Founding Date:	1969
Address:	1548 Fisher-Halmand Road Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4E3
Telephone:	519-579-6960
Website:	https://kitchenerportugueseclub.com/

The organization that grew out of a soccer team

Audio Version:

It all started because of football, in the early 1960s, at a time when Kitchener seems to have been populated by many Portuguese-Canadians who were sportinguistas because the team wore, right from the beginning, the colors of the lions of Lisbon. The designation of Kitchener Lions happened soon after and, to date, the association is still known by this old nickname. If a tradition had been rapidly implemented, another of equal relevance would occur in 1969 when the current land where the headquarters of the Portuguese Club of Kitchener stands was purchased. It enjoys, along with the Portuguese Club of Cambridge, the largest plot of land owned by a Luso-Canadian association in the whole of Ontario. 

The current hall was, in 1969, a small house standing on a gigantic property. Donations were made, building materials were purchased, and men donated their skills to build the Club’s current headquarters. It was a long and slow project that took years to conclude. 

The organization grew significantly during the 1970s and 80s due to a large influx of Portuguese immigrants to the area.  Even though there are people here from all parts of Portugal, the majority of its population hails from the north.  

At the start of the new millennium, a youth group called Paixão Portuguesa was formed. It contributed to the involvement of the younger population, a vital element to preserve our culture in the city. It was at this time the Executive Board began plans for a new hall that has not yet come to fruition.

The club no longer has a soccer team but it has formed a vibrant rancho that is slowly coming back to life after a forced hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008

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