Thanks to the statute of “SL Elvas” who was already competing for the 1st Division, like this “O Elvas” continued for three seasons, in its first spell, in the 40s, it debuted with an 8th place, in 1947/48, with victories against big clubs, such as 1 – 2 over SL Benfica, with two goals from the scorer Patalino or the 5 – 0 defeat against Boavista and the 3 – 1 victory against SC Braga, followed by a 9th place in 1948/49 and finally 13th place in the following season, being, therefore, relegated to second Portuguese level.
In the 60s, “O Elvas” CAD began to grow in popularity and attract new players and investments. In 1965, the club won its first major title, the Taça de Portugal in the third division, and in 1973 it achieved its greatest achievement to date, the title of the former Third National Division, thus guaranteeing promotion to the second division. In the same year, March 15, 1973, the CADXL “O Elvas” first branch of O Elvas CAD, created by a group of immigrants from the city who came together in Brussels in the Ixelles neighborhood.
In 1980/81, “Elvas” lost the 3rd Division National final, with the title being won by CF União de Coimbra in the second phase of the competition. He then returned to the First Division in 1986/87, with Carlos Cardoso in technical command and players like Beto Vidigal, having finished in 16th and last place, but was saved with the increase in the number of teams to 20 in the following season, and thus in the following season ended in 15th place, among the 20 participating teams, which led the blue and gold team to go down the division.
However, in the 90s, “O Elvas” CAD faced a new financial crisis that almost led the club to bankruptcy. Thanks to the perseverance and determination of its directors and fans, the club managed to overcome this crisis and recover, returning to compete in national championships and winning new titles. In 1995 the Elvas Municipal Stadium, one of the symbols of the club and the city, received improvements to its infrastructure and in 2015 the pitches were all updated.
In the 2000s, the club once again faced financial and sporting difficulties, but continued to fight to maintain its position in the Portuguese football scene. When the crisis knocked on the door, the club fell until it was relegated to the District Championship of the Football Association of Portalegre and for that reason for years he only relied on his training.
Currently the team is getting back on its feet, with a new management, new technical team and a young team, the main team returns this year to the Portuguese Championships, after being crowned champion of the Liga Remax – AF Portalegre, and currently with teams of training, both at district and national level.
The club has already included athletics, handball, chess, boxing, futsal, gymnastics and more recently, basketball, where it participated in the Alentejo Basketball Association competitions, also at the training and senior levels, but at the moment the club Only football is active, while the remaining modalities remain active in the council, but under the responsibility of different other clubs, such as futsal, under the responsibility of ACD Belhó E Raposeira and basketball by Clube Elvense de Natação.
