ABC Braga Women

ABC Braga's handball players walked out for a European final against opponents they knew from home: SL Benfica. Beating them again on a continental stage, to lift the EHF Challenge Cup, gave the Braga side something the fixture at home never quite settles.

The women's team plays under the same roof as the club's better-known men's section, which has stacked up thirteen Portuguese league titles and a dozen cups over the years. Madeira SAD, Benfica and Sports Madeira have taken turns holding the national league title, leaving ABC to look elsewhere for its silverware.

The club, formally Académico Basket Clube and known locally as 'Academistas', grew out of its partnership with the University of Minho, still visible in the ABC/UMinho name attached to its teams. That academic tie has shaped a club that built its handball reputation around cup runs rather than league consistency, with FC Porto joining Benfica as the sides ABC most wants to beat.

Home games are played in yellow and black at the Pavilhão Flávio Sá Leite, a hall that holds 1,200 people.