One of those cases was in the early days of the construction of the original Estádio da Luz, when club president Joaquim Ferreira Bogalho asked them for free concrete to build the stadium.

[2] During the Portuguese Estado Novo, the Censorship Services prohibited national newspapers from referring to the football team as Vermelhos (Reds), so it was not confused with communism.

In 2005, club president Luís Filipe Vieira implemented an aggressive membership campaign with the intent of reaching 300,000 members.

[33] Benfica supporters pay from €100 to €160 annually to be club members, enjoying discounts with some affiliated enterprises, as well as lower prices in season tickets or merchandising.

Benfica de Macau), which are gathering places for fans where they can buy merchandising or tickets, watch the club play, pay member fees, socialize, etc.

[40] During the Estado Novo, no organized supporters' groups existed, as few people had the resources to follow their club throughout the country or abroad.

With the transition to democracy in the mid-1970s, and with the newly-found freedom, fans started to converge together to chant for their team, leading to the creation of the first supporters' groups in Portugal, Juve Leo, in 1976.

[42][43] The Diabos Vermelhos (English: Red Devils) were created on 11 November 1982 and are located in the north corner of the Estádio da Luz, known as Topo Norte.

They reached over five thousand members in the following years, [44] but in the early nineties, a disagreement resulted in the creation of another Benfica's supporters' group, No Name Boys.

[46][47] In December 2003, Diabos Vermelhos pressured Benfica's board after the roller hockey section wanted to sign Paulo Alves, a former Porto player, who attacked one of their own during a match on 6 June 1998.

[57] No Name Boys made an immediate impact on Portuguese claques (supporters' groups), with a massive presence of its members in all Benfica matches, either home or away.

On 18 September 1994, three No Name Boys members ‒ Jorge "Gullit" Maurício, Ana Rita Fernandes and Laurentino "Tino" Soares ‒ died in a car accident in Mérida, Spain, while they were returning from a Benfica match against Hajduk Split for the UEFA Champions League.