FC Porto, and the world of football more broadly, today says goodbye to the former leader of the ‘dragons’ for 42 years, until 2024, who was also a key figure in the affirmation of the city and the North region.

At the end of the mass, which is scheduled to start at 11 am in Antas, the procession will go down Alameda towards Estádio do Dragão, heading from there to the Prado do Repouso cemetery, in Bonfim, where Pinto da Costa's body will be cremated.

Since Saturday night, when the death was announced, Porto fans have been leaving tributes, flowers, scarves and other mementos at the Estádio do Dragão, and at the Igreja das Antas, where his body lay in state since Sunday.

Hundreds of personalities, from FC Porto to the world of sport in general, including civil society, international clubs such as Real Madrid, and even the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister have shared statements of condolence for the loss of the former leader.

A higher than expected turnout is expected at the funeral, with a source from the Porto Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police (PSP) explaining to Lusa that the restrictions on movement on nearby streets will be similar to what is already in place.

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, former president of FC Porto, the club where he established himself as the most titled and longest-serving director in world football between 1982 and 2024, died on Saturday at the age of 87, after battling cancer.

Pinto da Costa had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2021 and his health has worsened in recent weeks, less than a year after losing the club presidency to André Villas-Boas.