Sport Lisboa e Benfica was founded in Lisbon on 28 February 1904 as Sport Lisboa, taking its present name in 1908 after merging with Grupo Sport Benfica. The club has played at the Estádio da Luz since 2003, a 64,000-plus seat arena built alongside the site of its celebrated predecessor.

Benfica is the most decorated club in Portuguese football, with a record 38 Primeira Liga championships and 26 Taça de Portugal wins, plus numerous League Cups and Super Cups. Its greatest continental achievements came under Béla Guttmann, when a side led by Eusébio won back-to-back European Cups in 1961 and 1962, ending Real Madrid's dominance of the competition. It has reached a further five European Cup finals.

Benfica also runs one of Europe's most productive youth academies at Seixal and has never been relegated from the Primeira Liga.