S.L. Benfica B six vacancies available in the Segunda Liga (now LigaPro) for the 2012–13 campaign. Of those seven clubs, six were selected to take part in the competition: Benfica, Braga, Marítimo, Porto, Sporting CP and Vitória de Guimarães. LPFP, who organize the professional football tiers in Portugal, announced that the clubs would have to pay €50,000 to register themselves at the league in order to compete in the upcoming season. In addition, LPFP also required them to follow new rules regarding player selection, in which each B team must have a squad with a minimum of ten players formed at the club's
1999–2000 S.L. Benfica season benefited from the points-share and Benfica fell to six points behind Porto. On 12 January the club hosted Amora for the Portuguese Cup, scoring seven goals against the third-tier team. Three days later, Benfica visited Funchal and nearly lost; "Record" labelled Enke's performance as crucial for Benfica, illustrating, "In the key moment of the game, when Enke defended a penalty in the 10th minute, he saved Benfica from leaving Funchal with a defeat. In a sluggish performance, only new signings Uribe and Machairidis showed good form." On Matchday 18, Benfica hosted Rio Ave, winning their first league game in a