The supporters of the clubs that will compete in the Football League Cup will boycott the competition “from the beginning” until “the end”, the president of the Portuguese Association for the Defense of Supporters revealed this Tuesday, October 22, to the Lusa agency ( APDA).
“The organized groups of fans of the eight clubs that are represented in the League Cup undertake to boycott the competition as a form of protest, from its beginning to the end, including the final four and the final, from a perspective of protest against the attitude of the League [Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional] of wanting to export the product”, said Martha Gens.
In a statement, APDA states that “it is unequivocal to assume” that carrying out the final four abroad “it just won’t happen this season because no one showed interest or provided enough money to host these games on their territory”.
He considers, in this sense, that “holding national competition games on foreign soil, with the sole intention of making a few more millions, is a blatant disrespect for all those who passionately live football and its clubs”. “This is a total disregard for the League, which creates a competition with the aim of feeding it with fans, who have spent good years “getting fat” and creating their success and then exporting it abroad”, criticized Martha Gens , in statements to Lusa.
The APDA statement is signed by organized groups of fans of Nacional (Armada Alvinegra), Sporting (Juventude Leonina, Ultras DUXXI, Torcida Verde and Brigada Ultras Sporting), Moreirense (Green Devils), FC Porto (Collectivo 95 and Super Dragões), Santa Clara (Armada Vermelha), Vitória de Guimarães (White Angels, Insane Guys and Gruppo 1922) and Sporting de Braga (Red Boys and Bracara Legion).
“It’s a good sign that all these groups, which are so often on the lips of the world, not always for the best reasons, are able to understand that only together can they be able to take their position forward”, praised Martha Gens.
Asked about the absence of Benfica fans, the president of APDA explained that “that doesn’t mean they don’t boycott” and “took the opportunity” to call for all fans to take the same position.
“The truth is that we also want to make other fans, who also paid and contributed to the growth of the competition, aware to do the same. We are all paying for tickets and going to football at shameful times, and they take the icing on the cake, which is the possibility of watching the games and supporting our teams in the decisive phase”, said the president of APDA.
The quarter-finals of the 2024/25 League Cup will be played next week, with the meetings Sporting-Nacional (Tuesday), Benfica-Santa Clara (Wednesday), Sporting de Braga-Vitória de Guimarães and FC Porto-Moreirense (Thursday).
The format of the competition began, this season, to include only the top six placed in the I League and the top two in the II League in the previous season. The Club League had announced its intention to hold the final four abroad to make the most of the competition, but backed away from that intention.
