that this is what I want. We thought about it together and we did what was best for Sporting", affirmed Jesus after penning the extended deal, adding: "In 10 months we have done a spectacular job. I think that Sporting is much stronger now and I am really happy with having the chance to stay here."

Bruno de Carvalho also spoke at the signing, reflecting on the work done in Jesus' debut season: "I spoke with Jorge and we decided to sign up for another year. Sporting is a club that takes announcing this kind of information very seriously Both Jorge Jesus and I are people guided by passion and that is what sealed it in the end. The club is in great shape, both financially and in terms of sports success. We have took a big step in unifying this club again and to carry on giving the fans things to be happy about."

Partnership between Sporting CP and Proforce focusing on youth talent in India

The second round of the DreamChasers recruitment programme designed by Sporting in partnership with Proforce gets underway at the weekend, as part of a drive to boost youth football talent in India. A total of 250 players from the age of 8 to 14, selected out of a group of one thousand, will be in action on Saturday on Sunday, with 15 places up for grabs at the end of the weekend.

The project will see the chosen players join a residential programme for give years, under the guidance of Sporting's coaches at Kolhapur's Dr. Cyrus Poonawala International School. There will of course be a chance to visit the Sporting Academy in Lisbon too!

Play your part in reaching a milestone this Saturday

Estádio José Alvalade will see its 9,000,000 fan come through the turnstiles this weekend, in what has been an absolute wave of support since the stadium's inauguration on the 6th of August 2003. The lucky fan who will tip the scale will be the 18,517th fan entering the stadium this Saturday, with three prices up for grabs:

. Two Champions Gamebox 2016/2017
. Official 2015/2016 shirt, signed by the entire squad
. Official match ball, signed by the entire squad

A total of 41 thousand tickets have already been sold for what will be the last home match of the season. Tickets are available from as little as 5€ (Anti-Crisis Member ticket), with the stadium ticket offices open from 10h00 to 20h00.

President takes part in university's Sports Week

Sporting's president was invited to speak as part of the Nova School of Business & Economic's Sports Week this Thursday, hosted in Universidade Nova de Lisboa's main auditorium. Student Association president Bernardo Branco Gonçalves took on the role of moderator for the session covering issues ranging from the monopolisation of football, the introduction of new technologies, television rights and the massive growth in transfer fees.

Bruno de Carvalho actually started his career as a manager in the business world, where he picked up some of the fundamental skills for managing a modern football club. We have to understand what a club is. We are talking about something that involves a lot of emotion. Management has to be very professional, but of course an emotional touch is needed as well to coordinate everything. For us, the big challenge was moving away from the idea that fans are clients, bringing them back to feeling a connection with the club. I believe the strength of this institution is in its fans and if you take that away, then you take away the ability to generate profit."

The future naturally worries the Alvalade president, with the five main leagues around the continent dominating football. "If an elite league comes into being, then Portugal will be out of it. The Champions League will finish, because sponsors will go for that elite league instead. The Portuguese league would literally disappear", added Bruno de Carvalho.

Sporting CP opens new facility for the club's athletes

The opening of Sporting's new medical room for non-football sports couldn't have come at a better time, with Rio 2016 just around the corner. Housed in Alvalade's Multisport Centre, the new facility is fully kited out ready to not only help athletes recover from injury, but also to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Commander Vicente Moura was on hand for the opening ceremony, affirming that the club's athletes deserve the new medical room: "We are moving away from improvisation, where all of our sports had their own little spaces for treatment any physiotherapy, to where we have a properly equipped room with full-time assistants. The 21st century demands this kind of facility and our athletes deserve it. I am really happy with this."

Tribute to Fernando Mendes

The Portuguese League today announced a minute of silence at the start of all Liga NOS fixtures on matchday 28 and in Ledman LigaPro matchday 28, in tribute to Sporting's eternal captain, Fernando Mendes.

The statement from the League notes: "Fernando Mendes was national champion in 1958 and 1962 and was the captain of the Sporting team that won the Cup Winners' Cup (1964). As a coach, he was also won the youth (92/93) and senior (79/80) championships)."

The president of the Portuguese Football Federation also commented on the loss of Fernando Mendes: "It is with great sadness that I heard of the death of Fernando Mendes. He was a great player for the national team and Sporting Clube de Portugal, as well as being an icon for Portuguese coaches. Serving his club, he won three titles, a Cup Winners' Cup and he always did Portuguese football proud."

Bruno de Carvalho on the loss of captain Fernando Mendes

Bruno de Carvalho added his words to a growing list of dedications to Fernando Mendes today, after the Cup Winners' Cup captain sadly passed away at the age 0f 78.

"On the trip we made to Antwerp in May 2014, for the 50th anniversary of the Cup Winners' Cup Win, he couldn't make thr trip with us, but he was all we spoke about. It was his leadership and quality as a player and a coach. Today we lost the man who led the team in what was Sporting Clube de Portugal's first European trophy and he went on to claim his place as one of our heroes back home, winning the national championship as both a player and a coach", said the Sporting president, adding: "He was a man who stood our for showing us how men should behave. He is still one of the most emblematic icons of the Five Violins team and he is an example for everyone, including the players coming through the youth system. This isn't a goodbye Fenando Mendes, because like we said in Antwerp: diamonds are forever. On the day that the national team opened its new Football City, the world of football is that little bit poorer."

Cup Winners' Cup captain inspired both on and off the pitch

Sporting lost one of its great heroes today, with the captain of the club's Cup Winners' Cup team passing away at the age of 78.

Born in Seia, Fernando Mendes arrived in Lisbon aged just 10, with a natural talent with the ball at his feet. He joined Sporting five years later, tempted away from Benfica by his brother who was playing for Sporting's youth system at the time. It didn't take Mendes long to break into the senior team and in the 1957/58 season he made six a team in a championship winning side, full of stars including Travassos and Vasques.

1958 saw Mendes solidify his place in the team, with his determination nad leadership in the heart of midfield infecting everyone who played around him in Alvalade, but also wherever the Portuguese national team took to the pitch. He again won the national championship in 1962, but his most memorable moment came when he skippered the Sporting team that won the Cup Winners' Cup.

After a spell in South Africa with Lusitano and in the United Stated with Boston Astros, he returned to Portugal to coach Lourosa and eventually on to Vianense and back to his spiritual home of Alvalade to train the club's youth team in 1979. In November of that year he took over the senior team in place of Rodrigues Dias, leading Sporting to the 1980 national championship title with a memorable team which included Manuel Fernandes, Jordão, Inácio, Barão and Eurico. After leaving the club the following season, Mendes had spells coaching Marítimo, Belenenses, Farense and Trofense, only to once again return to Sporting to take on a variety of roles.

Sporting shares the most sincere condolences with all of Fernando Mendes' family and friends.

Academy renews EN ISO 9001:2008 stamp of approval

Sporting Clube de Portugal, Futebol SAD (Alcochete Football Academy), has once again been recognised with the International Organisation for Standardisation's quality management certificate, seeing the club once again awarded certificate NP EN ISO 9001:2008.

The external audit team analysed:

• Conformity and system effectiveness with the audit criteria;
• System Effectiveness for guaranteeing compliance with regulations, statutes, law and contract applicable to the activity of sports organisations (identification, control and verification of conformity);
• System effectiveness for guaranteeing continued compliance with defined objective and an organisational capacity to systematically provide a product and/or service in line with applicable requisites;
• Needs for improving the organisational system.

The certification was renewed after it was deemed that the Sporting Academy ticks all of the necessary boxes. The team responsible for the quality of Sporting's world famous academy would like to thank everybody involved.

President Bruno de Carvalho speaks with A Bola

Bruno de Carvalho gave an extensive interview with the sports newspaper A Bola this weekend, as part of his third anniversary as Alvalade president.

Bruno de Carvalho spoke about everything from refereeing to his relationship with coach Jorge Jesus, then moving on to the deal struck with NOS and running again come the end of his mandate. You can find the full interview here.