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S.L. Benfica (youth)

Sport Lisboa e Benfica "Juniors" (), commonly known as Benfica Juniors, is the under-19 football team comprised in the youth department of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. They play their home matches at the Benfica Campus, the club's training ground and youth academy in Seixal.

Benfica's under-19s have won a record 26 Campeonato Nacional de Juniores, one Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup (1996), one UEFA Youth League (2021–22) and one Under-20 Intercontinental Cup (2022). Benfica hold UEFA Youth League records for the biggest win in a final, 6–0 against Red Bull Salzburg, most final appearances (4, joint-record with Chelsea) and most games played (70). They were distinguished for "Best implementation of the UEFA Youth League values" in 2013–14.

There are other development teams below under-19, completing Benfica's youth system: Juvenis "A" and "B"; Iniciados "A" and "B"; Infantis "A", "B", "C" and "D"; Benjamins "A" and "B"; and Traquinas "A". In 2015, Benfica received the Globe Soccer award for Best Academy of the year.

Benfica ranked first in a study analysing football academies, with 93 club-trained players active across 49 leagues. These players averaged 2,582 minutes played in official matches over the previous year, with an average club employment level of 0.81. FC Barcelona ranked second with 76 trained players (average club level of 0.87 and 2,773 minutes played), followed by CA River Plate in third place with 97 players (average club level of 0.81 and 2,305 minutes).

The top ten also included Sporting CP, Real Madrid, CA Boca Juniors, CA Vélez Sarsfield, AFC Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb, and Defensor Uruguay. In total, 30 countries were represented by at least one club in the top 100 rankings, with Argentina (15 clubs) and Brazil (11 clubs) being the most represented nations.

As of 2025:

Players

Current players

Key

B = current Benfica B player; U23 = player for Benfica's under-23 team

Notable players

Over 1,000 players have come through Benfica's youth ranks, but only a small part of them played for the club's first-team. The list below includes former youth players who represented the main team in a minimum of 25 matches, or those that reached 25 caps at full international level. In some occasions, graduates debuted for the first-team but left Benfica before reaching 25 matches and went on representing their national team at full international level. Those players are also listed. (Time periods below correspond to when players joined Benfica youth.)

Pre-1960

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Coaching staff

Competitive record

UEFA Youth League and Under-20 FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Under-20 Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Otten Innovation Cup (Under-19)

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Geneva Cup (Under-17)

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Youngster Cup - Berlin (Under-17)

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Shanghai Future Star Cup (Under-17)

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Honours

  • Portuguese Championship
  • Winners (26) – record: 1943–44, 1944–45, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1999–00, 2003–04, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2024–25
  • UEFA Youth League
  • Winners (1): 2021–22
  • Runners-up (3): 2013-14, 2016–17, 2019–20
  • Under-20 Intercontinental Cup
  • Winners (1): 2022
  • Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup
  • Winners (1): 1996
  • Runners-up (3): 1997, 2014, 2019

Other youth honours

Juvenis (under-17)

Winners (22) – record: 1963–64, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

Iniciados (under-15)

Winners (13): 1978–79, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1988–89, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

Infantis (under-13)

Winners (3) – shared record: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1995–96

References

External links