Primeira Liga

Primeira Liga
Organising bodyLiga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP)
Founded1934; 90 years ago (1934)
Country Portugal
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams18 (since 2014–15)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toLiga Portugal 2
Domestic cup(s)Taça de Portugal
Supertaça
League cup(s)Taça da Liga
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
UEFA Conference League
Current championsSporting CP (20th title)
(2023–24)
Most championshipsBenfica (38 titles)
Most appearancesManuel Fernandes (486)
Top goalscorerFernando Peyroteo (332)
TV partnersList of broadcasters
Websiteligaportugal.pt
Current: 2024–25 Primeira Liga

The Primeira Liga (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɾiˈmɐjɾɐ ˈliɣɐ]), 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][2]

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 (20) – have won all but two Primeira Liga titles; the other winners are Belenenses (1945–46) and Boavista (2000–01).[3]

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.[4]

  1. ^ "FPF não se vincula a "memorando de entendimento" entre Belenenses e Gil Vicente". Record (in Portuguese). 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. ^ www.theyscored.com https://www.theyscored.com/football/league/portugal/primeira-liga/1352. Retrieved 6 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ "BENFICA CAMPEÃO: todos os vencedores da Liga" [BENFICA CHAMPIONS: all the league winners]. Maisfutebol.iol.pt (in Portuguese). 17 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Current Ranking – IFFHS". Iffhs.de. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2012.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).