Football in Portugal

Association football (Portuguese: futebol) has a long and storied history in Portugal, following its 1875 introduction. The country's top domestic league, the Primeira Liga, was founded in 1934 and is home to internationally successful clubs such as S.L. Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting CP, the "Big Three" who usually dominate the league. In total, Portuguese clubs have won the UEFA Champions League (the most prestigious club competition in European football) four times, the UEFA Europa League (UEFA Cup) twice, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (European Cup Winners' Cup) once, the UEFA Intertoto Cup once, the UEFA Super Cup (European Super Cup) once and the Intercontinental Cup twice.

Football is the most popular sport in Portugal and in the 2011–12 Primeira Liga season Benfica had an average attendance of 38,029 people, Porto 34,843 and Sporting 30,638 with the season overall having an average attendance of 10,958 and a total attendance of 2,629,950.

Internationally lauded players such as Eusébio, Luís Figo, Rui Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo have played for the Portugal national football team. The national team were third in the 1966 World Cup and fourth in the 2006 World Cup. The country hosted Euro 2004, where they were runners-up. A Selecção were also semi-finalists in Euro 1984, Euro 2000 and Euro 2012.

History

Monument in Camacha, celebrating the first ever organised football game in Portugal

Football started to gain popularity in Portugal in the late 19th century, brought by Portuguese students who returned from England.

The first organized game in the country took place in 1875 in Camacha, Madeira, organized by Madeira-born Harry Hinton, who brought a football from England where he was studying. Popularity quickly spread across the island. Harry would go on to become Honorary President of CS Marítimo.^[1] ^[2]

The person responsible for its spread in mainland Portugal, was Guilherme Pinto Basto (according to some people, his brothers Eduardo and Frederico brought the ball from England). He organized an exhibition in October 1888 and a match on in January the following year. The match, played where today's Campo Pequeno bullring is located, involved opposing teams from Portugal and England. The Portuguese won the game 2–1. Consequently, football started attracting the attention of high society, distinguished by the Luso-British rivalry.

The game reached colleges and led to clubs across the country. By century's end, associations such as Clube Lisbonense, Carcavelos Sport Club, Braço de Prata, Real Ginásio Clube Português, Estrela Futebol Clube, Futebol Académico, Campo de Ourique, Oporto Cricket, and Sport Clube Vianense had been founded.

The first domestic match, between Lisbon and Porto, took place in 1894, attended by King Carlos.

Clube Internacional de Futebol (founded in 1902) was the first Portuguese team to play abroad, defeating Madrid Fútbol Clube in 1907 in Madrid, Spain.

On 31 March 1914, the 3 regional associations that existed in Portugal (Lisbon, Portalegre and Porto), merged to create a national association called "a União Portuguesa de Futebol" the ancestor of the current national association "Federação Portuguesa de Futebol" which was formed on 28 May 1926.

Club football

The main domestic football competition is the Primeira Liga. The dominant teams are Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Futebol Clube do Porto, and Sporting Clube de Portugal.

The oldest team is Académica, which was founded in 1876. Futebol Clube do Porto, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1893 (the current foundation date), reappeared in 1906. Boavista FC was founded in 1903. Sport Lisboa e Benfica was born as the result of the fusion in 1908 between Sport Lisboa, founded in 1904, and Grupo Sport Benfica, founded in 1906; the club maintained the foundation date of Sport Lisboa. Sporting Clube de Portugal was founded in 1906. Belenenses was founded in 1919. These clubs sponsor several sports activities, but give great emphasis to football, making use of teams of professional players, which frequently participate in European competitions.^[3]

List of teams (2015–16 season)

Main article: List of football clubs in Portugal

Conventional name	UEFA short name	Official name	Location
Académica de Coimbra	A.Académica de Coimbra	Associação Académica de Coimbra	Coimbra
Arouca	FC Arouca	Futebol Clube de Arouca	Arouca
Belenenses	CF Os Belenenses	Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses	Lisbon
Benfica	S.L. Benfica	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	Lisbon
Boavista	Boavista F.C.	Boavista Futebol Clube	Porto
Braga or Sporting de Braga	SC Braga	Sporting Clube de Braga	Braga
Estoril or Estoril-Praia	GD Estoril-Praia	Grupo Desportivo Estoril-Praia	Estoril
Marítimo	CS Marítimo	Club Sport Marítimo	Funchal, Madeira
Moreirense	Moreirense FC	Moreirense Futebol Clube	Moreira de Cónegos
Nacional or Nacional da Madeira	CD Nacional	Clube Desportivo Nacional	Funchal, Madeira
Paços de Ferreira	F.C. Paços de Ferreira	Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira	Paços de Ferreira
Porto	F.C. Porto	Futebol Clube do Porto	Porto
Rio Ave	Rio Ave F.C.	Rio Ave Futebol Clube	Vila do Conde
Sporting	Sporting Clube de Portugal	Sporting Clube de Portugal	Lisbon
Tondela	CD Tondela	Clube Desportivo de Tondela	Tondela
União or União da Madeira	CF União	Clube de Futebol União	Funchal, Madeira Islands
Vitória de Setúbal or Setúbal	Vitória FC	Vitória Futebol Clube	Setúbal
Vitória de Guimarães or Guimarães	Vitória SC	Vitória Sport Clube	Guimarães

^[4]

List of teams by major honours

Below is listed every team to have won any of the major domestic competitions (organized by LPFP and FPF) and international trophies (organized by UEFA and FIFA).

Rank	Club	PL	CP	TP	TL	ST	CL	EL	UCWC	UIC	USC	IC	Total	Last honour
1	Benfica	34	3	25	6	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	75	2014–15 Taça da Liga
2	Porto	27	4	16	-	20	2	2	-	-	1	2	74	2013 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
3	Sporting CP	18	4	16	-	8	-	-	1	-	-	-	47	2015 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
4	Boavista	1	-	5	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	2000–01 Primeira Liga
5	Belenenses	1	3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	1988–89 Taça de Portugal
6	Vitória de Setúbal	-	-	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	2007–08 Taça da Liga
7	Braga	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3	2012–13 Taça da Liga
8	Académica	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2011–12 Taça de Portugal
8	Vitória de Guimarães	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2012–13 Taça de Portugal
10	Olhanense	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1923–24 Campeonato de Portugal
10	Marítimo	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1925–26 Campeonato de Portugal
10	Carcavelinhos^[5]	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1927–28 Campeonato de Portugal
10	Leixões	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1960–61 Taça de Portugal
10	Estrela da Amadora	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1989–90 Taça de Portugal
10	Beira-Mar	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1998–99 Taça de Portugal

National competitions:

PL = Primeira Liga
CP = Campeonato de Portugal^[6] (defunct)
TP = Taça de Portugal
TL = Taça da Liga
ST = Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

European competitions:

CL = European Cup/UEFA Champions League
EL = UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
UCWC= European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (defunct)
UIC = UEFA Intertoto Cup (defunct)
USC = European Super Cup/UEFA Super Cup

Worldwide competitions:

IC = Intercontinental Cup (defunct)

National team

Portuguese football fans supporting the national team

As of 26 May 2010, the Portuguese national team was ranked third in FIFA world ranking, their highest ever. Their lowest rank was 43rd overall in 1998.

Portugal hosted UEFA Euro 2004, but were upset by champions Greece in the final. The Portuguese national team reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup twice; in 1966, when Eusébio was the top scorer, with nine goals, and also in 2006, led by Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo. This was the first time since 1966 that the Portuguese football team had advanced this far in a World Cup tournament.

Future for the Portuguese Program

Many of the players of the "golden generation" have retired or are rapidly approaching retirement. As a result, a new era of players, led by Cristiano Ronaldo are on the rise. However, the team has not had much more success than in the past, with an exit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 by Spain, the winners of both tournaments.^[7]

Stadiums in Portugal

Estádio da Luz
Capacity: 65,647

Estádio do Dragão
Capacity: 50,948

Estádio José Alvalade
Capacity: 50,466

Estádio Nacional
Capacity: 37,593

Estádio Municipal de Aveiro
Capacity: 30,498

References

↑ "www.love-madeira.com". Retrieved 2013-05-24.
↑ "Camacha". Retrieved 2013-05-24.
↑ Portugal Football Guide. (2012). Portuguese Football. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from Football Bible website: http://www.football-bible.com/soccer-info/portugal-football.html
↑ ESPN FC. (2012). Portuguese Liga Clubs. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from Portuguese Liga website: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/clubs/_/league/por.1/portuguese-liga?cc=5901 This article written by the staff at ESPN FC, an organization that delivers in-depth coverage of soccer around the world, is a compiled list of all the football clubs in Portugal. This article has information about each roster of the clubs, their stats and news about each team. It provides a neat compiled list for easy access to information about the clubs.
↑ Carcavelinhos is an extinct club. It merged with União de Lisboa in 1942, resulting in Atlético de Portugal.
↑ From 1922 to 1938, the Portuguese champion was determined in a knock-out competition called Campeonato de Portugal (Championship of Portugal).
↑ Soccer Aceademy. (2012). The Portugal Soccer Team. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from Soccer Academy website: http://www.soccer-academy.net/portugal-soccer.html

Primeira Liga

2015–16 clubs	Académica Arouca Belenenses Benfica Boavista Braga Estoril Marítimo Moreirense Nacional Paços de Ferreira Porto Rio Ave Sporting CP Tondela União da Madeira Vitória de Guimarães Vitória de Setúbal

Former clubs	Académico de Viseu Académico do Porto Águeda Alcobaça Alverca Amora Atlético CP Barreirense Beira-Mar Caldas Campomaiorense Carcavelinhos Casa Pia CUF Desportivo de Aves Desportivo de Chaves Elvas Estrela da Amadora Fafe Famalicão Farense Feirense Felgueiras Gil Vicente Leixões Leça Lusitano de Évora Lusitano VRSA Montijo Naval O Elvas Oliveirense Olhanense Oriental Penafiel Portimonense Riopele Salgueiros Sanjoanense Santa Clara Seixal Sporting da Covilhã Sporting de Espinho Tirsense Torreense Trofense União de Coimbra União de Leiria União de Lisboa União de Tomar Unidos de Lisboa Varzim Vizela

LigaPro · 2015–16

Académico de Viseu Atlético CP Benfica B Braga B Chaves Desportivo das Aves Famalicão Farense Feirense Freamunde Gil Vicente Leixões Mafra Olhanense Oliveirense Oriental Penafiel Portimonense Porto B Santa Clara Sporting CP B Sporting da Covilhã Varzim Vitória de Guimarães B

Top-level football seasons in Portugal

Experimental Primeira Liga	1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38

Primeira Divisão	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99

Primeira Liga	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Football in Portugal

FPF LPFP

National teams	Portugal captains hat-tricks Women's B U-23 U-21 U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 U-16 U-15

League system	Primeira Liga (hat-tricks) LigaPro Campeonato de Portugal Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino

District Associations	Algarve Angra do Heroísmo Aveiro Beja Braga Bragança Castelo Branco Coimbra Évora Guarda Horta Leiria Lisbon Madeira Ponta Delgada Portalegre Porto Santarém Setúbal Viana do Castelo Vila Real Viseu

Domestic cups	Taça de Portugal Taça da Liga Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira Taça de Portugal de Futebol Feminino Supertaça de Futebol Feminino

Defunct competitions	Segunda Divisão Terceira Divisão Taça Ribeiro dos Reis Taça Federação Portuguesa de Futebol Liga Intercalar

Clubs Club honours Foreign players Records Venues

Football in Europe

Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Vatican City

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria

Dependencies and other territories	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard

UEFA Football clubs listed by honours won

England Germany Greece Italy Portugal Romania Scotland

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