Rui Costa Re-elected President of Benfica for Four More Years

Rui Costa has been re-elected as president of Benfica for a new four-year term following the presidential elections held on Saturday evening. Since taking over the club in 2021, the former playmaker secured 65.89% of the votes. His re-election was not certain, as five other candidates participated in the first round on October 25. Facing his main rival, Joao Noronha Lopes, and despite Benfica’s mixed performance in recent seasons, Costa ultimately won both the first and second rounds. The election campaign was also highlighted by the attempted return of Luis Filipe Vieira, the club’s former president from 2003 to 2021, who was forced to resign in 2021 due to fraud and embezzlement allegations.

“My first words go to the Benfica supporters, what immense pride. Congratulations for this remarkable democratic vitality and extraordinary participation. Only Benfica can write history this way with a vote for Benfica. Such greatness, such spirit, and such involvement. There is no other like Benfica,” Rui Costa stated in his first remarks after his re-election. Following a record-breaking turnout for a sports club presidential election, with over 85,000 voters compared to Barça’s 57,000 in 2010, Benfica supporters once again surpassed this record with 93,891 members casting their votes.