Belenenses

Belenenses added handball to its football and multi-sport programme in 1932, one branch among several under the Cross of Christ that had already taken shape in Belém. The section built its identity in the 1970s, when it won the Portuguese league in 1973–74 and repeated in 1975–76 and 1976–77, pairing those titles with the Taça de Portugal in the same 1973–74 season and again in 1977–78. That run made Os Azuis do Restelo the team to beat in Portuguese handball for the better part of a decade, and the club returned to the top of the league twice more, in 1984–85 and 1993–94, either side of further cup wins in 1981–82 and 1983–84. A Portuguese Super Cup followed in 1983 and a League Cup in 2005–06, the club's most recent major honour. In Europe, appearances in the EHF Cup and the EHF European League have tested the squad against continental opposition without yet bringing back a trophy.

Matches are played at the Pavilhão Acácio Rosa, opened in October 1977 under the name Pavilhão do Restelo and later renamed for a former club president; a renovation in 2015 kept the 1,683-seat hall in use for top-flight handball. Against Benfica or Sporting CP, the fixture is billed locally as the Derby de Lisboa, a reminder that handball in the city runs through the same rivalries as football.

The current squad carries the name forward with players such as Nelson Pina and Tiago Pereira among those relied on week to week, as Belenenses competes in Andebol 1 chasing the kind of consistency that once made the club champions five times over.