SL Benfica President Rui Costa Inaugurates Portuguese club's new Residential Academy in Florida
TAMPA, Fla., June 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SL Benfica President Rui Costa officially inaugurated the club's new Residential Academy this Friday at Saint Leo University in Florida, marking a major step in the club's international expansion and long-term commitment to youth development in the United States.
The event brought together members of the Benfica board, academy families, the Saint Leo University community, and guests from across the Tampa Bay area. First team players Florentino Luís, Joshua Wynder and Renato Sanches, who graduated from the academy in Lisbon, were also present. The ceremony was part of Benfica's visit to the U.S., where the club is participating in the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup.
Benfica's player development training methodology is world famous with the club twice winning the award for best academy in the world at the Globe Soccer Awards and producing elite talent such as Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, João Neves, Gonçalo Ramos and João Felix.
With this launch, Benfica becomes the third major European club to establish a residential academy in the U.S., beginning with 100 student-athletes and plans to grow to 500. Training will follow the club's training methods and will be led by Benfica-trained coaches.
President Rui Costa said, "For us, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, it is a great honor to be here today, in person, to inaugurate this academy. We are known, beyond our borders, for the excellent work we do in player development, and being able to carry out this partnership with Saint Leo University, here in the United States, fills us with pride and honor, especially because this is a model we strongly believe in: where our players can combine sporting excellence with academic development," he emphasized.
He added, "It's a fantastic project, a huge project, one of great scale—but scale in the Benfica way. It is the first, but it will not be the last. Above all, it is an important pillar for what we envision as the expansion of the Benfica brand, and for one of our highest priorities, as I mentioned earlier: to develop players the Benfica way."
Benfica's academy footprint spans 5 continents with full academies in Portugal, USA, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and technical partnerships in Egypt, Dubai, India, Mauritius, Malta, Japan, Lithuania and Luxembourg and Poland alongside high-performance youth camps across the globe.
Edwin Narain, chair of the St. Leo University board of trustees, said, "It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Saint Leo University, as we celebrate the official launch of a partnership between Saint Leo University and the Benfica Residential Academy," Narain said. "We are honored that the club has chosen Saint Leo University as the site of its first residential academy in the United States."
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sl-benfica-president-rui-costa-inaugurates-portuguese-clubs-new-residential-academy-in-florida-302481719.html
SOURCE Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cleveland Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles joint practices
PHILADELPHIA — It's time to find out what the second day of joint practices between the Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles will bring. Can the Cleveland offense find some consistency that was lacking on Day 1, both because of self-inflicted issues and Eagles-inflicted ones? Can the Browns' defense continue to make life much more difficult on Philadelphia's Super Bowl Most Valuable Player quarterback Jalen Hurts like it did in the first one? Where do both teams make the biggest adjustments? And which team brings the additional intensity and aggressiveness that always seems to define the second day of joint practices? All this and more when the Browns and Eagles get back on the field in steamy South Philadelphia at 10 a.m. Follow along here for updates throughout the day: Cleveland Browns to be without QB Shedeur Sanders for 2nd joint practice vs. Eagles Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders left the first practice after suffering an oblique injury during early throwing. The Browns later announced that it was an oblique strain and that he was day-to-day. However, Sanders will not practice on the second day against Philadelphia. It's uncertain about his status for the Aug. 16 preseason game against the Eagles. Cleveland Browns 2025 preseason games Aug. 8, at Carolina Panthers, W, 30-10 Aug. 16, at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m., WEWS-TV Channel 5/NFL Network Aug. 23, vs. Los Angeles Rams, 1 p.m., WEWS-TV Channel 5/NFL Network Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@ Read more about the Browns at Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns vs. Eagles joint practice day 2 live updates, news, injuries
Business Wire
14 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Best's Market Segment Report: Reinsurers' Disciplined Capital Deployment and Underwriting Remain Key Foundations
BUSINESS WIRE)--A recalibration of the global reinsurance market since the January 2023 renewal period has led to a more-durable market structure characterized by reduced earnings volatility and stronger margins, supporting AM Best 's continued positive outlook on the industry. The Best's Market Segment Report, 'Reinsurers' Disciplined Capital Deployment and Underwriting Remain Key Foundations,' starts off AM Best's look at the global reinsurance industry ahead of the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo. Other reports, including AM Best's ranking of top global reinsurance groups and in-depth looks at the insurance-linked securities, Lloyd's, life/annuity, health and regional reinsurance markets, will be available during August and September. According to this report, the shift since the January 2023 renewal in how risk is priced, shared and retained across the reinsurance industry has carried forward and translated into a second-straight year of solid results in 2024. The European 'Big Four' reinsurers posted a discounted combined ratio of 86.4% under IFRS 17; the discounting on average lowers the combined ratio by approximately eight percentage points. The U.S. and Bermuda composite reported an undiscounted combined ratio of 89.5% under U.S. GAAP. These results confirm that underwriting profitability has not only rebounded but is being sustained in the current reinsurance cycle. 'Reinsurers' risk-adjusted capitalization levels remain robust, reflecting retained earnings and disciplined capital management, and the strong underwriting profitability is being augmented by a surge in investment income given elevated interest rates,' said Michael Lagomarsino, senior director, AM Best. 'The absence of material new global reinsurance entrants also is ensuring that structural market discipline is maintained, distinguishing the current environment from previous market cycles.' According to the report, most global reinsurers have maintained their strong performance through the first half of 2025, despite global weather-related insured losses that will likely top USD 100 billion. These losses are primarily driven by the California wildfires, which many reinsurers are marking in the range of USD 30-50 billion. 'Assuming no further material weather events in the second half of 2025, the combination of disciplined underwriting, rate adequacy and robust investment income should deliver full-year operating results exceeding the cost of capital,' said Dan Hofmeister, associate director, AM Best. Global reinsurers also face headwinds other than climate change, including social inflation, growing geopolitical tensions and trade disputes, and these challenges underscore the importance of the market's improved structural foundations and explain why AM Best's outlook, though positive, remains closely scrutinized. 'The question now facing the industry is whether the improvements in terms and conditions represent a durable shift,' said Steven Chirico, director, AM Best. 'The lessons of past cycles suggest caution, but reinsurer sentiment has ensured tighter exposure management and market disciple in the current cycle.' To access the full copy of this market segment report, please visit For global reinsurance reports ahead of Rendez-Vous de Septembre, as well as video coverage of the event, please visit AM Best's Reinsurance Information center. Lastly, AM Best will host its annual reinsurance market briefing at Rendez-Vous de Septembre on Sept. 7, 2025, at 10:15 a.m. (CEST) in Monte Carlo. For more information, please visit the event website.
NBC Sports
16 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
How to watch Brighton vs Fulham live: Stream, TV channel, team news, prediction
Two exciting teams who are aiming to be the 'best of the rest' in the Premier League meet at the Amex on Saturday as Brighton host Fulham. WATCH — Brighton v Fulham The Seagulls just missed out on European qualification last season as their streaky campaign was very promising under young head coach Fabian Hurzeler. They lost key forward Joao Pedro this summer and have big clubs sniffing around other players such as Carlos Baleba, but Brighton's recruitment strategy continues to impress and they look set to push for a top six finish and have the advantage over their rivals of not having European action to juggle. The same is true for Marco Silva's Fulham who were in the hunt for Europe right until the end of last season but then they faded. Fulham have kept the core of their squad together and although they've not added a big name so far this summer, the Cottagers look set for another season of pushing for Europe. For live updates and highlights throughout Brighton vs Fulham, check out PST's live blog coverage below. How to watch Brighton vs Fulham live, stream link and start time Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (August 16) Venue: Amex Stadium — Falmer TV Channel: USA Streaming: Watch live on Brighton team news, focus The Seagulls will look to Kaoru Mitoma to be their leading light in attack, with Georginio Rutter, Danny Welbeck, Yankuba Minteh and new signing Charalampos Kostoulas supporting him. Brighton have everything in place to challenge for Europe and if injuries are kind to them this season, especially in defense, there's no reason why they can't shock everyone once again. OUT: Solly March, Julio Enciso, Adam Webster (all knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Carlos Baleba (knee), Jack Hinshelwood (knock), Diego Gomez (calf), Charalampos Kostoulas (match fitness) Fulham team news, focus There is a very settled feel to Fulham, which sums up Marco Silva's time in charge of the club so far. Every player knows their role and they haven't spent big this summer because their squad is deep and well-constructed. Raul Jimenez will lead the line and the likes of Alex Iowbi and Emile Smith Rowe will be hoping to create plenty of chances and get on the ball as much as possible. OUT: Antonee Robinson (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Ryan Sessegnon (other) Brighton vs Fulham prediction This feels like it will be a very exciting end-to-end game and both teams will go for it. Brighton 2-2 Fulham.
