The businessman is continuing his involvement in football despite a trail of misery, including also at Mouscron and Bordeaux
B
oavista fans would have thought things could not possibly get worse. In early July, a month away from celebrating their 123rd anniversary, the former champions of Portugal, faced with liquidation, announced that the “special revitalisation plan” they had put together last November had been rejected by the Portuguese Football Federation: they had failed to provide the necessary tax and social security certificates and guarantees in time.
Riddled with debt (they owed €7m to the construction company entrusted with the development of their stadium), they were so short of money that electricity had been cut off at their Estádio de Bessa in April after they failed to pay their bill. Players waited months to receive their salary. One of them, the US defender Reggie Cannon, whose pay was late on 28 of the 29 months he spent at Boavista, terminated his contract in the summer of 2023 and joined Queens Park Rangers. After an appeal at the court of arbitration for sport, it was announced last month that Boavista will have to compensate him to the tune of €400,000.
Even when Porto’s second club finished bottom of the Primeira Liga last season, supporters clung to the hope that the club would be allowed to regroup in the second division, but Boavista did not even try to appeal against the federation’s decision. They knew their race was run. They lost their professional status, were demoted to the fifth tier and are due to play in the regional Porto Football Association’s First Division next season.
