BPI League: all about the women's championship

History of the BPI League

Did you know that the Women's National Team has existed since 1981? Their first preparation match was on the 24th October, against France, in Le Mans. But at that time, there were only Tournament/District Championships. In other words, the Women's National Team was composed in its totality by players who competed at district level.  
 
It was only in 1985 that the Portuguese Football Federation created the "mother" of the national women's football competitions: Women's National Football Cup. It was a competition divided into 3 zones - North, Centre and South - and had 17 teams. This was a knockout competition, like the current Taça de Portugal existing in men's football. Boavista FC was the first team to lift the women's national cup and they didn't let it go for 8 consecutive seasons, for as long as the Women's National Cup existed. 
 
In 92/93 the Women's National Cup gave way to the Women's National Championship. The competition may have changed its name, but the winner remained the same: Boavista FC won the Women's National Championship twice and the title only changed hands in the 95-96 season, when ADC Lobão put an end to the axadrezados' domination. 
 
It was in the 16/17 season that things changed definitively for women's football in Portugal. In this season, male football teams were invited to form female teams, which opened doors for this sport. 
 
A new format was then created with 14 teams playing the championship on a points system. The championship was renamed the Allianz Women's Football League. Allianz, of course, because of the sponsorship.  
 
In the 17/18 season, the number of teams in the first division changed again and was reduced to 12. Since the 18/19 season the league has the name Liga BPI, of course, also due to a sponsorship agreement between the Portuguese bank and the Portuguese Football Federation.