Historic football club C.F. Os Belenenses created its SAD (Sociedade Anónima Desportiva - Public limited sports company) on 1 July 1999, to run its professional football section. In 2012, with both club and SAD facing enormous financial troubles, club members voted to sell 51% of its SAD to an investor, Codecity, led by Rui Pedro Soares. Added to the stock purchase, a parasocial deal was struck where the founding club could keep special rights, such as veto power over certain SAD decisions and the power to buy its stock back. Also a protocol was agreed upon that would regulate relations between Club and SAD. The club would keep 10% of SAD stocks.[2][3]
Meanwhile, Codecity terminated the parasocial deal, alleging contractual violations by the Club. In 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport deemed the termination of the deal valid, ending the possibility of the Club being able to reacquire the 51% of SAD stocks, in order to regain control of its professional football section.[4]
With tensions mounting between Club and SAD, the protocol that regulated relations between both entities expired on 30 June 2018, ceasing any relationship between both parties. This included the use of Estádio do Restelo (property of the Club) by the SAD's professional football team. Thus was born B-SAD as an autonomous football club, founded on 1 July 2018, after the secession of the SAD from the club.[5] They joined the Lisbon Football Association as member number 1198 (the original Belenenses is member number 64).
Belenenses' historic achievements, such as the victories in the 1945–46 Campeonato Nacional, its 3 Taças de Portugal and 3 Campeonatos de Portugal, solely belong to Club, since they were won before the creation of the SAD in 1999. The Club created its own football team that started playing in the Lisbon FA regional leagues from 2018–19 season.
B-SAD meanwhile claimed the place of the Club in the Primeira Liga. Given that Estádio do Restelo was property of the Club, B-SAD was left without its own stadium. As a consequence, B-SAD started playing home games at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, paying rent to the state for use. In February 2019, due to a temporary unavailability of the Estádio Nacional, B-SAD rented Estádio do Bonfim, around sixty kilometres away in Setúbal, for two home games. The game against Moreirense F.C. at this ground on 4 February was attended by 298 spectators, the lowest in the history of the league.[6]
In 29 October 2018, by the intellectual property court decision, B-SAD was prohibited to use the name, shield and symbols of the original Belenenses.[7] As such, after a judicial confirmation of this decision, in 11 March 2019, B-SAD presented a new club badge to differentiate itself from the original club.[8]
