By learning all about the Liga Portugal you’ll understand why it’s the main soccer competition in Portugal and one of the most exciting leagues in Europe.
With a rich history spanning more than eight decades, the Liga Portugal has been the stage for great rivalries, especially between “The Big Three”.
If you don’t know what that means, or who those teams are, you’ve come to the right place to find out all about the Liga Portugal and immerse yourself in the competition, from its foundation and evolution over the years to the rules, greatest champions, records and curiosities that make this championship a true national passion.
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All about Liga Portugal: what is it?
The Liga Portugal, also known as the Portuguese Championship, is the main professional soccer competition in Portugal. Founded in 1934, the league is the highest division in Portuguese soccer and is made up of 18 teams that compete annually for the title of national champion.
The Portuguese league is known for its competitiveness and for being a breeding ground for talents such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, who are now part of the squads of the most expensive clubs in the world.
Not to mention the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers of all time, and has been a protagonist in recent years, along with the also extraordinary Lionel Messi.
After all, who hasn’t had or heard the argument about who’s better: Messi or Cristiano?
Today’s article isn’t meant to delve into this subject, but for the Portuguese there’s only one possible answer: their compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.
How does the Portuguese League work?
The way the Portuguese League works is quite simple: 18 clubs take part in the competition, playing round-robin matches, facing all the participating teams twice, once at home and once away, in order to accumulate points. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the tournament.
Without a doubt, the Liga de Portugal is the most important soccer championship in the country, with a similar importance to our Brazilian Championship. As in Brazil, teams in Portugal also compete in other domestic competitions, such as the Portuguese Cup (similar to the Brazilian Cup).
The tournament was created by the Portuguese Football Federation and has currently been organized by the Portuguese Professional Football League since the 1995-96 season.
Liga Portugal (Portuguese Championship) rules
The Portuguese League follows the rules laid down by FIFA, with some specific regulations:
- Number of teams: 18 teams.
- Competition format: each team faces every other team twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 34 matches.
- Scoring: a win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point and a defeat 0 points.
- Play-off criteria: head-to-head result, goal difference, number of goals scored.
- Relegation and promotion: the bottom two teams in the league table are relegated to Liga Portugal 2, while the top two in Liga Portugal 2 are promoted.
- The 16th-placed team in Liga Portugal plays a relegation/promotion playoff with the third-placed team in Liga Portugal 2.
How does relegation and promotion work in the Portuguese league?
To understand everything about the Portuguese League, it’s essential to master the tournament’s access and relegation process. After all, it drives the competition and makes every game even more exciting.
In the Portuguese Championship, the relegation and promotion system connects the Primeira Liga to Liga Portugal 2 .
The last two teams (17th and 18th place) in the Primeira Liga are automatically relegated to Liga Portugal 2. The team that finishes in 16th place plays a relegation/promotion playoff against the third-placed team from Liga Portugal 2, usually in back-to-back matches.
The two best teams in Liga Portugal 2 are promoted directly to the Primeira Liga.
As you can imagine, no one wants to drop to the second division of the competition, and everyone wants to go up and be part of the elite.
How do Portuguese teams get into the Champions League?
One of the most important parts of understanding all about the Portuguese League is understanding how teams win places in the Champions League, Europe’s most important tournament.
But, after all, what does the Portuguese league have to do with the Champions League?
Everything.
That’s because the winner of the Portuguese League gets a place in the group stage of the continental tournament. The second-placed team, on the other hand, still has to go through other qualifying rounds to make a mark on the tournament.
In addition, the third and fourth-placed clubs have access, respectively, to the second qualifying round of the Europa League and the Conference League, both UEFA tournaments.
In this scenario, it’s worth noting that the champion of the Portuguese Cup won a place in the Europa League group stage.
Liga Portugal’s greatest champions: the sovereignty of the “Big Three”
The biggest champions in Liga Portugal are Benfica, Porto and Sporting. The trio are known as “The Big Three”, an expression that traditionally refers to the soccer clubs with the most league titles and also the most second and third places.
Together, believe it or not, the Big Three have won 88 of the 90 league titles that have been contested. In other words, on only two occasions has a team other than Benfica, Porto or Sporting won the tournament!
The names of these teams are Belenenses and Boavista, winners in 1945/46 and 2000/2001 respectively.
Returning to the greatest champions of the Liga Portugal, we have the leadership ofBenfica with 38 titles, followed by Porto with 30 titles and Sporting with 19 titles.
Find out all about the Liga Portugal from the history of its winners over the decades.
| Team | Number of titles | Years |
| Benfica | 38 | 1935-36, 1936-37, 1937-38, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1944-45, 1949-50, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1990-91, 1993-94, 2004-05, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2022-23 |
| FC Porto | 30 | 1934-35, 1938-39, 1939-40, 1955-56, 1958-59, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22 |
| Sporting | 20 | 1940-41, 1943-44, 1946-47, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1961-62, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2020-21, 2023-24 |
| Belenenses | 1 | 1945-46 |
| Boavista | 1 | 2000-01 |
All about the Liga Portugal: curiosities about the Portuguese championship
Following on from our guide to everything about the Portuguese League, we’ve put together some interesting facts about the tournament:
- Most titles: Benfica with 38 titles.
- Most goals in a season: Peyroteo (Sporting CP), with 43 goals in the 1946-47 season.
- Player with the most appearances: Manuel Fernandes (Sporting CP), with over 400 games.
- Most wins in a season: Porto, with 29 wins in the 2010-11 season.
Now you have a complete handbook on the Portuguese league. The big question that remains is: will “The Big Three” maintain their hegemony, or will next season bring a new champion? What’s your guess?
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