12 years ago, Portuguese football changed forever. Starting in the 2013/14 season, all teams competing in Portugal’s two professional leagues were required to either register as a Sociedade Anónima Desportiva (Sports Public Limited Liability Company) or Sociedade Desportiva Unipessoal por Quotas (Single-Member Sports Company with Shares), just like other commercial entities in the nation. SADs and SDUQs differed in terms of the minimum number of shareholders, the minimum share capital required to form a company, the rights of minority shareholders, and the responsibilities inherent to shareholders. Today, around 20% of Portugal’s professional clubs are registered as SDUQs, including Paços de Ferreira. It’s something that Paços de Ferreira president Rui Abreu is all too keen on changing.
“When I ran for office, I told the club members that we have to move forward with the constitution of the SAD because, in order to be competitive in the second division, Paços de Ferreira has to take this step,” Abreu told WFi. “Our revenues cannot cover the lowest budget in the second division in terms of salary…we cannot get there alone. It is true that I tried reducing some of the club’s expenses, but we’re also trying to find some alternative sources of income to balance the books a little. We’re trying, so to speak, to stop this bleeding of debt, but the truth is that it’s a very complicated process, because the size of Paços and the division in which Paços is located requires a budget for which the club has great difficulty in generating revenue to cover this expense.”
“In the short term, we’re very focused on finding a solution for the management model. We’ve been having many meetings to introduce new partners and a credible alternative that defends the interests of Paços and allows us to look towards the future with optimism. If this comes to fruition, what I intend to do is develop our sports complex, develop our youth development center, build an academy, and create conditions here so that, socially, the club is once again relevant in our region. We’ve been having meetings with various investors in the past few months, and I’ve spoken to a lot of people interested in buying a club, especially because Paços, with its history and infrastructure, is a highly attractive club. These people recognize that the steps are in place, and I believe that in the coming months, we will move forward with this change in the management model.”
Similarly to many other Portuguese, like José Mourinho and Renato Paiva, Abreu is proof that you don’t need to be a brilliant footballer to make an impact at the top level of football. Whilst pursuing a career in the health industry and later marketing, he never lost sight of his boyhood club, Paços de Ferreira, the club which he grew up attending matches with his grandfather. Abreu eventually graduated from fan to líder de claque or head cheerleader, working for Paços on a volunteer basis and helping to organize transportation for fans, communicate with police, and deal with ticketing issues, before being promoted to the club’s marketing and communications manager. He called it quits after seven years in Paços’ communications department after the club failed to secure an immediate return to the top division, joining top-flight side Rio Ave in September 2024 as the club’s Marketing Manager.
And yet, just six months later, Abreu returned to his hometown to participate in the club’s presidential elections after Paulo Meneses stepped down after 12 years in charge, filing on the final day before applications closed. When local businessman Pedro Andrade was rejected by the club assembly after refusing to take charge until the end of the season, Abreu was able to win an uncontested election with 2,176 votes, earning a mandate that will see him serve at the helm through 2027. And after a nightmare season that saw them fend off the drop by a razor-thin margin after beating Belenenses in extra time in the promotion/relegation playoffs, Paços opted for a conservative approach in the transfer market, signing 13 players for a combined $0, per Transfermarkt.
“We’re looking to change our philosophy and approach to the transfer market. I think that a club of Paços’ dimension has everything it needs to get back to the good old days, but what the fans have to understand is that we’re taking a step back to try to take two steps forward. I know they wanted the team to be playing highly attractive football, for us to be winning and challenging at the top of the table, for us not to be constantly talking about financial problems, but the truth is, until we can resolve this issue, we won’t have the peace of mind here at the club to focus on other goals. Based on the conversations that we’re having with our contacts, I feel that we’re working on solving the problems, and maybe in the medium-term, we’ll be able to have the club back, we’ll be able to have the club back in the spotlight. I know there are many fans who oppose having an investor at Paços. I don’t know if that’s the future or not, but a few club members will decide.”
After narrowly escaping the drop, Paços would lose 2-1 to Vizela in their season opener before being subdued to three goalless stalemates and a 3-0 shellacking at the hands of Sporting’s B team. They managed to come away with their first win of the season after edging fifth-tier GD Nazarenos 1-0 in the Taça de Portugal, before succumbing to back-to-back 2-2 draws and a 3-2 extra time defeat to reigning champions Sporting in the Taça de Portugal. The Beavers have struggled with discipline this season, finishing with 10 men in their matches vs. Oliveirense and Vizela and 9 men in their match vs. Porto B, one of the many reasons why they currently occupy the relegation zone with five points from seven.
“Obviously, if we look at the table, it seems that things are not at all positive, but we also have to understand that we’ve gone up against the league leaders, the second-best team, the fourth-best team, the sixth-best team, we’ve had a series of very complicated games here. And apart from the defeat to Sporting B, where we obviously performed poorly, the truth is that in the other games, perhaps with a little more luck and skill, we’d come away with the victory. The team is growing, and I believe we’ll have a smoother season than last year. We won’t be promoted. That’s not the plan, that’s not what we’re fighting for this year. We’re fighting to restructure the club, we’re fighting to build a team that won’t make us get there in April and be left with our hearts in our mouths again, like we were last season.”
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