Frederico Varandas has secured a third term as Sporting Lisbon president with a massive 89.47% of the vote.
The incumbent unsurprisingly kept his position after guiding Sporting to a new era of success.
The Lisbon side won their first Primeira Liga in 19 years under his leadership in 2021 and they’ve since added two more despite the departures of Ruben Amorim and a number of key players.
With the election such a foregone conclusion, the turnout wasn’t exactly impressive, with 18,000 members voting, as opposed to Benfica’s 93,000 in November.
Having sealed the deal, Varandas’ comments in front of the media were dominated by questions about head coach Rui Borges.
Despite his league title last season, the Portuguese coach has long faced critiques that he isn’t at Amorim’s level, and Sporting look set to lose their league title and exit the Champions League to Bodo/Glimt.
Asked about Borges’ future, Varandas changed the conversation.
“Let’s not mix things up…” he began.
“We received a vote of confidence, it’s a sign of Sporting’s vitality and health.
“You have to go back a long time to find a board with a 12-year term [João Rocha was president between 1973 and 1986]. And this is a fundamental premise for our success.
“Tranquility and success mean that members don’t come as often… But I was very happy with the number who voted.
“Members today feel that we are a stable club. We weren’t for decades. The members are the guarantee of this stability and they are the ones who decide how long we are here – 4, 8, 12 years… Before us, the average term was just over two years.”
He was then asked a question about FC Porto coach Francesco Farioli and gave a similar response.
“If I don’t talk about Rui Borges, do you think I’m going to talk about the rival’s coach?” he responded.
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