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Primeira Liga
Primeira Liga
Country Flag of Portugal Portugal
Confederation UEFA
Founded 1934
Number of teams 18
Relegation to LigaPro
Levels on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) Taça de Portugal
Supertaça
UEFA cup(s) Champions League
Europa League
Current champions Benfica (38th title) (2022-23)
Most successful club Benfica (38 titles)
TV List of broadcasters
Website Official website
Football current event 2023-24

The Primeira Liga also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system. It is organised and supervised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional, also known as Liga Portugal. As of the 2014–15 season, the Primeira Liga is contested by 18 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the LigaPro and replaced by the top-three non-reserve teams from this division.

Founded in 1934 as an experimental (now official) league called Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão, it was named Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão from 1938 until 1999, when it was changed to its current naming. Over 70 teams have competed in the Primeira Liga, but only five have been crowned champions. Among them, the "Big Three" teams – Benfica (37 wins), Porto (29 wins) and Sporting CP (19 wins) – have won all but two Primeira Liga titles; the other winners are Belenenses (1945–46) and Boavista (2000–01).

The Primeira Liga has increased its reputation in recent years, occupying the sixth place of UEFA's national league ranking, as of 2021. It broke into the top five for the first time in the 2011–12 season, passing the French Ligue 1, one of the historical "big five" European leagues, for the first time since 1990. The Primeira Liga also reached a world ranking of fourth according to IFFHS's 2011 ranking.

History[]

Before the Portuguese football reform of 1938, an experimental competition on a round-basis was already being held – the Primeira Liga (Premier League) and the winners of that competition were named "League champions". Despite that, a Championship of Portugal in a knock-out cup format was the most popular and defined the Portuguese champion, although the winners of this competition no longer count as Portuguese football champions.

Then, with the reform, a round-robin basis competition was implemented as the most important of the calendar and began defining the Portuguese champion. From 1938 to 1999, the name Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão (National Championship of the First Division) or just Primeira Divisão (First Division), was used.

Porto won the inaugural edition of the new league championship and successfully defended the title in the next season. In 1939–40 the tournament was expanded from eight to ten clubs, due to an administrative battle between Porto and Académico do Porto, regarding a Regional Championship game that ended with only 43 minutes after the start, and later repeated (which FC Porto won) according to Porto FA decision. FPF came out with a decision to satisfy both clubs, expanding the championship to 10 teams (one more from Porto FA and another from Setúbal FA) and annulling the result from the repetition match. With this decision, FC Porto lost the Regional title and finished in 3rd, Leixões SC became the new regional champion, while Académico was 2nd place. All 3 teams qualified for 1939–40 Primeira Divisão.

In the 1941–42 season, it was decided to expand the championship from eight to ten teams to admit Braga FA and Algarve FA champions (until this season only the top teams from Porto, Coimbra, Lisboa and Setúbal were admitted). Porto finished the regional championship in third place again, which did not grant entry into the Primeira Liga. However, a second expand (from 10 to 12) in the same season was decided, which allowed the club to participate.

After the 1945–46 season, the qualifying system based on regional championships was abandoned and adopted a pyramid system, with relegations and promotions between the 3 tiers. The clubs in Primeira Divisão, Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão no longer had to play their district championships on the same season as they had been doing since the first seasons of the Liga.

When the Portuguese League for Professional Football took control of the two nationwide leagues in 1999, it was renamed "Primeira Liga" (Premier League).

2021–22 Clubs[]

Team Location Stadium Capacity 2020–21
Arouca Arouca Estádio Municipal de Arouca 5,000 3rd (LP)
Belenenses SAD Oeiras Estádio Nacional 37,593 10th
Benfica Lisbon Estádio da Luz 64,642 3rd
Boavista Porto Estádio do Bessa 28,263 13th
Braga Braga Estádio Municipal de Braga 30,286 4th
Estoril Estoril Estádio António Coimbra da Mota 8,015 1st (LP)
Famalicão Vila Nova de Famalicão Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho 5,307 9th
Gil Vicente Barcelos Estádio Cidade de Barcelos 12,504 11th
Marítimo Funchal Estádio do Marítimo 10,932 15th
Moreirense Moreira de Cónegos Parque de Jogos Comendador
Joaquim de Almeida Freitas
6,153 8th
Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira Estádio Capital do Móvel 9,076 5th
Portimonense Portimão Estádio Municipal de Portimão 6,204 14th
Porto Porto Estádio do Dragão 50,033 2nd
Santa Clara Ponta Delgada Estádio de São Miguel 13,277 6th
Sporting CP Lisbon Estádio José Alvalade 50,095 1st
Tondela Tondela Estádio João Cardoso 5,000 12th
Vitória de Guimarães Guimarães Estádio D. Afonso Henriques 30,000 7th
Vizela Vizela Estádio do FC Vizela 6,000 2nd (LP)

External links[]

Primeira Liga 2023-24
Arouca · Benfica · Boavista · Braga · Casa Pia · Chaves · Estoril · Estrela da Amadora · Famalicão · Farense · Gil Vicente · Moreirense · Portimonense · Porto · Rio Ave · Sporting CP · Vitória de Guimarães · Vizela
Primeira Liga seasons
2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 ·
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Football in Portugal
League competitions The FPF Cup competitions
Primeira Liga Portugal Taça de Portugal
Liga Portugal 2 (U-21) (U-20) (U-19) Taça da Liga
Liga 3 (U-18) (U-17) (U-16) (U-15) Supertaça de Portugal
Campeonato de Portugal List of clubs
List of stadiums
List of leagues
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