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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" width="100%"
! Level
! colspan="4" | League(s)/Division(s)
|-
| 1
| colspan="8" |
Liga Portugal<br/>
18 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="8" | ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off
|-
| 2
| colspan="4" |
Liga Portugal 2<br/>
18 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="4" | ↓↑ 2 clubs + 1 club play-off
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" width="4%" |
3
| colspan="4" width="96%" |
Liga 3<br />20 clubs divided into 2 groups
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie A <br> 10 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie B <br> 10 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="4" | ↓↑ 4 clubs
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" width="4%" |
4
| colspan="4" width="96%" |
Campeonato de Portugal<br/>
56 clubs divided into 4 groups
|-
| colspan="1" align="center"|Serie A <br> 14 clubs
| colspan="1" align="center"|Serie B <br> 14 clubs
| colspan="1" align="center"|Serie C <br> 14 clubs
| colspan="1" align="center"|Serie D <br> 14 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="4" | ↓↑ 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" width="100%"
! District Association
! Level 5
! Level 6
! Level 7
! Level 8
|-
| Porto FA
|
Elite Pro-National<br/>
32 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|
Division of Honour<br/>
32 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|
First Division<br/>
40 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2, 3 and 4)</small>
|
Second Division<br/>
67 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2, 3 and 4)</small>
|-
| Lisbon FA
|
First Division<br/>
16 clubs
|
Second Division<br/>
32 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|
Third Division<br/>
44 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2 and 3)</small>
|-
| Aveiro FA
|
Elite<br/>
18 clubs
|
First Division<br/>
28 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|
Second Division<br/>
24 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|-
| Braga FA
|
Pro-National<br/>
18 clubs
|
Division of Honour<br/>
32 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|
First Division<br/>
82 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)</small>
|-
| Coimbra FA
|
Elite<br/>
14 clubs
|
Division of Honour
14 clubs
|
First Division
16 clubs
|-
| Algarve FA
|
First Division
12 clubs
|
Second Division
19 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|-
| Beja FA
|
First Division
12 clubs
|
Second Division
29 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2 and 3)</small>
|-
| Évora FA
|
Elite Division
12 clubs
|
Division of Honour
19 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|-
| Guarda FA
|
First Division
14 clubs
|
Second Division
9 clubs
|-
| Leiria FA
|
Campeonato Lizsport
16 clubs
|
First Division
27 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|-
| Madeira FA
|
Division of Honour
12 clubs
|
First Division
10 clubs
|-
| Santarém FA
|
First Division
16 clubs
|
Second Division
25 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2 and 3)</small>
|-
| Setúbal FA
|
First Division
16 clubs
|
Second Division
17 clubs
|-
| Viana do Castelo FA
|
First Division
16 clubs
|
Second Division
17 clubs
|-
| Viseu FA
|
Division of Honour
18 clubs
|
First Division
28 clubs <small>(Series 1, 2 and 3)</small>
|-
| Angra do Heroísmo FA
| rowspan="3" |
Azores Championship
10 clubs
|
Graciosa Championship
2 clubs
São Jorge Championship
3 clubs
Terceira Championship
2 clubs
|-
| Horta FA
|
Horta Championship
7 clubs
|-
| Ponta Delgada FA
|
São Miguel Championship
9 clubs
|-
| Bragança FA
|
Division of Honour
12 clubs
|-
| Castelo Branco FA
|
Division of Honour
10 clubs
|-
| Portalegre FA
|
First Division
7 clubs
|-
| Vila Real FA
|
Division of Honour
19 clubs <small>(Series 1 and 2)</small>
|}
Women's league system
The Portuguese women's football league system consists of three 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" width="100%"
! Level
! colspan="24" | League(s)/Division(s)
|-
| 1
| colspan="24" |
Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino<br/>
12 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="24" | ↓↑ 1 club + 2 clubs play-off
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" width="4%" |
2
| colspan="24" |
Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino II Divisão<br/>
16 clubs divided into 2 groups
|-
| colspan="12" align="center"|Serie North <br> 8 clubs
| colspan="12" align="center"|Serie South <br> 8 clubs
|- style="background:#c8c8c8" |
|
| colspan="24" | ↓↑ 2 clubs + 2 clubs play-off
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" width="4%" |
3
| colspan="24" |
Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino III Divisão<br/>
71 clubs divided into 12 groups
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie A <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie B <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie C <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie D <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie E <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie F <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie G <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie H <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie I <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie J <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie L <br> 6 clubs
| colspan="2" align="center"|Serie M <br> 5 clubs
|}
See also
- Portuguese football competitions