Benguela: The striker of Wiliete de Benguela, Joo Manha 'Kaporal', has officially secured the title of top scorer in Angola's National Football Championship 'Girabola2024-25', concluding the season with an impressive tally of 22 goals. This achievement marks him as the 8th top scorer from a team outside of Luanda since the competition's inception in 1979.
According to Angola Press News Agency, this notable feat places Kaporal among a distinguished list of past top scorers from non-Luanda teams. Historically, players such as Maluca, who achieved top scorer status twice in 1981 and 1983 for 1.º de Maio de Benguela, and Mav³ in 1987 with Ferrovi¡rio da Hula, have led the scoreboard with 20 goals. Amaral Aleixo held the record in 1991 for Sagrada Esperan§a with 23 goals, followed by Kabungo in 1994 for Sonangol do Namibe with 16 goals, C©sar Can¡ in 1996 for Acad©mica do Lobito with 15 goals, and Z© Neli in 1997 for Petro do Huambo.
Kaporal, at 30 years old, made a significant impact this season, notably scoring five goals in a single match during the championship's first day, where Wiliete defeated Carmona do Uge with a 5-0 victory in October 2024. His consistent performance throughout the season brought him within just one goal of matching the second-best scoring record of 23 goals, a mark shared by Amaral Aleixo in 1991, Fl¡vio Amado in 2001, and Gelson Dala in 2016.
This season, Kaporal's closest competition was left significantly behind. Kito from So Salvador do Kongo managed 11 goals, Betinho from Interclube scored 10, while Julinho and Pedro Aparcio from Petro each netted 9 goals, and Jos© Mendes from Desportivo da Hula scored 7.
Wiliete de Benguela finished the championship in second place, accumulating 60 points, trailing behind champion Petro de Luanda, who secured 68 points, and ahead of 1.º de Agosto, who finished third with 55 points.
The list of Girabola's goalscorers continues to be led by Carlos Alves, who in 1980 hit 29 times with the goal, playing for 1.º de Agosto.
