Sporting Clube de Portugal B
| Full name | Sporting Clube de Portugal B |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Sportinguistas Leões (Lions) Verde-e-Brancos (Green and Whites) |
| Short name | Sporting B |
| Founded | 2000–2004, 2012– |
| Ground | Academia Sporting |
| Capacity | 12,000 |
| President | Bruno de Carvalho |
| Manager | Luís Martins |
| League | LigaPro |
| 2014–15 | 5th |
| Website | Club home page |
Sporting Clube de Portugal B is a Portuguese football team. They are the reserve team of Sporting Clube de Portugal. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cannot play in the same division as their senior team, so Sporting B is ineligible for promotion to the Primeira Liga and cannot play in the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga.
Sporting had a B team until the 2003–04 season, and refounded it in 2012–13, when a new set of rules regarding B teams was introduced in Portuguese football system. In that season, another five B-teams were refounded and entered into Segunda Liga.
The club currently plays at the Academia Sporting which holds a seating capacity of 12,000.
Prior to the end of the 2011–12 football season in Portugal, seven clubs in the Primeira Liga announced their interest in constructing a B team to fill the six vacant places available to compete in the Segunda Liga for the 2012–13 season. Of those seven, five clubs were selected to take part in the competition considering their position on 2011–12 Primeira Liga, as well as Marítimo, since they had already a B team competing.
The LPFP who organizes the professional football tiers in Portugal announced that for the clubs to compete in the 2012–13 Segunda Liga they would have to pay 50,000 €. In addition the LPFP would also require the clubs to follow new rules regarding player selection in which each 'B' team must have a squad of a minimum of ten players who were formed at the club's academy as well as having an age requirement between 15 and 21 years old. The LPFP also went on to saw that the clubs are unable to compete in cup competitions as well as gaining promotion due to the possibility of playing the senior team. Each 'B' team may have three players above 23-years old.
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