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The Portuguese football league system consists of several leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. Reserve teams are allowed to compete in the main league system, as is the case with most of Europe. However, they are not allowed to compete in the same tier as their senior team, thus no reserve team has ever competed in Portugal's top flight, the Primeira Liga.
The Portuguese men's football league system consists of four national divisions and up to four district leagues (depending on the district).
All four national divisions provide access to the Portuguese Cup. The first two leagues are operated by the Portuguese Professional Football League, and they also guarantee participation in the Portuguese League Cup. Lastly, the third and fourth divisions are divided into two and four leagues respectively and are the only divisions operated by the Portuguese Football Federation. The federation announced the creation of Liga 3 (League 3) for 2021–22. [1] [2]
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liga Portugal | |||||||
| ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off | ||||||||
| 2 | Liga Portugal 2 | |||||||
| ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off | ||||||||
3 | Liga 3 | |||||||
| Serie A 10 clubs | Serie B 10 clubs | |||||||
| ↓↑ 4 clubs | ||||||||
4 | Campeonato de Portugal | |||||||
| Serie A 14 clubs | Serie B 14 clubs | Serie C 14 clubs | Serie D 14 clubs | |||||
| ↓↑ 20 clubs | ||||||||
District leagues are operated by 22 District Associations: 18 from each district, plus 1 from Madeira Islands, and 3 from Azores Islands (western, central and eastern groups). The winner of each district league is promoted to the fourth national tier, the Campeonato de Portugal. Moreover, all district leagues provide access to their correspondent district cup, and the winner of the district cup, along with the second-placed team in the district league, is allowed to participate in the next season's Portuguese Cup. The bottom tier of each association is open to any new club or reserve team based on that district.
| District Association | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 | Level 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porto FA | Elite Pro-National | Division of Honour | First Division | Second Division |
| Lisbon FA | First Division | Second Division | Third Division | |
| Aveiro FA | Elite | First Division | Second Division | |
| Braga FA | Pro-National | Division of Honour | First Division | |
| Algarve FA | First Division12 clubs | Second Division14 clubs | ||
| Beja FA | First Division13 clubs | Second Division26 clubs(Series 1 and 2) | ||
| Coimbra FA | Division of Honour16 clubs | First Division18 clubs | ||
| Évora FA | Elite Division14 clubs | Division of Honour15 clubs | ||
| Guarda FA | First Division14 clubs | Second Division7 clubs | ||
| Leiria FA | Campeonato Lizsport16 clubs | First Division25 clubs(Series 1 and 2) | ||
| Madeira FA | Division of Honour12 clubs | First Division 10 clubs | ||
| Santarém FA | First Division16 clubs | Second Division22 clubs(Series 1 and 2) | ||
| Setúbal FA | First Division16 clubs | Second Division16 clubs | ||
| Viana do Castelo FA | First Division16 clubs | Second Division16 clubs | ||
| Viseu FA | Division of Honour16 clubs | First Division27 clubs(Series 1 and 2) | ||
| Angra do Heroísmo FA | Azores Championship 10 clubs | Graciosa Championship3 clubs São Jorge Championship5 clubs Terceira Championship5 clubs | ||
| Horta FA | Horta Championship5 clubs | |||
| Ponta Delgada FA | São Miguel Championship10 clubs | |||
| Bragança FA | Division of Honour11 clubs | |||
| Castelo Branco FA | Division of Honour10 clubs | |||
| Portalegre FA | First Division9 clubs | |||
| Vila Real FA | Division of Honour17 clubs |
The Portuguese women's football league system consists of three national divisions and no district leagues.
All divisions provide access to the Women's Portuguese Cup and are operated by the Portuguese Football Federation. The second and third divisions are divided in series by geographical proximity.
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↓↑ 1 club + 2 clubs play-off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino II Divisão | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serie North 8 clubs | Serie South 8 clubs | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↓↑ 4 clubs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino III Divisão | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serie A 6 clubs | Serie B 6 clubs | Serie C 6 clubs | Serie D 6 clubs | Serie E 6 clubs | Serie F 6 clubs | Serie G 6 clubs | Serie H 6 clubs | Serie I 6 clubs | Serie J 6 clubs | Serie L 6 clubs | Serie M 5 clubs | |||||||||||||
Portuguese football is divided into divisions. The major teams play in the Primeira Liga. The other professional teams play against each other in the LigaPro. The other major competitions are the Portuguese Cup, Portuguese League Cup and Portuguese Super Cup.
The Liga Portugal 2, also known as Liga Portugal SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Liga Portugal and the two lowest-ranked teams are relegated to the third-tier league. Starting with the 2021–22 season, relegated teams will no longer compete in the Campeonato de Portugal, which will become the fourth tier, but in a newly created third-level competition named Liga 3.
The Leiria Football Association is one of the 22 District Football Associations that are affiliated with the Portuguese Football Federation. The AF Leiria administers lower-tier football in the district of Leiria.
The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and typically lasts from January to April. Rivalries amongst four of the best-known Brazilian teams have marked the history of the competition. The Campeonato Paulista is the oldest established league in Brazil, being held since 1902 and professionally since 1933.
The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The top two tiers of the male league pyramid — Primera División and Segunda División — are administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, a sports association with independent legal status from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), the governing body of football in Spain. Conversely, the top tiers of the women's pyramid, second and third tier of the women's pyramid, are administered by the RFEF. The lower tiers are run by the regional federations. In addition to clubs from Spain, and under the purview of the additional provision 17 of the 1990 Law of Sport, Andorran clubs affiliated to a Spanish regional federation are allowed to compete in the system.
The Campeonato Nacional Feminino, also known as Liga BPI for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier women's association football league in Portugal. It is run by the Portuguese Football Federation and began in 1993. An initial ten teams compete in the league, which replaced the Taça Nacional as the highest level of women's football in Portugal. The current champions are Benfica, who won their third consecutive title in 2023. The most successful team is S.U. 1º de Dezembro, with 12 titles.
The FPF Campeonato de Futebol de Praia is a league competition for beach soccer clubs in Portugal. Organised by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) who also established the championship in 2012, it is the country's primary beach soccer club competition. The national league replaced a previous championship run by district associations as Portugal's paramount club tournament.
Sporting Clube de Portugal B is the reserve team of Portuguese football club Sporting CP, a team based in Lisbon. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cannot play in the same division as their senior team, so Sporting B is ineligible for promotion to the Primeira Liga and could not play in the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. The team play at the Estádio Aurélio Pereira in the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo which holds a seating capacity of 1,200.
The Campeonato de Portugal is the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. Together with the third-tier Liga 3, it is organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
The 2013–14 Taça de Portugal was the 74th season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier Portuguese football knockout cup competition organised by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). It was contested by 156 teams from the top four tiers of Portuguese football. The competition began with the first-round matches in September 2013 and concluded with the final at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, on 18 May 2014.
The 2015–16 Taça de Portugal was the 76th season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier knockout competition in Portuguese football. As of this season, it became also known as Taça de Portugal Placard due to sponsorship by sports betting game Placard.
The 2019–20 Campeonato de Portugal was the seventh season of Portuguese football's renovated third-tier league, since the merging of the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão in 2013, and the fifth season under the current Campeonato de Portugal title. A total of 72 teams competed in this league, which began in August 2019 and was scheduled to finish in June 2020.
The 2020–21 Campeonato de Portugal was the eighth season of Portuguese football's renovated third-tier league, since the merging of the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão in 2013, and the sixth season under the current Campeonato de Portugal title. A total of 96 teams competed in this division.
The 2020–21 Campeonato de Portugal is the eighth season of Portuguese football's renovated third-tier league, since the merging of the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão in 2013, and the sixth season under the current Campeonato de Portugal title. A total of 96 teams compete in this division.
The Liga 3 is the third-level football league in the Portuguese football league system, starting in 2021–22. It is a professional national league organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
The 2021–22 Liga 3 was first season of Portuguese football's third-tier league, following the reorganization which saw the Campeonato de Portugal moving one level down in the Portuguese football league system. First season, a total of 24 teams competed in this division.
The 2021–22 Taça de Portugal was the 82nd edition of the Taça de Portugal, the premier knockout competition in Portuguese football. A total of 154 clubs competed in this edition, including all teams from the top four tiers of the Portuguese football league system – excluding reserve or B teams, which are not eligible – and representatives of the fifth-tier District leagues and cups.
The 2022–23 Liga 3 is second season of Portuguese football's third-tier league, following the reorganization which saw the Campeonato de Portugal moving one level down in the Portuguese football league system. Second season, a total of 24 teams compete in this division for the final time, and reduced to 20 teams for next season.
The 2022–23 Taça de Portugal was the 83rd edition of the Taça de Portugal, the premier knockout competition in Portuguese football. A total of 152 clubs competed in this edition, including all teams from the top four tiers of the Portuguese football league system – excluding reserve or B teams, which were not eligible – and representatives of the fifth-tier District leagues and cups.
The 2023–24 Taça de Portugal is the 84th edition of the Taça de Portugal, the premier knockout competition in Portuguese football. A total of 146 take part on this edition. All teams from the top four tiers of the Portuguese football league system compete in this edition – excluding reserve or B teams, which were not eligible – together with representatives of the fifth-tier District leagues and cups.
| Men's |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's |
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| District Associations | |||||||
| Defunct competitions | |||||||
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