Former European semi-finalists SHUT DOWN and forced to hand over keys to 28,000-capacity stadium after 123 years

FORMER Portuguese champions Boavista have been forced to shut down after 123 years in a devastating blow for one of the country’s most historic football clubs. According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, the club has been ordered to cease all operations after failing to meet financial obligations during insolvency proceedings. Boavista’s Estádio do Bessa on matchday before the club’s heartbreaking closure after 123 years Credit: Getty An birds-eye view of Boavista’s 28,000-capacity Estádio do Bessa, which the club has been ordered to vacate by July 31 Credit: Getty Boavista have also been instructed to hand over the keys to the 28,000-capacity Estadio do Bessa, along with the surrounding facilities, by July 31. The club must vacate the stadium “free of people and belongings” after insolvency administrators concluded there was no realistic prospect of the required funds being paid. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Boavista had been required to make monthly payments to cover current running costs and the deficits across the club’s various sporting departments. However, those payments were not made – thus triggering the closure of all activities at the stadium and its adjacent facilities. The club’s remaining sporting sections will only be allowed to continue operating until the end of July before the site is formally abandoned. Clarisse Barros, the insolvency administrator, thanked Boavista’s directors, staff and coaches for their “grand, almost limitless dedication” during the club’s final months. The collapse marks the end of one of Portugal‘s oldest football institutions, with Boavista founded in 1903. They remain one of only five clubs to have won the Portuguese top flight, famously lifting the Primeira Liga title in 2000/01 to break the traditional dominance of Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon – the only club in the last 80 years to do do. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS After winning the league in 2000/01, Boavista played against Liverpool in the Champions League the following season Credit: Alex Livesey /Allsport Boavista also enjoyed memorable success in Europe. They reached the 2002/03 UEFA Cup semi-finals, where they were edged out 2-1 on aggregate by Celtic. The Scottish giants then returned to Seville for the final, only to lose 3-2 after extra-time to Jose Mourinho‘s Porto in a thriller of a game. Financial problems have plagued Boavista in recent years, with the club placed into liquidation before registering its senior men’s side in Portugal’s fourth-tier district league last summer. The team, however, failed to play a single competitive match, with the financial crisis continuing to spiral. Now, one of Portuguese football’s most famous clubs will close its doors, bringing a sad end to a remarkable 123-year story. Comment now