10% Discount
en
  • Portuguese
  • English
What are you looking for?
Everything you need to know about the Portuguese Liga 3
Back

Everything you need to know about the Portuguese Liga 3

Find out all the details about the Portuguese Liga 3: rules and structure. A complete guide for fans of national football!

Between 2013/14 and 2020/21, the Campeonato de Portugal was the third tier of Portuguese football and the first of the football competitions organised by the FPF (Portuguese Football Federation), but the 2021/22 season has brought all fans something new: the Portuguese League 3.
 

What is the Portuguese Liga 3?


Out of the need to give more visibility to players and clubs from the lower divisions of Portuguese football and to facilitate their transition to the professional football ranks of the Football League, the FPF met and decided to create the Portuguese League 3.
 

As is the case, for example, in Germany and, more recently, in Spain, the birth of League 3 in the 2021/22 season has brought us a more demanding, professional and, above all, more competitive and attractive competition for fans and television programmes.
 

What's more, regarding demands on clubs and attracting fans, the FPF requires clubs taking part in this league to equip their stadiums with conditions for television broadcasts, provided by the FPF's channel 11, seats for the convenience of fans and natural grass.
 

It should also be noted that, under the terms of the regulations, League 3 clubs must be organised in the form of a sports company so that there is greater financial transparency and control of the accounts.
 

If a club that has secured promotion to the Portuguese League 3 fails to fulfil the reporting obligations set out in the regulations or the defined participation criteria, it will be replaced by the best-placed club in its series in the Portuguese Championship the previous season.
 

What is the competitive structure of the Portuguese Liga 3?


 - Inaugural edition (2021/22)


When League 3 saw the light of day, the competition was made up of 24 teams, 22 of which came from the previous season's Portuguese Championship and two relegated from the Second League.
 

Among these participants were clubs that have helped write the history of Portuguese football, such as Vitória Futebol Clube (Vitória de Setúbal), União de Leiria and Torreense.
 

In addition to these, the two series divided according to geographical criteria, Série A in the north and Série B in the south, also included the secondary teams of well-known clubs on the national and international football scene, such as Sporting B, Sporting de Braga B and Vitória Sport Clube B (Vitória de Guimarães).
 

In each series, the clubs played each other in two rounds. At the end of the 22 rounds, the top four teams in each series qualified for a second phase, called the promotion phase, while the remaining eight clubs in each series (from 5th to 12th place) went on to play in the promotion and relegation phase.
 

In the relegation phase, the geographical criteria continued to divide the eight clubs into two series of four teams that played each other in two rounds. At the end of these two rounds, the first-place team from each of the groups would go up to the Second League, while the second-placed teams would play a play-off to determine which of the two teams would qualify for a new two-round play-off with the next-to-last-placed team in the Second League to determine who would go up/maintain their place in that division.
 

As well as securing promotion to League 2, the first-place team in each of the two qualifying rounds also played a match at Jamor Stadium to determine the champion of the inaugural edition of League 3.
 

As for the maintenance and relegation phase, the last-placed team in each of the four groups of four teams ended up in the Portuguese Championship.
 

Note: in this edition, the clubs in the maintenance and relegation phase were awarded bonuses of 2, 4, 6 and 8 points at the start, according to their classification in the previous phase.
 

- 2022/23 season


For this season, the competitive framework remained the same as in the previous edition, but with one difference: instead of only one relegated team per maintenance and relegation phase series, in 2022/23 there were two relegated teams per series, for a total of 8 relegated clubs.
 

It is worth emphasising, however, the presence of Belenenses, Académica (Coimbra) and Varzim, teams with great First League pedigree, having won between them a first division national championship (Belenenses) and several Portuguese Cups (3 for Belenenses and 2 for Académica).
 

- At present


As defined when the Portuguese League 3 was created, the number of teams was reduced for the 2023/24 season from the previous 24 to 20.
 

Despite following the same competitive formula in the first phase of the league (two series of 10 teams divided according to geographical criteria), the following phases have undergone some changes.
 

In the case of the promotion phase, the top four teams in each series were grouped together in a single series where all the participating clubs started with zero points. After two rounds, the top two teams were guaranteed promotion to the Second League, while the third-placed team qualified for a two-legged play-off against the 16th-placed team in the Second League.
 

As for the maintenance and relegation phase, the remaining 12 clubs were grouped into two series of six teams. After two rounds, the bottom two teams in each series were relegated to the Portuguese Championship.
 

Note: in the maintenance and relegation phase of the 2023/24 season, each club received a bonus of between 1 and 5 points depending on their classification.
 

History and curiosities


Despite its youth, the Portuguese League 3 already has many stories to tell. One of them is the undeniable attraction of fans to the competition.
 

In addition to the audiences for the matches broadcast on the FPF's channel 11, stadium occupancy has been quite significant, with averages of more than 4,000 spectators per game in the run-up to the 2022/23 season.
 

In terms of attendances, the record belongs to União de Leiria, a club that, in the 2022/23 season's relegation phase in a match against Sporting de Braga B, managed to attract 22,197 people to the Dr Magalhães Pessoa Stadium.
 

In fact, the first places in terms of attendance end up belonging to the Leiria club which, over the two seasons it has spent in this league, has managed to beat its own record several times.
 

União de Leiria who, in the 2022/23 season, became League 3 champions in a game reminiscent of other times against Belenenses. At Jamor, in front of more than 15,000 spectators, the club from the banks of the Liz beat the blues from Restelo 1-0, courtesy of Brazilian right-back Valdir Júnior.
 

The year before, the honour went to Torreense who, in a final against UD Oliveirense, secured a place in Portuguese football history as the first League 3 champions.
 

If the laurels go to the winners, talking about League 3 necessarily means talking about FC Felgueiras who, in the three editions of the league played to date, have always managed to win the first phase of the championship.