Football is the most popular sport in Angola than basketball. This is why if you're new to Angola or a resident, you're covered by the abundance of football clubs in Angola. This article lists the top ten in the country you may want to try out if you're a football lover.
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1. Académica Petróleos do Lobito
Académica Petróleos do Lobito, or simply Académica Lobito, is a football (soccer) club based in Lobito, Angola. Mr. Geraldo Guiado and a few associates founded the club in 1970 as Académica da Chilimba. A sponsorship agreement with Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol changed the club's name to the current one in 1981.
In 2009, they will compete in the Girabola. Their home games are held at Estádio do Buraco.
2. Atlético Desportivo Petróleos do Namibe
Angolan football club Atlético Desportivo Petróleos do Namibe, formerly Onze Bravos do Sacomar and Desportivo Sonangol do Namibe, is based in Moçâmedes, the capital city of the Namibe Province. Sonangol is the club's primary sponsor. In June 2005, the name was altered.
The Estádio Joaquim Morais is where the team plays its home games. Two Angola Cup victories in 2001 and 2004 are among its notable accomplishments. After the 2007 season, the club was demoted from Girabola, the Angolan Premier Division.
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3. Sport Luanda e Benfica
Sport Luanda e Benfica, or Benfica de Luanda, is a football team based in Luanda, Angola. The team was founded as SL Benfica of Portugal's Luanda affiliate and wore the same colors. The logo and the Portuguese one are very similar. As of 2019, the club has never won the Girabola (the Angolan league first division).
The club's moniker, "Luanda Eagles," is "guias de Luanda" (the eagle is the symbol of SL Benfica). Sport Luanda e Benfica was the club's original name before being changed to Saneamento Rangol. The club's Sport Luanda e Benfica last name was reinstated in 2000.
The team was promoted to the first division in 1995 under Saneamento Rangol. Benfica de Luanda was dropped to the second division in 2003. The club went up to the first division in 2004 after finishing second in the second division,
The team placed sixth in the first division in 2005.
4. Cuando Cubango FC
Angolan football club Cuando Cubango Futebol Clube, or simply Cuando Cubango FC, is based in Menongue, in the Cuando Cubango province's southern region. As Futebol Clube da Casa Militar, the club was established.
After winning the Cuando Cubango province football championship, the team qualified for the Gira Angola (Angola's second-division championship) in 2016. The team earned a spot in the Girabola, Angola's top division, in 2017.
The club changed its name to Cuando Cubango Futebol Clube in 2018.
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5. Domant Futebol Club
The sports team from the village of Bula Atumba in the northern province of Bengo is called Domant Futebol Clube de Bula Atumba. The team is based in Caxito, the province's capital, and competes in the Gira Angola.
The club started in the early 1990s in a different organization called Desportivo da Vidrul, which the Vidrul glass factory supported. By then, Mr. Domingos António, a young man in his 20s, was in charge of the group.
He managed to maintain the club by participating in several regional competitions. Since then, the team has undergone numerous changes before becoming Domant FC on May 23, 2005.
The team competed in the President's Cup on December 6, 2006. (the equivalent in Angola to the 3rd division championship). Domant FC made history in 2014 when they became the first Bengo team to play in Girabola.
The team earned a second-straight spot in the Girabola, Angola's top division, in 2017.
6. Futebol Clube de Luanda
One of the oldest football clubs in Luanda is Futebol Clube de Luanda. The club, established on January 30, 1933, as a subordinate of F.C. Porto in Portugal, has not played games or hosted minor youth training sessions since Portugal's independence.
As all other clubs in the capital play their home games at the state-owned 11 de Novembro and Coqueiros, Interclube is one of only two clubs based in Luanda (the other is 1o de Agosto) with its stadium. The stadium, which was constructed in 2004, can hold 10,000 people.
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7. Inter de Luanda
Inter de Luanda was established on February 28, 1976, by Santana André Pitra, aka Petroff, the then-Minister of the Interior. It won its first trophy, the Angolan Cup, in 1986. The team placed ninth in Angola's first division in 2005.
It also advanced to the domestic cup final that year but lost to ASA 1-0.
8. Kabuscorp Sport Clube do Palanca
Kabuscorp Sport Clube do Palanca, more commonly referred to as Kabuscorp, is a multisports organization headquartered in Luanda, Angola. It was founded on December 5, 1994. The club's football teams compete in African club tournaments and the Girabola, Angola's top league.
Kabuscorp stands for Kangamba Business Corporation, a company owned by club owner Bento Kangamba that conducts everything from transportation to diamond exploration.
Bento Kangamba, the company's president and owner of the club, founded Kabuscorp S.C. in 1994. The club is well-known for its jubilant fans, primarily of Bakongo descent. It plays its home matches at the state-owned Estádio dos Coqueiros in Luanda.
When they competed in Girabola for the first time in 2008, they placed 10th.
9. Clube Nacional de Benguela
They were initially known as Sports Clube Portugal de Benguela or Portugal de Benguela. Clube Nacional de Benguela was established in Benguela, Angola, on June 24, 1920. The Elephants won five championships while playing in Angola, a former colony.
The club's name was already changed to Sports Club Nacional de Benguela before Angola gained independence in 1975. The club, then known as Clube Nacional de Benguela, helped found Angola's top football league (Girabola) in 1979.
That year, it finished as the runner-up after falling to Primeiro de Agosto 2-1 in the championship game. FIFA has prohibited the club from participating in any official competition until a debt owed to the club's former coach, Lvaro Magalhes, is paid.
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10. Clube Recreativo da Caála
Angolan football club Clube Recreativo da Caála, also known as Recreativo da Caála, is based in Caála, 23 kilometers from Huambo, the province's capital. The Girabola, Angola's top league, is where CR Caála competes. It was established on June 24, 1944.
On Monday, May 3, Recreativo da Caála's management fired Portuguese Victor Manuel as the team's head coach. In addition, the team also fired assistant coach Jorge Prisca and goalkeepers coach Fernando Pereira, according to the same source.
One of the few teams in Angola's top division, Recreativo da Caála, has its football stadium, the Estádio Mártires da Canhala. The stadium, which once held 3,000 spectators, has been renovated and increased to 10,000 seats.
The new inauguration was held on October 6, 2013.
