Futsal Champions League final contenders: Sporting CP vs Palma

The UEFA Futsal Champions League final will be played at Pesaro Futsal Arena in Italy on Sunday, with two-time winners Sporting CP set to take on holders Illes Balears Palma – aiming for a fourth straight title – in a repeat of the 2023 decider.

Sporting edged out Cartagena Costa Cálida on penalties in their semi-final and holders Palma downed Étoile Lavalloise by the same method, having battled back from 6-1 down. Before that, the contenders came through the two-legged quarter-final round and round of 16, with this new-look knockout stage having replaced the old elite round.

Last season, Palma took their third consecutive title and Cartagena, on debut, beat Sporting for bronze. The 2025 finals took place in Le Mans, where Étoile Lavalloise – appearing in the finals for the first time this year – were the official host club.

• This is the tenth final to involve a Portuguese club and could bring Portugal's fourth title.
• This is the 21st of the 25 finals to involve a Spanish club. Palma could earn a 15th title for Spain and the fifth in a row for that nation.
• Sunday's meeting will be the eighth Spain vs Portugal final (the most common combination) after 2004, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Spain lead by five wins to two, and four to one in games involving Sporting, including their 2023 loss to Palma on penalties.

Past meetings

2024/25 semi-finals: Sporting CP 0-3 Palma (Le Mans)
2022/23 final: Palma 1-1aet, 5-3pens Sporting CP (Palma de Mallorca)

Sporting CP (POR)

Main round
Group 4 winners (played in Makarska): 19-1 vs Prishtina 01, 7-2 vs Kairat Almaty, 4-0 vs Novo Vrijeme Makarska

Round of 16
19-3agg vs AEK Futsal (11-0 a, 8-3 h)

Quarter-finals
10-8agg vs Benfica (3-4 a, 7-4 h)

Semi-finals
3-3aet, 6-5 pens vs Cartagena Costa Cálida (Pesaro)

Top scorer: Bruno Pinto 11
Previous best: Winners x 2 (2018/19, 2020/21)
2024/25: Fourth place

Final record: W2 L5

Previous final tournament appearances
2025: Fourth place
2024: Fourth place
2023: Runners-up (1-1aet, 3-5pens vs Palma, Palma de Mallorca)
2022: Runners-up (0-4 vs Barça, Riga)
2021: Winners (4-3 vs Barça, Zadar, eight-team finals)
2019: Winners (2-1 vs Kairat, Almaty)
2018: Runners-up (2-5 vs Inter FS, Zaragoza)
2017: Runners-up (0-7 vs Inter FS, Almaty)
2015: Third place, hosts
2012: Fourth place
2011: Runners-up (2-5 vs Montesilvano, Almaty)
2002: Semi-finalists, hosts (eight-team finals)

• Sporting CP have reached the finals for a record 13th time – 12 in the post-2006/07 format and, before that, as hosts of the eight-team final tournament that concluded the inaugural 2001/02 campaign. They are in the finals for a sixth straight season, beating the record of five set by Barça between 2017/18 and 2021/22.
• João Matos' competition-record appearances tally is now up to 97 games. Meanwhile, Nuno Dias overtook Jesús Velasco's total of 80 UEFA futsal club matches as a coach during the quarter-finals, moving on to 82.
• Bruno Pinto is the competition's current top scorer over the season alongside Soufian Charraoui of Tigers Roermond, both players having scored 11 goals.

Illes Balears Palma (ESP, holders)

Main round
Group 2 winners (played in Palma de Mallorca): 2-1 vs Étoile Lavalloise, 3-1 vs Chrudim, 7-4 vs Semey

Round of 16
6-4agg vs Hit Kyiv (2-2 a, 4-2 h)

Quarter-finals
7-5agg vs Riga Futsal Club (7-4 h, 0-1 a)

Semi-finals
6-6aet, 5-4 pens vs Étoile Lavalloise (Pesaro)

Top scorer: Alisson 8
Previous best: Winners x 3 (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25)
2024/25: Winners

Final record: W3 L0

Previous final tournament appearances
2025: Winners (9-4 vs Kairat Almaty, Le Mans)
2024: Winners (5-1 vs Barça, Yerevan)
2023: Winners (1-1aet, 5-3pens vs Sporting CP, Palma de Mallorca), hosts

• Last season, Palma became the first club to win the trophy three years in a row, doing so in their first three entries. They have now become the first team to reach the final four seasons running.
• Goalkeepers Carlos Barrón and Luan Muller have been part of all three previous Palma triumphs; only Sergio Lozano has previously lifted the trophy four times with the same club (Barça).
• Their second-leg loss at Riga in the quarter-finals was Palma's first defeat in any match in this competition, in their 31st fixture. Palma's 30-game unbeaten streak fell one short of the overall UEFA club competition record of OL Lyonnes, set in the UEFA Women's Champions League between 2017 and 2021 (though 30 is a record for any team from their first match in UEFA competition).