The Portuguese football league system consists of several leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. Reserve teams are allowed to compete in the main league system, as is the case with most of Europe. However, they are not allowed to compete in the same tier as their senior team, thus no reserve team has ever competed in Portugal's top flight, the Primeira Liga.
Men's league system The Portuguese men's football league system consists of four national divisions and up to four district leagues (depending on the district).
National leagues All four national divisions provide access to the Portuguese Cup. The first two leagues are operated by the Portuguese Professional Football League, and they also guarantee participation in the Portuguese League Cup. Lastly, the third and fourth divisions are divided into two and four leagues respectively and are the only divisions operated by the Portuguese Football Federation. The federation announced the creation of Liga 3 (League 3) for 2021–22. Level League(s)/Division(s) 1 Liga Portugal 18 clubs ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off 2 Liga Portugal 2 18 clubs ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off3Liga 320 clubs divided into 2 groupsSerie A 10 clubsSerie B 10 clubs ↓↑ 4 clubs 4 Campeonato de Portugal 56 clubs divided into 4 groupsSerie A 14 clubsSerie B 14 clubs Serie C 14 clubsSerie D 14 clubs ↓↑ 20 clubs
District leagues District leagues are operated by 22 District Associations: 18 from each district, plus 1 from Madeira Islands, and 3 from Azores Islands (western, central and eastern groups). The winner of each district league is promoted to the fourth national tier, the Campeonato de Portugal. Moreover, all district leagues provide access to their correspondent district cup, and the winner of the district cup, along with the second-placed team in the district league, is allowed to participate in the next season's Portuguese Cup. The bottom tier of each association is open to any new club or reserve team based on that district.
District Association Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 Level 8 Porto FA 168 clubs Decathlon Pro-League 18 clubs Elite Division 32 clubs (Series 1 and 2) Division of Honour 48 clubs (Series 1, 2 and 3) First Division 70 clubs (Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) Braga FA 132 clubs Pro-National 18 clubs Division of Honour 32 clubs (Series A and B) First Division 82 clubs (Series A, B, C, D, E and F) Lisbon FA 96 clubsFirst Division 16 clubsSecond Division 32 clubs (Series 1 and 2)Third Division 48 clubs (Series 1, 2 and 3) Aveiro FA 83 clubs SABSEG Championship 18 clubs First Division 28 clubs (Series North and South) Second Division 37 clubs (Series North, Center and South) Coimbra FA 46 clubs Elite Division 14 clubs Division of Honour 14 clubs Second Division 18 clubs Beja FA 46 clubs First Division 12 clubs Second Division 29 clubs (Series A, B and C) Viseu FA 44 clubs Division of Honour 16 clubs First Division 28 clubs (Series North, Center and South) Santarém FA 41 clubs First Division 16 clubs Second Division 25 clubs (Series A and B) Leiria FA 39 clubs Lizsport Championship 16 clubs First Division 23 clubs (Series A and B) Viana do Castelo FA 34 clubs First Division 16 clubs Second Division 18 clubs Setúbal FA 32 clubs First Division 16 clubs Second Division 16 clubs Évora FA 32 clubs Elite Division 10 clubs AFE League 22 clubs (Series A and B) Algarve FA 31 clubs First Division 12 clubs Second Division 19 clubs (Series Barlavento and Sotavento) Madeira FA 25 clubs Division of Honour 12 clubsFirst Division 13 clubs Guarda FA 22 clubs First Division 14 clubs Second Division 8 clubs Angra do Heroísmo FA 11 clubs + 10 clubsAzores Championship 10 clubs Graciosa Championship 6 clubs
São Jorge Championship 3 clubs
Terceira Championship 2 clubs Ponta Delgada FA 10 clubs + 10 clubsSão Miguel Championship 10 clubs Horta FA 5 clubs + 10 clubsHorta Championship 5 clubs Vila Real FA 19 clubsDivision of Honour 19 clubs Bragança FA 10 clubsDivision of Honour 10 clubs Castelo Branco FA 9 clubsImotroféu League 9 clubs Portalegre FA 6 clubsMaxfinance Interior League 6 clubs
Women's league system The Portuguese women's football league system consists of four national divisions and no district leagues. All divisions provide access to the Women's Portuguese Cup and are operated by the Portuguese Football Federation. The second and third divisions are divided in series by geographical proximity.
Level League(s)/Division(s) 1 Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino 10 clubs ↓↑ 1 club + 2 clubs play-off2 Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino II Divisão 12 clubs divided into 2 groupsSerie North 6 clubsSerie South 6 clubs ↓↑ 1 clubs + 2 clubs play-off3 Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino III Divisão 12 clubs divided into 2 groupsSerie North 6 clubsSerie South 6 clubs ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 clubs play-off4 Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino IV Divisão 70 clubs divided into 12 groupsSerie A 6 clubsSerie B 6 clubsSerie C 6 clubsSerie D 6 clubs Serie E 6 clubsSerie F 6 clubs Serie G 6 clubsSerie H 6 clubs Serie I 6 clubsSerie J 6 clubs Serie L 5 clubsSerie M 5 clubs
See also
Portuguese football competitions
References