Maritimo president Carlos Andre Gomes interview on return to Portugal's top division after 'nightmare' relegation
In this exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Maritimo president Carlos Andre Gomes discusses the club's long road back to the top division in Portugal and why the biggest club in Madeira will never compromise their future again after the nightmare of relegation
Friday 7 August 2026 08:16, UK
Maritimo are back in Portugal's top division after three years away. They carry with them more than just the hopes of a football club but those of an island. This famous old team from Madeira have come through a crisis to reclaim their place among the elite.
Relegated for the first time in 40 years in 2023, Maritimo changed president in the aftermath of relegation when Carlos Andre Gomes won a snap election. When they finally won promotion at the third attempt, the celebrations were accompanied by relief.
"The first thought that I had was that we had done what we promised the members," Gomes tells Sky Sports. It was enough to make him wonder whether his work was now complete. He spoke with his vice-president about the possibility of walking away.
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"Maybe it was the best time to leave. Maybe someone else could come in and develop all the plans for a brilliant Maritimo in the future." Instead, he was persuaded to stay on. But to stabilise and consolidate rather than repeat the reckless mistakes of the past.
"The first thing we need to do is stay up. That is very important. The second thing is not to do crazy things." It is the lesson Maritimo have learned from their time in the relative wilderness of the second tier after those 40 uninterrupted years in the top division.
Maritimo were burned under his predecessor. "He arrived with a promise to bring Maritimo to Europe. What happened is that when the team was being defeated game after game, they put more money on the table to solve the problem." It did not work.
Relegation followed and the departures came with it. Gomes stepped up. "We won with a bigger percentage than anyone has ever won the elections." Not with more promises. It was time for Maritimo to deal with harsh truths instead. It has been a long road back.
"When you go down in Portugal, it is very difficult because the TV rights that you have in the first division with Maritimo were about €8m per year. When you go down to the second division, those TV rights decreased to €600,000 per year. It is a huge difference."
With numbers like that, it is easy to understand why relegation can morph from sporting disappointment to existential crisis. "There were months when we did not know how we would survive the next month," Gomes concedes. And there was no miracle cure.
"We started reorganising the club. We started developing a commercial plan to generate more income. And we sold players. That combination has allowed us to get back." But even now, amid the emotion of that promotion, there can be no escaping the arithmetic.
"The players that we are looking for have much more financial value and it makes it more difficult for us after three years in the second league." Big signings must wait. This is about protecting an institution now. "The most important sports brand in Madeira."
Gomes explains: "Sport is the way that the island expresses itself as an autonomous region." And sport in Madeira usually means Maritimo. There is a football team, a handball team, a foundation and a college. Most of the island are backing Maritimo.
"We are one of the six biggest clubs in Portugal in terms of history," he insists. Even beyond the island, there is the diaspora. "We have many, many people from Madeira living abroad, especially in the United Kingdom." With the passion comes the pressure.
"The pressure on Maritimo in Madeira is very high. Anything that happens, everyone knows and everyone has an opinion," he says. This is the reality of running a football club where the only hope of escape from that scrutiny is offered by the Atlantic Ocean.
"Sometimes that works in your favour when the team is playing well. When that is not happening, it works against you. The pressure can make the team nervous." He knows this only too well having been a fan since, quite literally, the day that he was born.
"My father belonged to the board of Maritimo and made me a member." Talking to Gomes, there is a genuine sense of civic duty. "The club was going in a direction that we did not want so we decided to try to do something good to honour Maritimo's history."
It is a blessing and a curse. "When I was a fan, the 90 minutes was the best part," he says, wistfully. "Now I am president, the worst part is the 90 minutes. Whatever you do, and there is nothing you can do at that point, people will judge you on that 90 minutes."
There have been big decisions to make even since promotion. Mitchell van der Gaag, the former Manchester United assistant manager, has come in as head coach. "We needed a different strategy, different leadership. We think Mitchell is the right choice."
But even as what Gomes refers to as "the nightmare" of the last three years comes to an end, and Maritimo welcome Casa Pia to their picturesque stadium nicknamed 'The Cauldron' on the opening weekend, there is a determination not to get carried away.
"I do not know if the supporters will like it but I cannot compromise with truth. The truth is that we need to keep our feet on the ground. Others will dream about Europe and other things. But for me, I have to put the emotion aside and make rational decisions.
"We must be very careful with the future of Maritimo. We cannot spend all the money this year and not think of the future. We must be very rational, very pragmatic. I want the club to be sustainable so I can get back to watching the game quietly in the stadium."
It will be anything but quiet inside 'The Cauldron' when Maritimo return to the big time on Saturday. The message from their phlegmatic president is that the challenge continues. "We are aware of the difficulties. But I think we are prepared for what is to come."
