FC Porto marks 133 years with ceremony at Estádio do Dragão
The Portugal-based football club FC Porto celebrated its 133rd anniversary on Monday with a ceremony that honoured its dead and highlighted a record-breaking start to the season under coach Francesco Farioli.
The traditional flag-raising took place at 10:00 outside Gate 1 of the Estádio do Dragão, led by club president André Villas-Boas. The ceremony included a wreath-laying at the busts of former players Rui Filipe and Pavão, followed by a tribute at the Dragão Arena to handballer Alfredo Quintana. The morning ended with a visit to the FC Porto Mausoleum.
President praises "winning" identity
Villas-Boas addressed members with a message that looked back to the club's founders and forward to the current campaign. He expressed immense joy at another year of club life and paid tribute to António Nicolau d'Almeida and José Monteiro da Costa, who established the institution in 1893.
The president credited former president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa with the radical transformation that made FC Porto a winning club, adding that the current squad is united around Farioli. The team has opened the season with seven wins in seven league matches.
Players share messages
Midfielder Gabri Veiga and forward Samu were among the players who published congratulatory messages. Pepê, William Gomes, Santiago Giménez and Borja Sainz also marked the occasion.
Former coach Sérgio Conceição shared a message on Instagram.
Museum offers half-price tickets
The FC Porto Museum, located within the stadium complex, celebrated its own 13th anniversary on the same date. Members received a 50% discount on tickets for the Tour FC Porto. To qualify, members needed to present their card and have dues paid through August 2026.
The museum holds more than 200 trophies — including the Intercontinental Cup and the European Champion Clubs' Cup — across 7,000 square metres of exhibition space.
Club membership reaches record high
FC Porto now counts 185,767 members as of early September 2026, an increase of 54,730 members in little more than two years. The club attributes much of this growth to the introduction of the "Portal do Sócio" in February 2025, which simplified the registration process.
An exhibition titled "Porto: European Capital of Football" will open in October to mark 70 years of FC Porto participation in UEFA competitions.
