Grupo Desportivo Os Operários, sometimes known as Sport Operários e Benfica, is a
football club that plays in the
Principe Island League in
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...
. The team is based in the island of
Príncipe
Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census; and plays at
Estádio 13 de Julho in the island capital as every club on the island does. Os Operários the second successful football (soccer) club in Príncipe, it has one of the most honours in São Tomé and Príncipe, having won about 14
official titles, six are national and the remaining eight are regional titles.
The club was once affiliated to Portugal's
S.L. Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', B ...
.
Logo
Its logo has a near-circle thick rim with blue on the left, purple in the middle and red on right. It has the club name and the club's location inside with a football (soccer ball) inside.
History
Championship competitions
The team has won five regional titles and four national titles, it was the sixth team ever to win their first title in 1990 and first from the island. In 1993, they won their second regional and national title and their third regional and national in 1998. Their fourth title was won in 2004, no titles were claimed in the 2005 and the 2006 season due to arbitrarily reasons which relegated teams into the second division, the next regional title was claimed by
UDAPB in 2007. Their national championship titles were second behind
Vitória and shared with
Sporting Praia Cruz until 2007, when the club won a title and Operários' totals became third. At the regional level, they possess the most number of championship titles, they solely held it from 1993 to 2002 and from 2004 to 2009 when it became shared with
GD Sundy
Grupo Desportivo Sundy is a football club that is based in the section of Sundy/Sundi in the island of Principe in São Tomé and Príncipe. The team plays in the Principe Island League in its local division and plays at Estádio 13 de Julho ...
, two more were shared,
Porto Real
Porto Real () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 19,974 (2020) and its area is 50.9 km2.IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia ...
in 2014 and
Sporting Príncipe in 2016. In late-September 2017, Os Operários finally won another regional championship title in 13 years and thus became the club with the most number of regional titles (last time exceeding the totals once shared by Porto Real, Sporting Príncipe and Sundy). The club will make their next national appearance in 13 years.
The club finished second in the 2011 season behind Sporting Clube do Principe.
Cup competitions
The club also won two cup titles and was a finalist in 1999. In 2003, they hold the third most cup titles won in the country, in 2010, it was shared with
6 de Setembro from the island of São Tomé and later it was shared with
UDRA
UDRA (União Desportiva Rei Amador) is a football club that plays in the São Tomé and Príncipe Championship. The team is based in the southern part of the island of São Tomé in the city of São João dos Angolares and plays at Campo de R ...
of the same island in 2015, in 2016, the ranking became fourth. Regionally the club won three cup titles, first in 1999, then in 2003 and in 2016. Os Operários came to the 2016 national cup final and lost 6-2 to UDRA in November. Its regional cup titles was one of two clubs that shared it in 1999, the other was
1º de Maio
Grupo Desportivo 1º de Maio is a football club that plays in the island of Principe in São Tomé and Príncipe. The team plays in the Principe Island League in its local division and plays at Estádio 13 de Julho in the island capital as e ...
, later it had GD Sundy and was one of three from 2003. That total became second in 2007 behind GD Sundy, two clubs shared it to 2010 as Sporting shared it until 2012 when its totals became third and last until 2013 when it became second ever since, from 2014 to 2016, they were shared with Sporting and their totals was third.
Honours
*
São Tomé and Príncipe Championship
São Tomé and Principe Championship (Portuguese: ''Campeonato Nacional'') is the top division of the São Toméan Football Federation. In the current 2021/22 season there are 18 teams participating in two separate leagues - 12 teams from São To ...
s: 4
::1990, 1993, 1998, 2004
*
São Tomé and Príncipe Cup: 2
::1992, 2003
*
Príncipe Island League: 5
::1990, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2017
*
Taça Regional de Príncipe: 3
::1992, 1999, 2003
League and cup history
Island championships
Statistics
*Best position: 1st (national)
*Best position at cup competitions: 1st (national)
*Appearances:
**National Championships: 5
**Regional Championships: 19
*Appearances at a regional cup competition: 13
References
External links
Club profile at the Final Ball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Operarios GD
Football clubs in São Tomé and Príncipe
Príncipe Island League