The Primeira Liga is an annual tournament held since 1934 among professional clubs of Portugal. The ligue is traditionally called “Primeira”, since 1998 it has been changing its name for it to comply with the name of the main sponsor. In the UEFA ranking the Primeira Liga takes the 5th place following the top four major European championships (English, German, Spanish, Italian). This country representatives have won the Champions League (the European Cup) four times. They also boast of a number of victories in the UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup competitions.
A special feature of the Primeira Liga is the dominance of individual clubs: only 5 clubs managed to become champions of Portugal over 79 years of the tournament history. In the meanwhile “Porto”, “Benfica” and “Sporting” divided 77 gold medals sets among themselves. The best scorer in the history of the championship is the “Sporting” ex-player Fernando Peyroteo (331 ball). The most expensive transfer: Radamel Falcao (“Porto” => “Atlético”, million euros).
Football in Portugal developed in the same direction as football in other Western European countries. Just by the beginning of the 20th century there were more than twenty clubs in the country that participated in various regional competitions. From the mid-20s and until 1934, a round-robin tournament – the Taça de Portugal – was carried out in Portugal. It became the Primeira predecessor. At present victory in this tournament is not taken into account at the official level.
The Primeira Liga official chronicle has been kept since 1934. The tournament began in May and ended in September. At first 8, and then 10 clubs played with each other at home and away.
The geography of the Primeira Liga expanded every year: the tournament format was enlarged to 12 participants in 1942 – two newcomers represented Braga at once (“Braga” and “Algarve”). Up until 1946, the Primeira Liga was divided into two stages: district and regional. Winners of district tournaments entered the championship final. However, after the Second World War, it was decided to establish a single championship, divided into three divisions: Primeira, Segunda and Terceira.
In the second half of the 20th century, the Primeira Liga was considered one of the strongest contests in Europe. Representatives of the country regularly participated in the finals of the first European Cup competitions and managed to win the main tournament of the Old World – the European Champions Cup – four times. In 1999, the name of the Primeira Liga was changed to the National Football Championship of Portugal or simply the Premier League. Then, in order to receive additional earnings, the name of the top division was changed depending on the name of the current sponsor:
2002–2005: SuperLiga GalpEnergia
2005–2006: Liga betandwin.com
2006–2008: BWINLIGA
2008–2010: Liga Sagres
2010–2014: Liga ZON Sagres
2015–2018: Liga NOS
In the 2014/15 season the championship was expanded to comprise 18 teams. By the summer of 2015, 17,066 matches in the Primeira Liga were played and 49,447 goals were scored in the top division. Since the championship of Portugal establishment outstanding football masters have been playing here: Eusébio, Luis Figo, Paulo Futre, Nené, Cristiano Ronaldo, Costa Pereira, Artur Jorge, José Águas, Deco, Germano Luís and many others.
The cup, currently handed over to the champion, was designed in 2010 by Nunu Martins, a designer from Lisbon. Made of silver and bronze, the trophy is 80 cm high and weighs 9 kilograms.
