Cosme Damião awards ceremony

FULL CEREMONY

As part of the celebration of Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 120th anniversary, the Cosme Damião Awards was held on Tuesday, March 26, to distinguish those who, through their prominence and merit, raised the Club's name in 2023. Watch or rewatch here the TV broadcast - a BTV exclusive - of the event at the MEO Arena in Lisbon.

TO THE MINUTE

11:38 pm | The ceremony ends!

11:33 pm | All the Cosme Damião Awards for 2023 have been presented.

11:20 pm | Touched, Toni underlines "the honor and pride" of receiving the award, which depicts a "beautiful" story of more than 50 years. "It's time to celebrate the 120 years of history that make Benfica a mythical and universal club. It's time to remember 12 decades, all the managers, athletes, coaches, all those who have made this Club reach 120 years full of glory", dhe said, surrounded on stage by many of his former teammates and players.

11:18 pm | THE WINNER OF THE CAREER AWARD IS TONI! 

11:16 pm | Representing the Portuguese national team, António Silva leaves a video message: "I'd like to thank Benfica's football structure for this award, and my colleagues for the help they give me every day. Long live Benfica!"

11:15 pm | THE WINNER OF THE FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR AWARD IS ANTÓNIO SILVA! 

11:12 pm | "Unfortunately I can't be there: with my boots on, I'm grateful for the recognition and the award. It's the fruit of my work, that of my teammates, of the whole squad and of the management's commitment to women's football", atira a camisola 10.

11:11 pm | THE WINNER OF THE FEMALE FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR AWARD IS FRANCISCA NAZARETH! 

11:09 pm | The Swedish coach thanked him in a video message. "I hope to go and see the Benfica Museum before the Championship is over. Go Benfica!" he says.

11:05 pm | THE WINNER OF THE TRIBUTE AWARD IS SVEN-GÖRAN ERIKSSON!

11:03 pm | Luís Santos, president of Casa Benfica Santarém 2.0, is grateful for the award. "I'm proud to receive this award! We are the extension of Benfica's mystique," he says.

11:02 pm | THE WINNER OF THE PROJECT AWARD IS CASA BENFICA SANTARÉM 2.0! 

10:57 pm | "Thank you very much for this award. I'm very happy. When you receive an individual award and you're part of a team, of course it's an award for the whole team. This award belongs to my team, the coaching staff, the staff and the players. They [the players] are always the most important part. I know that the other coaches of Benfica's teams have won a lot of trophies, I always see them on TV. I share this award with them too, because in my opinion they all deserved it. I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to you, Rui [Costa], and to you, Lourenço [Coelho]. It's now almost two years since we started talking about the possibility of my being Benfica's coach. They were convinced that I could be a good coach for this club. I was grateful for that. It's a great honor to be part of this fantastic club. It's not just a football club. I expected to be at a great football club, but today, after two years, I know that it's much more than a fantastic football club. So thank you very much. I'll keep fighting for more titles alongside you. Long live Benfica," said Roger Schmidt.

10:56 pm | THE WINNER OF THE COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD IS ROGER SCHMIDT! 

10:55 pm | Since 2014, the partnership between Emirates and Sport Lisboa e Benfica has been marked by success and innovation. The main sponsor contract signed in 2015/16 put the Emirates brand on the jerseys of the Club's professional football team. Celebrating a decade of prosperous collaboration, we look to the future with confidence in the continuity and success of this joint journey. "I'm sure Benfica wouldn't be here without 120 years of expertise, great achievements and hard work. This is where I can see a great synergy between Emirates and Benfica. That's why we sponsor Benfica. I would like to continue to see our names 'Fly Emirates' and 'Fly Better' on your jerseys, and I would like to wish you a pleasant evening and another 120 years of success. Benfica is here, it was before us, and I'm sure it will be after all of us. Good luck for the future", said Boutros Boutros, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand of the Emirates Group.

10:54 pm | THE WINNER OF THE PARTNER AWARD IS EMIRATES!

10:52 pm | Otamendi - in a video message, since he's on Argentina duty - says he's honored by the distinction: "It's an enormous source of pride, a recognition of my work. I'm honored to be part of the Club's history!"

10:50 pm | THE WINNER OF THE LEADERSHIP AWARD IS OTAMENDI! 

10:41 pm | Diogo Ribeiro thanks the Benfica fans for their support: "I would like to thank Benfica and all the people who have supported me. I just have to say thank you, also because it's my heart club. Over all these years, it feels like a lifetime."

10:40 pm | THE WINNER OF THE HIGH PERFORMANCE ATHLETE AWARD IS DIOGO RIBEIRO! 

10:37 pm | José Bemposta, president of Casa Benfica Genève, is proud: "Thank you, Benfica! It's a Casa do Benfica created during the pandemic. This trophy belongs to a lot of people. It's a source of pride for us in Geneva [Switzerland]."

10:35 pm | THE WINNER OF THE CASA BENFICA AWARD IS CASA BENFICA GENÈVE!

10:31 pm | One of Pietra's sons expressed his gratitude: "My father is certainly very proud of all the tributes the Club has given him".

10:31 pm | THE WINNER OF THE MERIT AND DEDICATION AWARD IS MINERVINO PIETRA! 

10:26 pm | This is followed by a moment of In Memoriam, in which former Benfica figures are remembered, Artur Jorge, Henrique Manuel Claro, Leonor Cadillon, Maria de Lourdes Cabral, Jacinto, Mário Moinhos, Pacheco, Palmeiro Antunes, Pedro Fiúza, Raúl Machado, Rui Rodrigues or Rui Nabeiro. 

10:25 pm | Daniel Beato, representing NOS, receives the award: "The partnership with Benfica is based on innovation. I would like to thank the Benfica and NOS teams who made this project possible. Congratulations to Benfica!"

10:24 pm | THE WINNER OF THE INNOVATION OF THE YEAR AWARD IS BTV EXPERIENCE! 

10:16 pm | "It's a great pleasure to receive this award. We want to bring another victory home from France, and we thank the President for his commitment to women's football," said Valéria Cantuário.

10:13 pm | THE WINNER OF THE SPORTS AWARD IS WOMEN'S FOOTBALL! 

10:10 pm | Martim Ferreira is pleased with the recognition. "It was a season of great development. We've grown a lot as a team and we finished in the best way, showing what it means to be Benfica", says the U-17 athlete. Rafael Quintas, representing the Under-15s, stresses that "learning is being recognized" by Benfica fans.

10:08 pm | THE YOUTH DEVELOPEMENT IS FOR THE U15 AND U17 FOOTBALL TEAMS!

21h59 | Pedro Reis, director of IPO Lisboa, and Alexandra Esteves receive the Foundation Award. "We are grateful for this award in the year we celebrate our centenary. Partnerships with civil society institutions are extremely important for the IPO. Congratulations Benfica," said Pedro Reis.

21h57 | THE WINNER OF THE FOUNDATION AWARD IS "O BENFICA FAZ BEM"! 

21h54 | "It's a pride and a privilege to take home this award. I'd like to thank my teammates and staff. I'll give everything I have and don't have for Benfica to win," said Lúcio Rocha.

21h53 | THE WINNER OF THE INDOOR SPORTS BREAKTHROUGH AWARD IS LÚCIO ROCHA!

9:49 pm | "I'm grateful for the distinction, it's an award I'm very proud of. It's incredible to be able to represent Benfica," said Andreia Faria, in a video message, who is in France, where the women's football team will play Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, March 27.

9:48 pm | ANDREIA FARIA WINS WOMEN'S FOOTBALL BREAKTHROUGH AWARD!

9:45 pm | "I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me develop as a person and a player, without you getting to where I am would have been much more difficult," says João Neves, in a video message, as he is on national team duty.

9:42 pm | JOÃO NEVES WINS MEN'S FOOTBALL BREAKTHROUGH AWARD!

9:37 pm | The Cosme Damião Awards are about to begin.

9:24 pm | "Sport Lisboa e Benfica is an extraordinary club, and we all have a responsibility to make it bigger and better. This is a time of great challenges, enormous challenges, not just for our beloved club, but for the entire associative movement. We are living in times that demand the best from each and every one of us, so that Benfica can continue to grow and so that we can hand down to the next generations a winning institution that honors our founders and our history. And so I'll end with a reference to one of those Benfiquistas who are unavoidable in our history, whose dedication to the cause is inspiring. This year, 2024, marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Félix Bermudes, our former president and player, one of those responsible for our survival in 1907 and his subsequent move to Benfica the following year. Let's always bear in mind the remarkable verse of the anthem written by this great Benfica fan, the 'Avante P'lo Benfica': 'Now honor the aces that honored us in the past!' Today and always, for the benefit of Benfica members and fans, for the honor and glory of Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 'We are from Benfica and that makes us proud. Congratulations, Benfica. Long live Sport Lisboa e Benfica!", concludes the President.

9:23 pm |"A human mass that has not stopped growing over these 120 years, always the largest in Portugal and found all over the world. Last year alone we saw 25,000 new members join. Yes, 25,000 new members. Extraordinary, Benfica! In this marked annual growth, we can never forget the role of the Club's Casas do Benfica and Branches, true embassies of Benfica and Benfiquism on the five continents. And it is this incredible mass of people, who have always been there and continue to be there, who push our teams and our athletes to victory. I'll never tire of saying it, it's in the unstoppable force of our members and fans 'nos campos a vibrar' [ in the fields vibrating, part of the Club's anthem] that much of Benfica's success lies History proves it: when we are together, united, in support of our own, we are always closer to winning. This is the strength and soul of Sport Lisboa e Benfica", stressed Rui Costa.

9:22 pm | "A club wins because of the extraordinary quality of its players, but also because of the quality of its infrastructure. Born in Farmácia Franco, it was with the enormous contribution and sacrifice of many men and women, who gave so much of themselves over these 120 years, that the Club was able to have the infrastructures that helped it win. From the various stadiums we've been through, with particular emphasis on the epic construction of the old Luz, known to those who visited us as a real hell, to the creation of the Players' House in the 1950s, to the excellence of the current facilities, such as the new Estádio da Luz and the Benfica Campus. But also the pavilions, the swimming pools and the tracks, not forgetting the Cosme Damião Museum, a benchmark in the cultural and sporting spheres, which perpetuates our history, our achievements, and the legacy of all those who have made us great. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, all those who love this great club, all the members, supporters, and fans. They, we, are the main pillar of this club", praised the President.

9:20 pm | O President Rui Costa is giving a speech! Remembering the founders, he thanks them. "Benfica has become a world club, bigger than Portugal," he recalls. "A large part of Benfica's success lies in the unstoppable strength of our fans. When we're together and united, we're always closer to winning", adds an emotional message, marked by demand and ambition! 

9:15 pm | The ceremony begins!