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Top division men's association football league in Portugal

For the former Brazilian

regional cup with the same name, see Primeira Liga 💱 (Brazil)

Football league

The

Primeira Liga (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɾiˈmɐjɾɐ ˈliɣɐ]), also known as Liga

Portugal, and officially known as Liga Portugal Betclic 💱 for sponsorship reasons, is the

top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the

Liga Portugal, 💱 it is contested by 18 teams since the 2014–15 season, with the three

lowest-placed teams relegated to the Liga Portugal 💱 2 and replaced by the top-three

non-reserve teams from this division.[a]

Founded in 1934 as 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 (38 wins), Porto (30) and Sporting CP (19) – have won all but two

Primeira Liga 💱 titles; the other winners are Belenenses (1945–46) and Boavista

(2000–01).[2]

The Primeira Liga has increased its reputation in recent years, occupying

💱 the sixth place of UEFA's national league ranking, as of 2024. 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.[3]

History [ 💱 edit ]

Before the Portuguese football reform of 1938, a

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.[citation needed]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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).[6] 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.[8]

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.[6] Below is a complete

record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

clubs: 💱 1934–1939

10 clubs: 1939–1940

8 clubs: 1940–1941

12 clubs: 1941–1942

10 clubs:

1942–1945

12 clubs: 1945–1946

14 clubs: 1946–1971

16 clubs: 1971–1987

20 clubs:

1987–1989

18 clubs: 1989–1990

20 clubs: 💱 1990–1991

18 clubs: 1991–2006

16 clubs:

2006–2014

18 clubs: 2014–present

When the Portuguese League for Professional Football

took control of the two nationwide leagues 💱 in 1999, it was renamed "Primeira Liga"

(Premier League).[citation needed]

"Big Three" performance over the last 10 seasons

Season Benfica Porto 💱 Sporting 2013–14 1 3 2 2014–15 1 2 3 2024–16 1 3 2 2024–17 1 2 3

2024–18 2 1 💱 3 2024–19 1 2 3 2024–20 2 1 4 2024–21 3 2 1 2024–22 3 1 2 2024–23 1 2 💱 4

Big

Three [ edit ]

"The Big Three" (Portuguese: Os Três Grandes) is a nickname for the

three most powerful sports 💱 clubs in Portugal. With the exception of Belenenses in

1945–46 and Boavista in 2000–01, only three clubs have won the 💱 Primeira Liga title –

Benfica (38 times), Porto (30) and Sporting CP (19). These three clubs generally end up

sharing 💱 the top three positions (thus, appearing more frequently in UEFA competitions)

and are the only clubs to have played in 💱 every season of the competition.

These clubs

dominate Portuguese football, and it has become typical for fans to support any of

💱 these teams as a "first club", with a local team probably coming afterwards, if at all.

The "Big Three" have 💱 the highest average attendance ratings every season in Portugal,

while many other teams, lacking support from the locals, have suffered 💱 from poor

attendance. The lack of support for local teams is considered to be one of the main

reasons why 💱 Portuguese Football registers one of the worst attendance ratings in

European Football's best championships, alongside the broadcast of almost all 💱 the games

on television. In other sports, the rivalry between the big clubs is also considerable

and it usually leads 💱 to arguments between the fans and players.[9]

Benfica is the club

with most league, cup and league cup titles, as well 💱 as the most domestic titles (81)

and overall titles won (83 or 84, if the Latin Cup is taken into 💱 account), including

back-to-back European Cup trophies. Porto is the club with most Portuguese Super Cups

and international titles won (7).

Sporting 💱 CP holds the third place when it comes to

the most league and cup titles. Benfica is the only Portuguese 💱 club to have won two

consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, reaching ten European finals:

seven European Cups and three 💱 UEFA Cup/Europa League, and was runner-up in two

Intercontinental Cups. Porto is the only Portuguese club since 1987 to have 💱 won any

international competition (excluding the UEFA Intertoto Cup), gathering a total of two

European Cup/UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA 💱 Cup/Europa Leagues, one European Super

Cup and two Intercontinental Cups and finished runner-up in one European Cup Winner's

Cup and 💱 three UEFA Super Cups. Sporting won one European Cup Winner's Cup and was

runner-up in one UEFA Cup. Apart from 💱 the big three, Braga won the last UEFA Intertoto

Cup and was runner-up in one UEFA Europa League.[10][11]

Galp Energia acquired 💱 the

naming rights to the league in 2002, titling the division SuperLiga GalpEnergia. A

four-year deal with the Austrian sports 💱 betting bwin was announced on 18 August 2005

amid questioning by the other gambling authorities in Portugal (the Santa Casa 💱 da

Misericórdia and the Portuguese Casinos Association), who claimed to hold the exclusive

rights to legal gambling games in Portuguese 💱 national territory. After holding the name

Liga betandwin for the 2005–06 season, the name was changed to bwin LIGA in 💱 July

2006.[12][13]

From the 2008–09 season to the 2009–10 season the league was named Liga

Sagres due to sponsorship from Sagres 💱 beer. In 2010, they renewed the sponsorship from

Sagres, but also got the sponsorship from ZON Multimédia. The league was 💱 named Liga ZON

Sagres until 2013–14 after the sponsorship agreement between Sagres, ZON (now NOS) and

the league ended. In 💱 2024, the league was named Liga NOS until the 2024–21 season.[14]

From 2024 to 2024, it was known Liga Portugal 💱 Bwin. Since 2024, it is called Liga

Portugal Betclic.

Sponsorship names for seasons

2002–2005: SuperLiga

GalpEnergia

2005–2006: Liga betandwin

2006–2008: bwin LIGA

2008–2010: Liga

Sagres

2010–2014: 💱 Liga ZON Sagres

2014–2024: Liga NOS

2024–2024: Liga Portugal

Bwin

2024–: Liga Portugal Betclic

Official match ball [ edit ]

Competition [ edit

]

Since the 💱 2014–15 season, there are 18 clubs in the Primeira Liga, up from 16 in the

previous seasons. During the course 💱 of a season, each club plays all teams twice – once

at their home stadium and once at their opponent's 💱 stadium – for a total of 34 games.

At the end of each season, the two lowest placed teams are 💱 relegated to the Segunda

Liga and the top two teams from Segunda Liga are promoted to the Primeira

Liga.

Qualification for 💱 European competitions [ edit ]

The top teams in Primeira Liga

qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two 💱 teams entering the group stage

directly. The third placed team enters the playoffs for the group stage of the UEFA

💱 Champions League; if they fail to qualify, they enter the UEFA Europa League, along

with the fourth placed team and 💱 the Taça de Portugal cup winners. If the Taça de

Portugal cup winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League through 💱 league placing, the

berth is given to the fifth placed team.

UEFA ranking [ edit ]

UEFA League Ranking as

of the 💱 2024–24 season:[17]

Clubs [ edit ]

Attendance [ edit ]

Since the beginning of

the league, there are three clubs with an attendance 💱 much higher than the others:

Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP. They have also the biggest stadiums in Portugal, with

more 💱 than 50,000 seats. Other clubs, such as Vitória de Guimarães and Braga, also have

good attendances. Académica de Coimbra, Vitória 💱 de Setúbal, Boavista, Belenenses, and

Marítimo are historical clubs, with more than 30 top-flight seasons, from the biggest

Portuguese cities, 💱 and have also many supporters. However, they do not have big

attendances nowadays. Their stadiums have between 10,000 and 30,000 💱 seats.

The 2024–18

season saw the following average attendance by club:[19]

List of champions and top

scorers [ edit ]

Before 1995–96, the 💱 points were awarded in a format of two points for

a win. In that season, Primeira Liga switched to the 💱 now standard three points for a

win system.

(1) Porto saw six points subtracted for corruption allegations in the Apito

Dourado,[20] 💱 but they recovered those points in July 2024.

Performance by club [ edit

]

All Primeira Liga champions have come from either 💱 Lisbon or Porto.

Club Winners

Runners-up Winning seasons Runner-up seasons Benfica 38 29 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, 2024–16, 2024–17, 2024–19, 2024–23 1943–44,

1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1965–66,

💱 1969–70, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92,

1992–93, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2024–18,

2024–20 Porto 💱 30 29 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, 2024–18, 2024–20, 2024–22 1935–36, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1950–51,

1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 💱 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1974–75,

1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1999–2000,

2000–01, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2024–17, 2024–19, 2024–21, 💱 2024–23 Sporting CP 19 22

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, 1999–2000, 2001–02,

2024–21 1934–35, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1949–50, 1959–60,

1960–61, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1984–85, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2005–06, 💱 2006–07,

2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2024–16, 2024–22 Boavista 0 1 0 3 2000–01 1975–76, 1998–99,

2001–02 Belenenses 0 1 0 3 💱 1945–46 1936–37, 1954–55, 1972–73 Braga 0 0 0 1 — 2009–10

Vitória de Setúbal 0 0 0 1 — 1971–72 💱 Académica 0 0 0 1 — 1966–67

All-time Primeira Liga

table [ edit ]

The all-time Primeira Liga table is an overall 💱 record of all match

results, points, and goals of every team that has played in Primeira Liga since its

inception 💱 in 1934. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2024–23 season.[21] For

comparison, older seasons have been 💱 calculated according to the three-points-per-win

rule.

Records [ edit ]

Team records [ edit ]

In 1972–73, Benfica became the first team

to 💱 win the Portuguese league without defeat, with 58 points in 30 games (28 wins and 2

draws), the best efficiency 💱 ever obtained (96.7%) where 2 points were awarded for a

victory. In that season, Benfica set the Portuguese league and 💱 European leagues record

for most consecutive victories (23) – 29 wins overall, between 1971–72 and 1972–73.

Benfica also set the 💱 league record for the greatest margin of victory in points over

the second-placed team (18 points) in a 2 points 💱 per win championship.

In 1977–78,

Benfica completed the Portuguese league unbeaten for the second time (21 wins and 9

draws).

In 1990–91, 💱 Benfica achieved the highest number of wins in a single season – 32

(out of 38 matches).

In 1998–99, Porto became 💱 the only team to win five consecutive

titles.

In 2010–11, Porto won the Portuguese league without defeat, with 84 points in

💱 30 games (27 wins and 3 draws), the best efficiency ever obtained (93.3%) where 3

points were awarded for a 💱 victory. That season, Porto also set the league record for

the greatest margin of victory in points over the second-placed 💱 team (21 points) in a 3

points per win championship.

In 2012–13, Porto won the Portuguese league unbeaten for

the second 💱 time (24 wins and 6 draws).

In 2024–21, Sporting CP set the record for the

longest unbeaten run in a single 💱 season with 32 matches (25 wins and 7 draws) out of

34.

From 8 November 2024 to 21 April 2024, Porto 💱 set the record for the longest

unbeaten run in the league: 58 matches (47 wins and 11 draws).

In 2024–22, Porto

💱 achieved a record 91 points in the Portuguese league (29 wins and 4 draws in 34

games).

Individual records [ edit 💱 ]

Player transfer fees [ edit ]

Television [ edit

]

2024–24 until 2025–26 [ edit ]

The league is currently distributed internationally by

💱 IMG.

Portugal [ edit ]

Within Portugal, Sport TV broadcasts all live Primeira Liga

matches except Benfica's home matches, which are broadcast 💱 live on Benfica

TV.

International broadcasters [ edit ]