Liga Portugal: how the Portuguese league works
Portuguese football has millions of fans far beyond Portugal, especially in Mozambique, Angola, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries. Here is how the league works.
Competition format
The top division, known as Liga Portugal, is contested by 18 clubs. Each team plays every other team twice, for a total of 34 matchdays. A win is worth 3 points and a draw 1 point.
The "Big Three"
The history of Portuguese football is dominated by three clubs, which have won the vast majority of league titles:
- SL Benfica (Lisbon)
- FC Porto (Porto)
- Sporting CP (Lisbon)
SC Braga is often called the "fourth big club" because it regularly competes for European places. In the entire history of the league, only two clubs outside the Big Three have been champions: Belenenses and Boavista.
Relegation and promotion
| Position | What happens |
|---|---|
| 17th and 18th | Relegated directly to Liga 2 |
| 16th | Plays a play-off against the 3rd-placed team in Liga 2 |
The Mozambique connection
The link between Mozambican and Portuguese football goes back a long way. The best-known example is Eusébio, born in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), who became a Benfica and Portugal legend and won the Ballon d'Or in 1965. Mário Coluna, also born in Mozambique, captained both Benfica and the Portuguese national team.
Cup competitions in Portugal
As well as the league, Portuguese clubs compete in the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup), which is open to teams from several tiers, the Taça da Liga (League Cup) and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, which pits the league champion against the Portuguese Cup winner.