The death

Vítor Murta, who led Boavista FC as president from late 2018, died on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the age of 50. According to the sports daily O Jogo, he suffered a heart attack and then a cardiorespiratory arrest at his home in Leça da Palmeira, near Porto. The club said it felt "deep sorrow" at his death and sent condolences to his family, friends and the wider Boavista community. The fan group Panteras Negras, which is linked to the club, also issued a note of mourning the same day. The sports daily A Bola offered its condolences to his family and friends as well.

Presidency and the SAD sale

Murta was elected president on 28 December 2018, winning 334 of the 441 votes cast (75.7%) among 3,600 members eligible to vote. He also led the club's professional football company, the SAD, from 2020 until 2024, a period that reports describe as one of heavy financial and legal pressure. He is directly linked to the 2020/21 season sale of the SAD to the Spanish-Luxembourgish businessman Gérard López. A lawyer who specialised in tax law, he succeeded João Loureiro as the club's top figure.

Departure from the presidency

Reports differ on when his time in charge ended. Some give February 2024, when Murta told a press conference on 27 February 2024 that he would step down after a 0-4 home defeat to Sp. Braga that drew strong criticism at the Bessa. He said he would leave the board of the SAD but stay on in a management role, although the majority shareholder had invited him to serve another term. Other reports, including the Notícias ao Minuto and A Bola accounts, give January 2025 as the end of his presidency.

“I have already said I will not serve another term, because the focus should be on the players.”

He added that he had become a destabilising factor, since supporters were spending more time addressing him in unseemly terms than backing the team.

Key dates

Three dates anchor his public career in the sources: his election on 28 December 2018, his announcement that he would step down on 27 February 2024, and his death on 16 October 2026. The timeline below sets them out in order.

Funeral arrangements and tributes

The club said the body would lie in state from Monday, 19 October, at the mortuary chapel of the Igreja Paroquial de Santo António das Antas in Porto. A funeral mass is scheduled for Tuesday, 20 October at 10:00, followed by the funeral rites. The Panteras Negras fan group said relations between the group and Murta had been broken during his presidency, a split it linked to defending the club's interests, but that this did not erase its respect for him as a man. Its note also expressed solidarity with his son.