Benfica women head coach Filipa Patao is set to leave the club and is in advanced talks to join the Boston Legacy FC for its debut season in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), sources tell The Athletic.
Benfica are currently participating in the inaugural World Sevens Football (W7F) tournament, where Patao is expected to oversee her final matches in charge of the team. The DAZN broadcasters mentioned the potential move at the start of Benfica’s match against Roma, which ended with Roma winning in penalty kicks.
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Portuguese newspaper A BOLA was first to report the talks.
The 36-year-old joined Benfica in 2020, two years after its debut season. Under Patao, the club has won the Campeonato Nacional, the highest level of women’s football in Portugal, five times in a row. She also won the Taca de Portugal and the Taca da Liga (twice), the nation’s two domestic cup competitions.
Patao also led the club to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in the 2023-24 season, becoming the first Portuguese side to reach the last eight of the competition.
Benfica lost 2-1 against Paris-Saint Germain and 3-1 against Manchester United in their first two W7F matches.
The Legacy is in search of its first ever head coach and is set to play its first NWSL season next year alongside a new team in Denver that is yet to be named. It did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Athletic.
The team was set to play its inaugural campaign at White Stadium in Boston but delays in its redevelopment have meant that they will now play at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. They will share the stadium with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution.
Boston won its expansion bid in 2023 and the team was originally named BOS Nation FC but was renamed after facing criticism. The club received over 500 suggestions during the name change process.
The Legacy is set to reveal its crest on June 7.
(Davide Puglisi/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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