Sporting outdo Palma in Pesaro for third Futsal Champions League title

Sporting CP secured their third UEFA Futsal Champions League title in 2025/26, ending the three-year reign of llles Balears Palma in Pesaro.

The 25th season of UEFA club futsal competition featured a new format, with new two-legged knockout round of 16 and quarter-final stages replacing the old elite round mini-tournaments. Even before that a new mark was set in the main round as 10,357 fans watched Sporting Anderlecht Futsal take on Piast Gliwice at PreZero Arena Gliwice, Poland, a UEFA futsal club competition attendance record for a game outside the final.

The favourites came through the round of 16, though Palma needed a late equaliser to draw their first leg 2-2 against FC Hit and a tense home return ended 4-2. In the quarter-finals they won 7-4 at home to Riga FC meaning Palma could afford a 1-0 loss in the return that was their first defeat in 31 Futsal Champions League matches (30 a competition-record unbeaten run).

Cartagena Costa Cálida avenged their 2024/25 semi-final defeat by Kairat Almaty with a 9-5 aggregate success against the two-time champions and the other Kazakhstan representatives, Semey, lost a thrilling game against Étoile Lavalloise, who won 5-4 at home and 3-2 away. The other quarter-final was a typically-thrilling Lisbon derby, Benfica winning the first leg 4-3 with a goal one second from time but Sporting going through with a 7-4 success in the return.

In the first-ever finals game in Italy, Sporting were matched with the team that beat them for bronze a season earlier, Cartagena, and recovered from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 after extra time and got through 6-5 on spot-kicks. Somehow the other semi was even more dramatic, Étoile Lavalloise going 6-1 up against Palma with an Ouassini Guirio hat-trick only for a Fabinho treble to wipe out the deficit for the holders, then to win 5-4 on penalties.

Étoile were then denied being the first French medallists as despite having come back from two down to hold Cartagena 3-3, the Spanish side made it two bronze medals in a row on penalties. Would the final make it four shoot-outs out of four?

Sporting, in a joint-record eighth final, looked strong from the start and led on four minutes through Diogo Santos, who was then sent off late in the first half. But Palma, in an unprecedented fourth consecutive final having won the previous three, could not take advantage and with four minutes left Sporting sealed a 2-0 victory and became the first non-Spanish side to three titles when Ivan Chishkala tackled flying keeper Alisson and the ball rolled in.

João Matos then lifted the trophy, having featured in all eight of Sporting's finals going back to 2011. Pivot Zicky, shining after an injury-disrupted season, was named Player of the Tournament, while coach Nuno Dias equalled the record of three victories held by Palma's Antonio Vadillo and Jesús Velasco of Inter FS and Barça.