Boavista FC, founded 1903, is a sports club in Porto. Nicknamed Panteras (Panthers) and Axadrezados (literally checkereds), Boavista grew to become Porto's second largest club with sections dedicated to several sports, such as Volleyball, Chess, Gymnastics, Bicycle racing and Futsal (among others), being the most notable the Football section. The trademark of the team are the checkered white and black shirts. Estádio do Bessa, their stadium, was built in 1973 and remodeled in time for the Euro 2004, but plans for renewal already existed. Internally, Boavista grew from a minor team in the 70's to a regular fixture in Europe since then. The first "threat" to the Porto/Benfica/Sporting title domination was in 75-76 under guidance of José Maria Pedroto, when Boavista finished second, achieving the same position later in 98-99. Finally, in 00-01 Boavista won the Championship over rivals FC Porto, but haven't managed to hold the title, finishing second to Sporting. Boavista also won 5 Portuguese cups (74-75, 75-76, 78-79, 91-91 and 96-97)

In Europe, Boavista was commonly known as the club with the strange shirts, and achieved moderate success, knocking out Inter Milan and AS Roma in the early 90's. The highlight is still the brilliant UEFA Cup run in 2003, when they were knocked out by Celtic FC in the semi-finals in the Estádio do Bessa.

The football side has poor reputation in Portugal and many teams they oppose in UEFA competitions for its unattractive, agressive and intimidating style with the supposed cooperation of referees (most times only based on Valentim Loureiro , the president of the Portuguese football league, being a former president of the club and father of the current president, João Loureiro ) and the poor maintenance of the grass, which supposedly favours the physical play of Boavista.
There is also an intense rivalry with Belenenses and Vitória Guimarães, games between the teams often have problems inside or outside the field.

The women's team is one of the strongest, having won several titles in a row during the 90's.

External links

Official Site (in Portuguese)