Portuguese Primeira Liga

About the Primeira Liga

The Primeira Liga (Liga Portugal Bwin) is a competition among Portuguese professional football clubs involving 18 teams. It takes place annually.

Official website of the Liga Portugal Bwin

Primeira Liga 2026/27

The 2026/27 season is already underway. The first league match took place on August 7, 2026, when Estoril faced Famalicão. The opening matchweek ran from August 7–10, while the final, 34th round is scheduled for May 16, 2027.

The new season features 18 clubs. Following the conclusion of the previous championship, Marítimo and Académico de Viseu returned to the top flight. Académico de Viseu returned to the Portuguese top division after 37 years.

Last season's champions, Porto, began their title defense with a home match against Alverca. Sporting, who finished second in the 2025/26 season, started their campaign away against Estrela Amadora, while Benfica hosted Académico de Viseu.

Title Favorites

The traditional title contenders remain Porto, Benfica, and Sporting. These three clubs dominate Portuguese football and regularly compete for the championship. At the same time, Braga remains the strongest candidate to challenge the traditional giants and disrupt the title race.

Opta's pre-season model also identified Sporting, Porto, and Benfica as the leading contenders for the 2026/27 title.

Key players to watch:

Luis Suárez (Sporting) — the top scorer in the 2025/26 Primeira Liga season. The Colombian striker scored 29 goals in 33 league appearances and was one of Sporting's most important attacking players.
Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica) — one of the leading candidates for the Primeira Liga Golden Boot in the 2026/27 season.
Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting) — one of the club's key attacking players and an important figure in the title race.
Viktor Osimhen (Galatasaray) — an example of a player who came through Portuguese football and used the Primeira Liga as an important stage in his international career.

The previous list of key players needed to be updated: Ángel Di María is no longer a Benfica player, while Pepe retired from professional football in 2024, so neither should be included among the current players in the league.

History of the Championship

The history of Portugal's top-flight football dates back to 1934, when a national championship in a format similar to the modern league was established. Porto won the first official championship of this format in the 1934/35 season.

However, Portugal's first national football tournament was held as early as 1922 and was known as the Campeonato de Portugal. It should not be fully equated with the modern Primeira Liga, as it was a different competition, primarily organized in a knockout format.

Since 1934, the top division has gone through several name changes and organizational reforms. The name Primeira Liga has been used since 1999.

Following the 2025/26 season, Porto increased its total number of top-flight league titles to 31. The club is second only to Benfica, who have won the championship 38 times. Sporting have won the Portuguese league title 21 times. The official Liga Portugal records confirm Porto's 31 titles, including their 2025/26 championship.

Previous Championship Results

Year	Country	Champion
2025/26	Portugal	FC Porto
2024/25	Portugal	Sporting
2023/24	Portugal	Sporting
2022/23	Portugal	Benfica

The 2025/26 season ended with Porto winning the championship. The club secured the title after the 32nd round by defeating Alverca 1–0. Porto finished the season with 88 points, six points ahead of Sporting and eight points ahead of Benfica.

As a result, Porto won its 31st Portuguese league title, while Sporting finished second and Benfica took third place.

The top scorer of the 2025/26 season was Luis Suárez of Sporting, who scored 29 goals according to the official Liga Portugal statistics.