The ‘Lisbon derby’ that’s played 10,000 miles from home under the lights of the Cotai strip

Over 10,000 miles from the Stadium of Light and the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon lies the Estadio Campo Desportivo. Better known as the Macau Olympic Stadium, this was the scene of Sunday’s Macanese derby where Sporting Clube de Macau took on the House of Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Macau: Sporting v Benfica, the Lisbon derby, in the former Portuguese colony.

The teams were set up by Portuguese expatriates at clubhouses of their parent clubs, Sporting in 1926 and Benfica in 1951. Sporting Macau were the 25th affiliate clubhouse, Benfica Macau the 232nd. Despite all these chapters this is the only derby that takes place anywhere else.

The loyalties of Lisbon are carried across the oceans and fans support their Portuguese team in this Far Eastern facsimile.

It doesn’t seem that the Macau Elite League is the biggest draw in town despite being free entry. Our taxi driver from the ferry has no idea about the game, or that there is football in Macau, and is shocked to hear that it is free. He thinks we are mad to come from Hong Kong to watch the game.

He also wants to take us to another stadium because someone on the radio has said there’s no game at the Olympic Stadium. Like a groundsman’s worst nightmare all of the league’s matches are played in the same stadium, and when we arrive Policia and Cheng Fung are just finishing their game before the Sporting and Benfica squads can take the pitch to warm up.

The 16,272 seater stadium has only one entrance open despite free entry. There are no more than a couple of hundred people in the stadium including the two sides playing and the two who played just before.