Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga, also known as Liga NOS 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 two lowest placed teams relegated to the LigaPro and replaced by the top-two non-reserve teams from this division.
Founded in 1934 as an experimental league called Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão, it became an official competition in 1938 and named Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão 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, Porto and Sporting CP – have won all but two Primeira Liga titles; the other winners are Belenenses and Boavista.
The Primeira Liga has increased its reputation in recent years, occupying as of 2020 the 6th place of UEFA's national league ranking. 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 4th 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 and the winners of that competition were named "League champions". Despite that, a 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 or just Primeira Divisão, 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 according to Porto FA decision. FPF came out with a decision to satisfy both clubs, expanding the championship to 10 teams 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. Porto finished the regional championship in third place again, which did not grant entry into the Primeira Liga. However, a second expand 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".
Season | Benfica | Porto | Sporting CP |
2010–11 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2011–12 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
2012–13 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
2013–14 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
2014–15 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2015–16 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
2016–17 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2017–18 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2018–19 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2019–20 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Big Three
"The Big Three" 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, Porto and Sporting CP. These three clubs generally end up sharing the top three positions, appearing more frequently in UEFA competitions and are the only three clubs in Portugal to have never been relegated.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 the 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.
Benfica is the club with most league, cup and league cup titles, as well as the most domestic titles and overall titles won, including back-to-back European Cup trophies. Porto is the club with most Portuguese Super Cups and international titles won.
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, 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 Cup. Sporting CP 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.
Sponsored names
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, who claimed to hold the exclusive rights to legal gambling games in Portuguese national territory. After holding the name Liga betandwin.com for the 2005–06 season, the name was changed to BWINLIGA in July 2006.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 and the league ended. Since 2015, it is known as "Liga NOS".
;Sponsorship names for seasons:
- 2002–2005: SuperLiga GalpEnergia
- 2005–2006: Liga betandwin.com
- 2006–2008: BWINLIGA
- 2008–2010: Liga Sagres
- 2010–2014: Liga ZON Sagres
- 2014–2020: Liga NOS
Official match ball
- 2002–2004: Adidas Fevernova
- 2004–2006: Adidas Roteiro
- 2006–2007: Adidas +Teamgeist
- 2008: Adidas Europass
- 2008–2009: Adidas Europass Portugal
- 2009–2010: Adidas Terrapass Liga Sagres
- 2010–2011: Adidas Jabulani
- 2011: Adidas Speedcell
- 2012: Adidas Tango 12
- 2013: Adidas Cafusa
- 2014: Adidas Brazuca
- 2015: Adidas Conext15
- 2016: Adidas Errejota
- 2016–18: Nike Ordem
- 2018–19: Nike Merlin
- 2019–20: Select Brillant Super TB
Competition
Qualification for European competitions
The top teams in Primeira Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League with the first placed team directly entering the group stage and the second placed team entering the playoffs for the group stage of UEFA Champions League. Teams placed third and fourth play in the UEFA Europa League, along with the Taça de Portugal cup winners. In this case, the berth is given to the fifth placed team.UEFA ranking
UEFA League Ranking as of the 2019–20 season:- Spanish La Liga
- English Premier League
- German Bundesliga
- Italian Serie A
- French Ligue 1
- Portuguese Primeira Liga
- Russian Premier League
- Belgian Pro League
- Dutch Eredivisie
- Ukrainian Premier League
Clubs
Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | 2018–19 |
Belenenses SAD | Oeiras | Estádio Nacional | 37,500 | 9th |
Benfica | Lisbon | Estádio da Luz | 65,200 | 1st |
Boavista | Porto | Estádio do Bessa | 28,263 | 8th |
Braga | Braga | Estádio Municipal de Braga | 30,000 | 4th |
Desportivo das Aves | Vila das Aves | Estádio do CD Aves | 5,441 | 14th |
Famalicão | Vila Nova de Famalicão | Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho | 5,186 | 2nd |
Gil Vicente | Barcelos | Estádio Cidade de Barcelos | 12,046 | * |
Marítimo | Funchal | Estádio do Marítimo | 10,600 | 12th |
Moreirense | Moreira de Cónegos | Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas | 6,153 | 6th |
Paços de Ferreira | Paços de Ferreira | Estádio Capital do Móvel | 9,076 | 1st |
Portimonense | Portimão | Estádio Municipal de Portimão | 6,000 | 11th |
Porto | Porto | Estádio do Dragão | 50,033 | 2nd |
Rio Ave | Vila do Conde | Estádio dos Arcos | 9,065 | 7th |
Santa Clara | Ponta Delgada | Estádio de São Miguel | 10,000 | 10th |
Sporting CP | Lisbon | Estádio José Alvalade | 50,095 | 3rd |
Tondela | Tondela | Estádio João Cardoso | 5,000 | 15th |
Vitória de Guimarães | Guimarães | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques | 30,000 | 5th |
Vitória de Setúbal | Setúbal | Estádio do Bonfim | 15,497 | 13th |
Attendance
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 2017–18 season saw the following average attendance by club:
Club | Average | Stadium capacity | Attendance | Accumulated | Stadium | |
1 | Benfica | 53,209 | 64,642 | 82.93% | 904,553 | Estádio da Luz |
2 | Sporting CP | 43,623 | 50,044 | 87.16% | 741,599 | Estádio José Alvalade |
3 | Porto | 42,674 | 50,431 | 85.29% | 725,461 | Estádio do Dragão |
4 | Vitória de Guimarães | 16,015 | 30,008 | 53.37% | 272,255 | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques |
5 | Braga | 11,706 | 30,286 | 38.65% | 198,998 | Estádio Municipal de Braga |
6 | Marítimo | 7,072 | 10,932 | 66.93% | 120,216 | Estádio dos Barreiros |
7 | Boavista | 5,623 | 30,000 | 20.55% | 95,585 | Estádio do Bessa |
8 | Vitória de Setúbal | 4,111 | 13,468 | 28.80% | 69,890 | Estádio do Bonfim |
9 | Feirense | 3,907 | 5,600 | 71.69% | 66,412 | Estádio Marcolino de Castro |
10 | Rio Ave | 3,889 | 9,065 | 43.42% | 66,116 | Estádio do Rio Ave FC |
11 | Chaves | 3,627 | 9,000 | 40.89% | 61,658 | Estádio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira |
12 | Paços de Ferreira | 3,507 | 6,404 | 38.63% | 59,612 | Estádio da Mata Real |
13 | Belenenses | 3,344 | 19,856 | 22.27% | 56,851 | Estádio do Restelo |
14 | Portimonense | 3,158 | 9,544 | 64.04% | 53,693 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão |
15 | Aves | 2,635 | 5,441 | 44.69% | 44,803 | Estádio do CD Aves |
16 | Tondela | 2,373 | 5,000 | 47.46% | 40,344 | Estádio João Cardoso |
17 | Estoril | 2,275 | 8,000 | 28.83% | 38,673 | Estádio António Coimbra da Mota |
18 | Moreirense | 2,264 | 6,153 | 36.80% | 38,494 | Estádio Municipal 25 de Abril |
List of champions and top scorers
- Porto saw six points subtracted for corruption allegations in the Apito Dourado, but they recovered those points in July 2017.
Performance by club
Club | Winners | |||
Benfica | 37 | 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, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 | 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, 2017–18, 2019–20 |
Porto | 29 | 27 | 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 | 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, 2016–17, 2018–19 |
18 | 21 | 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 | 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, 2015–16 | |
Belenenses | 1 | 3 | 1945–46 | 1936–37, 1954–55, 1972–73 |
Boavista | 1 | 3 | 2000–01 | 1975–76, 1998–99, 2001–02 |
Académica | 0 | 1 | — | 1966–67 |
Vitória de Setúbal | 0 | 1 | — | 1971–72 |
Braga | 0 | 1 | — | 2009–10 |
All-time Primeira Liga table
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 2018–19 season. For comparison, older seasons have been calculated according to the three-points-per-win rule.1 | Benfica | 86 | 5446 | 2432 | 1664 | 454 | 314 | 5882 | 2136 | 3746 | 37 | 29 | 15 | 4 | – | 1 | 86 | 1934–35 | 1934–35 | 1 | |
2 | Porto | 86 | 5296 | 2432 | 1625 | 439 | 374 | 5394 | 2149 | 3245 | 29 | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 84 | 1934–35 | 1934–35 | 1 | |
3 | Sporting CP | 86 | 5011 | 2432 | 1501 | 508 | 423 | 5294 | 2320 | 2974 | 18 | 21 | 29 | 13 | 4 | – | 85 | 1934–35 | 1934–35 | 1 | |
4 | Belenenses | 77 | 3158 | 2146 | 877 | 527 | 742 | 3352 | 2745 | 607 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 43 | 1934–35 | 2017–18 | 1 | |
5 | Vitória de Guimarães | 75 | 3119 | 2222 | 863 | 530 | 829 | 3136 | 3134 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 39 | 1941–42 | 2007–08 | 3 | |
6 | Braga | 64 | 2728 | 1956 | 755 | 463 | 738 | 2657 | 2704 | -47 | – | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 1947–48 | 1975–76 | 2 | |
7 | Vitória de Setúbal | 72 | 2590 | 2072 | 694 | 508 | 870 | 2794 | 3119 | -325 | – | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 1934–35 | 2019–20 | 2 | |
8 | Boavista | 57 | 2432 | 1738 | 666 | 434 | 638 | 2264 | 2381 | -117 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 1935–36 | 2014–15 | 1 | |
9 | Académica | 64 | 1935 | 1704 | 516 | 387 | 801 | 2346 | 3003 | -657 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 1934–35 | 2015–16 | 2 | |
10 | Marítimo | 40 | 1661 | 1317 | 446 | 362 | 504 | 1475 | 1651 | -176 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1977–78 | 1982–83 | 5 | |
11 | Rio Ave | 26 | 1017 | 840 | 261 | 234 | 345 | 891 | 1108 | -217 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1979–80 | 2008–09 | 5 | |
12 | Estoril | 26 | 912 | 772 | 239 | 195 | 338 | 1044 | 1231 | -187 | – | – | – | 2 | 3 | – | 5 | 1944–45 | 2017–18 | 4 | |
13 | Beira-Mar | 27 | 896 | 858 | 218 | 242 | 398 | 883 | 1340 | -457 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1961–62 | 2012–13 | 6 | |
14 | Farense | 23 | 857 | 754 | 222 | 191 | 341 | 796 | 1093 | -297 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1970–71 | 2020–21 | 5 | |
15 | Paços de Ferreira | 21 | 809 | 682 | 204 | 197 | 281 | 744 | 959 | -215 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 3 | 1990–91 | 2019–20 | 3 | |
16 | Nacional | 19 | 777 | 622 | 204 | 165 | 253 | 743 | 818 | -115 | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1988–89 | 2020–21 | 4 | |
17 | Salgueiros | 24 | 774 | 740 | 197 | 183 | 360 | 804 | 1377 | -573 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1943–44 | 2001–02 | 5 | |
18 | CUF Barreiro | 23 | 769 | 610 | 207 | 148 | 255 | 828 | 1003 | -175 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1942–43 | 1975–76 | 3 | |
19 | Leixões | 25 | 713 | 670 | 183 | 164 | 323 | 750 | 1186 | -436 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1936–37 | 2009–10 | 5 | |
20 | União de Leiria | 18 | 711 | 584 | 184 | 159 | 241 | 620 | 771 | -151 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1979–80 | 2011–12 | 5 | |
21 | Atlético CP | 24 | 710 | 632 | 192 | 134 | 306 | 976 | 1285 | -309 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1943–44 | 1976–77 | 3 | |
22 | Gil Vicente | 19 | 705 | 638 | 180 | 165 | 293 | 640 | 882 | -242 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1990–91 | 2019–20 | 5 | |
23 | Varzim | 21 | 683 | 618 | 169 | 176 | 273 | 638 | 913 | -275 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1963–64 | 2002–03 | 5 | |
24 | Portimonense | 17 | 638 | 542 | 168 | 134 | 240 | 586 | 740 | -154 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1976–77 | 2017–18 | 5 | |
25 | Chaves | 16 | 633 | 548 | 160 | 153 | 235 | 608 | 773 | -165 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1985–86 | 2018–19 | 5 | |
26 | Barreirense | 24 | 617 | 592 | 166 | 119 | 307 | 758 | 1195 | -437 | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1937–38 | 1978–79 | 4 | |
27 | Estrela da Amadora | 16 | 608 | 540 | 144 | 176 | 220 | 521 | 680 | -159 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1988–89 | 2008–09 | 7 | |
28 | Olhanense | 20 | 565 | 516 | 147 | 124 | 245 | 800 | 1057 | -257 | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1941–42 | 2013–14 | 4 | |
29 | Sporting da Covilhã | 15 | 457 | 406 | 126 | 79 | 201 | 585 | 834 | -249 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1947–48 | 1987–88 | 5 | |
30 | Penafiel | 14 | 435 | 434 | 106 | 117 | 211 | 351 | 625 | -274 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1980–81 | 2014–15 | 10 | |
31 | Lusitano de Évora | 14 | 412 | 364 | 116 | 64 | 184 | 494 | 722 | -228 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1952–53 | 1965–66 | 5 | |
32 | Moreirense | 10 | 382 | 336 | 95 | 97 | 144 | 349 | 465 | -106 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2002–03 | 2014–15 | 6 | |
33 | Sporting de Espinho | 11 | 379 | 354 | 96 | 91 | 167 | 336 | 523 | -187 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1974–75 | 1996–97 | 7 | |
34 | Famalicão | 7 | 261 | 230 | 67 | 60 | 103 | 258 | 397 | -139 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1946–47 | 2019–20 | 6 | |
35 | Tirsense | 8 | 268 | 256 | 65 | 73 | 118 | 219 | 370 | -151 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1967–68 | 1995–96 | 8 | |
36 | União da Madeira | 6 | 206 | 208 | 48 | 62 | 98 | 177 | 300 | -123 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1989–90 | 2015–16 | 10 | |
37 | Naval 1º de Maio | 6 | 193 | 184 | 49 | 46 | 89 | 160 | 255 | -95 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2005–06 | 2010–11 | 8 | |
38 | Santa Clara | 5 | 188 | 170 | 46 | 50 | 74 | 185 | 236 | -51 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1999–2000 | 2018–19 | 9 | |
39 | Oriental | 7 | 187 | 190 | 50 | 37 | 103 | 224 | 438 | -214 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1950–51 | 1974–75 | 5 | |
40 | Alverca | 5 | 181 | 170 | 48 | 37 | 85 | 192 | 266 | -74 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1998–99 | 2003–04 | 11 | |
41 | Campomaiorense | 5 | 178 | 170 | 48 | 34 | 88 | 186 | 287 | -101 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1995–96 | 2000–01 | 11 | |
42 | Feirense | 7 | 175 | 222 | 44 | 43 | 135 | 187 | 403 | -216 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1962–63 | 2018–19 | 8 | |
43 | Tondela | 5 | 171 | 170 | 44 | 39 | 87 | 174 | 254 | -80 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2015–16 | 2015–16 | 10 | |
44 | Torreense | 6 | 163 | 164 | 44 | 31 | 89 | 183 | 316 | -133 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1955–56 | 1991–92 | 7 | |
45 | União de Tomar | 6 | 162 | 172 | 43 | 33 | 96 | 178 | 331 | -153 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1968–69 | 1975–76 | 10 | |
46 | Desportivo das Aves | 6 | 160 | 196 | 40 | 40 | 116 | 173 | 320 | -147 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1985–86 | 2019–20 | 13 | |
47 | O Elvas | 5 | 148 | 146 | 37 | 37 | 72 | 211 | 283 | -72 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1947–48 | 1987–88 | 8 | |
48 | Arouca | 4 | 145 | 132 | 37 | 34 | 61 | 134 | 187 | -53 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 2013–14 | 2016–17 | 5 | |
49 | Leça | 4 | 124 | 124 | 33 | 25 | 66 | 120 | 231 | -111 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1941–42 | 1997–98 | 12 | |
50 | Académico de Viseu | 4 | 105 | 128 | 27 | 24 | 77 | 81 | 237 | -156 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1978–79 | 1988–89 | 13 | |
51 | Caldas | 4 | 103 | 104 | 26 | 25 | 53 | 124 | 235 | -111 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1955–56 | 1958–59 | 10 | |
52 | Montijo | 3 | 89 | 90 | 23 | 20 | 47 | 91 | 155 | -64 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1972–73 | 1976–77 | 13 | |
53 | Amora | 3 | 89 | 90 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 90 | 143 | -53 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1980–81 | 1982–83 | 12 | |
54 | Belenenses SAD | 2 | 78 | 68 | 19 | 21 | 28 | 69 | 105 | -36 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2018–19 | 2018–19 | 9 | |
55 | Lusitano VRSA | 3 | 72 | 78 | 21 | 9 | 48 | 94 | 210 | -116 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1947–48 | 1949–50 | 12 | |
56 | Sanjoanense | 4 | 70 | 104 | 16 | 22 | 66 | 86 | 249 | -163 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1946–47 | 1968–69 | 10 | |
57 | Carcavelinhos | 5 | 69 | 82 | 19 | 12 | 51 | 103 | 223 | -120 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | 1935–36 | 1941–42 | 4 | |
58 | Unidos de Lisboa | 3 | 62 | 54 | 18 | 8 | 28 | 151 | 145 | 6 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1940–41 | 1942–43 | 4 | |
59 | Académico do Porto | 5 | 60 | 82 | 18 | 6 | 58 | 137 | 300 | -163 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1934–35 | 1941–42 | 7 | |
60 | Elvas | 2 | 54 | 48 | 17 | 3 | 28 | 108 | 167 | -59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1945–46 | 1946–47 | 9 | |
61 | Fafe | 1 | 41 | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 47 | -18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1988–89 | 1988–89 | 16 | |
62 | Felgueiras | 1 | 33 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 29 | 47 | -18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1995–96 | 1995–96 | 16 | |
63 | Seixal | 2 | 29 | 52 | 7 | 8 | 37 | 44 | 150 | -106 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1963–64 | 1964–65 | 12 | |
64 | Riopele | 1 | 27 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 23 | 51 | -28 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1977–78 | 1977–78 | 15 | |
65 | Águeda | 1 | 26 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 25 | 55 | -30 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1983–84 | 1983–84 | 15 | |
66 | Trofense | 1 | 23 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 42 | -17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2008–09 | 2008–09 | 16 | |
67 | União de Coimbra | 1 | 22 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 22 | 54 | -32 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1972–73 | 1972–73 | 15 | |
68 | Ginásio de Alcobaça | 1 | 19 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 56 | -36 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1982–83 | 1982–83 | 16 | |
69 | Vizela | 1 | 19 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 31 | 71 | -40 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1984–85 | 1984–85 | 16 | |
70 | União de Lisboa | 1 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 30 | 49 | -19 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1934–35 | 1934–35 | 6 | |
71 | Oliveirense | 1 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 22 | 73 | -51 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1945–46 | 1945–46 | 12 | |
72 | Casa Pia | 1 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 12 | 56 | -44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1938–39 | 1938–39 | 8 |
Primeira Liga | |
LigaPro | |
Campeonato de Portugal | |
Portuguese District Championships | |
Clubs no longer in competition |
Records
- In 1972–73, Benfica became the first team to win the Portuguese league without defeat, with 58 points in 30 games, the most ever obtained where victory was awarded 2 points. In this season, Benfica set the Portuguese league and European leagues record for most consecutive victories – 29 wins overall, between 1971–72 and 1972–73. Benfica also set the league record for greatest margin of victory in points over the second-placed team in a 2 points per win championship.
- From 24 October 1976 to 1 September 1978, Benfica set the record for the longest unbeaten run in the league: 56 matches.
- In 1977–78, Benfica completed the Portuguese league unbeaten for the second time, despite finishing second.
- 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, the most ever obtained where victory was awarded 3 points. This season Porto also set the league record for greatest margin of victory in points over the second-placed team in a 3 points per win championship.
- In 2012–13, Porto won the Portuguese league unbeaten for the second time.
- In 2015–16, Benfica achieved a record 88 points in the Portuguese league.
- In 2017–18, Porto tied Benfica's 88 points record.
Television
Portugal
Within Portugal, Sport TV broadcasts all live Primeira Liga matches except Benfica's home matches which are broadcast live on Benfica TV.International broadcasters
- Albania – Tring Sport HD
- Andorra – Eurosport
- Austria – Sportdigital and DAZN
- Belarus – Belarus 5
- Belgium – RMC Sport
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sport Klub
- Brazil – ESPN
- Canada – GOLTV Play
- Caribbean – ESPN
- China – K-Ball
- Croatia – Sport Klub
- Cyprus – CytaVision
- Czech Republic – Sport1
- France – RMC Sport
- Georgia – Silk Sport
- Germany – Sportdigital and DAZN
- Greece – Cosmote Sport
- Hungary – Sport1
- Ireland – FreeSports
- Israel – Sport 1
- Japan – SKY PerfecTV!
- Latin America – ESPN
- Liechtenstein – Sportdigital
- Lithuania – Sport 1
- Luxembourg – RMC Sport and Sportdigital
- Macau – Macau Cable TV and TDM
- Montenegro – Sport Klub
- Netherlands – Ziggo Sport
- North Macedonia – Sport Klub
- Puerto Rico – GOLTV
- Romania – LookSport
- Russia – Match TV
- Serbia – Sport Klub
- Slovakia – Sport1
- Slovenia – Sport Klub
- Spain – Eurosport
- Switzerland – Sportdigital and RMC Sport
- Turkey – S Sport
- Ukraine – Sport1
- United Kingdom – FreeSports
- United States – GOLTV
- Lusophone Africa – RTP, Sport TV África
- Worldwide – RTP and SIC