Benfica House of Toronto
House No. 5 and the first outside Portugal
| Founding Date: | June 15, 1969 |
| Address: | 1751 Keele Street Toronto, Ontario M6M 3W9 |
| Telephone: | 416-651-1548 |
Other related articles: The Day Benfica Played…Benfica!
RESILIENCE OF A COMMUNITY GEM
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Casa do Benfica de Toronto is the Portuguese soccer giant’s first affiliate outside Portugal and number six in the world, a distinction that affords it pride but also responsibility. Over the years, this organization has witnessed several stages but the willpower of its members and its Board of Directors, along with the support of the parent club in Portugal, has helped maintain the success of the Benfica House of Toronto.
Even though the association enjoyed a long spell of great financial stability, it also experienced extremely trying times that threatened its survival. In regards to sports, it also has had its ups and downs, with spurts of great accomplishments followed by times of inactivity. However, Benfica House has always found a way to flourish as it is doing currently.
Mário João Narciso is a long-time director with different roles over the years and one of the architects of the first resurrection of the Casa do Benfica in Toronto. In a conversation with Luso-Ontario Magazine, in 2008, he recounted the long and illustrious History of the organization.
“It was a group of benfiquistas who, in the course of celebrating a national title, had the idea of founding Casa do Benfica de Toronto. There were ten founding members. We are Benfica House’s number 5 and the first outside of Portugal. Benfica’s first headquarters was at College and Bathurst but with the growing membership it later moved to Bathurst and Queen. Benfica was the number one association in Toronto in conjunction with First Portuguese”, Mário João Narciso recalled. “Later, the organization bought the building at Claremount, which cost around a million dollars. The arrival of other clubs and other establishments in the community caused Benfica and First to experience difficulties. Claremount was Benfica’s decaying stage. They had to sell the building. For three years, Benfica House was closed and then settled at Robina, next to St. Clair,” he said.
The building on Claremount seemed, at the time of purchase, like a wise investment but it happened at a time when the Portuguese community had grown to great numbers. As a result, many other associations were formed and different commercial establishments, such as bars and restaurants, began to open in the community. Now with more choices, the community no longer relied on Benfica House’s dynamic events to feel close to Portugal.
From Benfica House’s glorious past, the most cherished memories are of the overcrowded dances at the headquarters on Queen Street. “The first time I went there they didn’t let me in because I was wearing jeans”, Narciso recalled with a faint laugh. “At that time, and even at Claremount, some people couldn’t get in. It sold out easily because it was Benfica… dozens and dozens of relationships began at those dances. Then they started being more selective, rejecting the youth who liked to wear jeans and sneakers. At New Year’s Eve parties, I remember that Benfica used to have 3 or 4 thousand people at the Royal York (Hotel) and had the luxury of raffling off a new car”, he remembered with nostalgia.
Folklore was one of the most important cultural components of the association but, in the meantime, it ceased to exist. “Benfica of Toronto had a folklore group for many years. It celebrated its 25th anniversary but it ceased to exist soon afterwards. Folklore represented Benfica, dressed with Benfica’s colours. Benfica does not represent a region, it represents a country, it is a symbol…”, he shot.
During its heyday, Benfica of Toronto was also proud to organize one of the most anticipated beauty pageants in the city. “Benfica’s beauty pageants were always the best in the community”, Narciso informed.
For two decades encompassing the turn of the millennium, soccer became the association’s most significant activity. During this time, the Men’s soccer squad became the most decorated team in the history of the Toronto Soccer Association (TSA), winning every single competition multiple times.
But it wasn’t always like that. It was only 5 years after the House’s foundation that it began competing in the OSL and the TSA leagues, “but there are no records of victories or results. Nothing points to us being champion of a league or championship, but we won tournaments”, Narciso informed. “I joined football around ’95 when the team was in the Second Division of the TSA, and we also had an old-timers team. Then we went up to the First Division of the TSA. Competition was strong at the time… Portuguese United, Boavista. In ’99 we started winning everything, we won the Cup and the Super Cup. We were TSA champions for 5 consecutive years and won the Consuls Cup for five years as well. The TSA cup, we won 4 years in a row,” Mário João Narciso recalled.
The success of the soccer team had the Board of Directors aiming at higher goals. One was to enter the newly launched Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL), a league that had Portugal FC as the representative of West Toronto. Mário João Narciso was the architect of the soccer program at the time. Under his guide, Benfica of Toronto became one of the strongest soccer teams in the Province, and possibly the best that ever competed at the Toronto Soccer Association level. “In 2004, we had the ideal conditions to enter the CPSL; we had sponsors, we had everything prepared. But they wouldn’t let us in, and I still don’t understand why. It was a professional league where Portugal FC plays. That’s when we decided to move on to the OSL instead… we were a group that liked to win, we had a very competitive team. In the TSA it was interesting, there was more rivalry, there was more audience. I’m not sorry for going to the OSL because in the TSA we would just continue to win. The OSL is more competitive… in the first year we were regional champions and then we always finished in the top three. In the TSA it was like a Portuguese league”, Narciso said.
Despite all the achievements, there was a title that Mário João Narciso could not show for in the trophy case: the Ontario Cup. “That was my biggest goal. There was a year that we went to the semi-finals”, he remembered.
However, if some goals were not attained, there are other accomplishments that can never be erased from history. One such occurred in the year 2001 when the Toronto Soccer Association turned 100 years old. Benfica won every single competition during this celebratory year for the TSA: TSA Champions, TSA Cup Champions, TSA Super Cup Champions, and Consuls Cup Champions. It was the first time that one club won every single competition organized by the TSA in its 100 years of existence.
When Mário João Narciso left, the House experienced a few years of turmoil, both socially and financially. Soccer ceased to exist, and the membership did not visit the headquarters, then located at St. Clair Avenue, as frequently as before. There was even talk in the community about an inglorious ending to an organization that once was an important institution for all Portuguese immigrants in Toronto.
However, the love for the institution and for what it represents for so many was paramount in the rebirth of the organization. In 2011, a group of benfiquistas formed an ad hoc committee with the objective of settling the House’s debts so it could be reinstated to its membership. The financial situation was dire, in the tens of thousands of dollars in the red. Each individual who was part of the committee lent the association money to pay all debts. The organization could now rebuild with a clean slate.
In 2012, Mario Mirassol was elected President of the Board. It was under his leadership that the headquarters on St. Clair began to revive with many activities that were always well attended. It was also at this location that a new Youth Soccer Program was implemented with both male and female squads.
Due to the sudden overwhelming interest of the House’s membership and sympathisers, the Board proposed the purchase of its own headquarters, on Rogers Road, just East of Keele. At this location, more people adhered and the organization grew tremendously. During televised Benfica games, Benfica House of Toronto’s new headquarters was transformed into a mini Estádio da Luz.
An audacious new project was started here under the leadership of Mario Mirassol: the Benfica Soccer School. It was a daring decision because of the operating costs, but the Board believed that it was possible to attain success with this program. Joao Oliveira, a coach with Benfica’s academy in Portugal, became the first Technical Director of Toronto’s Benfica Soccer School. However, the project struggled to gain momentum and the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic forced the soccer school to cease operations.
Mario Mirassol had become a source of new projects with the objective to enrich the organization and provide its membership with the best possible service. In 2018, he proposed the purchase of the old Portugalia, on Keele Street. The building was on sale for 1.6 million dollars. Some viewed the move as too risky but Mirassol was able to secure a private loan that convinced the membership. In that same year, the new headquarters were open to the public.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic not only killed the soccer school but it nearly forced the organization to permanently close its doors. Casa do Benfica was forced to sell the building that it had purchased two years prior but it was also able to work out a deal with the new owners that would permit it to continue to operate at the location. This turn of events resulted in the creation of a new Administrative Commission and, later, in the election of a new Board of Directors that is working hard to revive the organization.
Currently, Benfica House of Toronto follows the required guidelines imposed by Benfica, in Portugal. Its headquarters are a dynamic location with a visual that resembles the mother club.
| With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008 |
| If you notice errors or misrepresentations in the article, please e-mail contact@lusocanada.com |
| Help us write History. Contribute your story, memory or experience related to this organization by sending an email to contact@lusocanada.com. |
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The Day Benfica Played…Benfica!
On June 26, 2005, the London Cover Road Stadium hosted a game that would be remembered for ages. Late that Sunday afternoon, Benfica won but, inevitably, it also lost. It was the day that Benfica played Benfica.
It was the second game of another round of the Ontario Cup. Sport London Benfica was matched against its Toronto counterpart. The game began late due to mechanical problems on the bus that transported the team from the Benfica House of Toronto, but the wait was definitely worth it as the teams battled to the last minute to determine which of the Benficas would go through to the next round. Meanwhile, London Portuguese watched from the stands with a spot already guaranteed in the next stage having beaten AEK London (1-0) in the previous game.
Tony Campos, then reporter for Jornal Flash, covered the game extensively. According to his commentary, Benfica of Toronto took control of the game from early on. Halfway through the half, in a span of six minutes, Sam placed them ahead by two goals to nil, a score that persisted until both teams headed for a deserved break.
In the second half, Sport London Benfica came determined to make it a game. In the fifth minute, it could have reduced the difference to one goal, but it was Benfica of Toronto that scored once again, ten minutes in and this time by Castro, to make it 3-0. Although they now had a steep mountain to climb, the reds of London had not lost their determination. They began to take control of the game and to create a few half-chances, mainly from wing play. It paid off at the 15th minute mark with the 1-3, scored by Jason Carrelas who, fifteen minutes later, added another to make it a one goal game. The Londoners pressed until the final whistle but Pedro, the opposing keeper, saved the visitors from giving up a three goal lead.
In its analysis of the game, Tony Campos reported that the first half was dominated by the Benfica House of Toronto but that the London counterpart was the better team in the second half. According to him, the home team “woke up too late.”
Mário João Narciso, then President of the Benfica House of Toronto, was also acting coach for the away team on that day. When asked about his comments on the game, he said that “it was a victory for Benfica. I would rather play Sport London Benfica in the final, of course, but it happened now. I think that we deserved the win after what we did in the first half. Congratulations to Benfica of London and thank you for hosting us at their home. Now we will do our best to win this trophy, which we have been chasing for a long time. Maybe this will be the year, with sacrifice, dedication and, above all, love for Sport Lisboa e Benfica.”
Nuno Medeiros, head coach of Sport London Benfica, offered the following comments: “I was personally confused with the type of football we presented in the first half, which I think we need to forget, but in the second half I think that we dominated, we scored, we were more focused, and we chased the result until the last minute. We just needed a bit of luck. I think a draw at the end of 90 minutes would have been a fair result, but so is football.”
Benfica of Toronto’s run in the 2005 edition of the Ontario Cup would end in the semi-finals, but it would once again win the Toronto Soccer Association League. Sport London Benfica, although disappointed after being knocked out so early in the Ontario Cup, ended the season on a high by winning the Southwestern Ontario Soccer League for the first time in its history.
| If you notice errors or misrepresentations in the article, please e-mail contact@lusocanada.com |
| Help us write History. Contribute your story, memory or experience related to this organization by sending an email to contact@lusocanada.com. |