| Pixels: | 200px |
| Competition: | Liga 3 |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Torreense |
| Promoted: | Torreense Oliveirense |
| Relegated: | Cova da Piedade Lusitânia Lourosa Pevidém Oriental Dragon União de Santarém |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
The 2021–22 Liga 3 was first season of Portuguese football's third-tier league, following the reorganization which saw the Campeonato de Portugal moving one level down in the Portuguese football league system. First season, a total of 24 teams competed in this division.[1]
This competition consists of a first stage with all the teams then proceed to a promotion or relegation series depending on their performance.[2]
First Stage
In the first stage, the 24 clubs are divided in two series (Serie A and B) of 12 teams, according to geographic criteria. In each series, teams play against each other in a home-and-away double round-robin system. The four best-placed teams of the two series will advance to the promotion series and bottom 8 teams will proceed to the relegation series.
Promotion Stage
The eight qualified teams are divided in two series of 4 teams, playing against each other in a home-and-away double round-robin system. The winners of each series will be automatically promoted to Liga Portugal 2 and will face each other in a neutral venue to determine the champion. The second best placed teams will face each other in a playoff, whose winner will face the 16th placed of Liga Portugal 2 for the last spot in Liga Portugal 2. On this stage teams will be divided as follows.
| Serie 1 | Serie 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st A | 1st B | |
| 2nd B | 2nd A | |
| 3rd B | 3rd A | |
| 4th A | 4th B |
Relegation Stage
The bottom 8 teams are divided in four series of 4 teams, playing against each other in a home-and-away double round-robin system. To account for their performance in the first stage, teams will start with bonification points, with 5th placed teams starting with 8 points and 12th placed teams starting with 1. The bottom teams of each series will be relegated to Campeonato de Portugal.
| Serie 1 | Serie 2 | Serie 3 | Serie 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th A | 6th A | 5th B | 6th B | |
| 7th A | 8th A | 7th B | 8th B | |
| 9th A | 10th A | 9th B | 10th B | |
| 11th A | 12th A | 11th B | 12th B |
A total of 24 teams contested the league, including 2 teams relegated from the 2020–21 Liga Portugal 2, 6 teams that failed the promotion to 2021–22 Liga Portugal 2 and 16 teams qualified from the 2020–21 Campeonato de Portugal.[3]
Cova da Piedade failed to produce valid licensing documentation to compete in the 2021–22 season of the Liga Portugal 2, so they had been relegated by the Portuguese Football Professional League to Liga 3.[4]
Leça failed to produce valid licensing documentation to compete in the 2021–22 season of the Liga 3, so they had their promotion denied by the Portuguese Football Federation. As a result, Sanjoanense (3rd place in Promotion Serie 3) were invited to play in the third tier for the 2021–22 season.[5]
| data-sort-type=text | Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | 2020–21 finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cova da Piedade | Cova da Piedade | Estádio Municipal José Martins Vieira | 2,230 | 11th (Liga Portugal 2) | |
| Oliveirense | Oliveira de Azeméis | Estádio Carlos Osório | 1,750 | 18th (Liga Portugal 2) | |
| Anadia | Anadia | Estádio Municipal Eng.º Sílvio Henriques Cerveira | 6,500 | 2nd L2 Promotion (North Serie) | |
| Pevidém | Pevidém, Guimarães | Parque de Jogos Albano Martins Coelho Lima | 4,555 | 3rd L2 Promotion (North Serie) | |
| Braga B | Braga | Complexo Desportivo Clube de Futebol de Fão | 724 | 4th L2 Promotion (North Serie) | |
| Torreense | Torres Vedras | Estádio Manuel Marques | 12,000 | 2nd L2 Promotion (South Serie) | |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Setúbal | Estádio do Bonfim | 15,497 | 3rd L2 Promotion (South Serie) | |
| União de Leiria | Leiria | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa | 23,888 | 4th L2 Promotion (South Serie) | |
| Montalegre | Montalegre | Estádio Dr. Diogo Alves Vaz Pereira | 5,000 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 1) | |
| Felgueiras | Felgueiras | Estádio Dr. Machado de Matos | 7,540 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 1) | |
| Vitória de Guimarães B | Guimarães | Pista de Atletismo Gémeos Castro | 1,200 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 2) | |
| Fafe | Fafe | Parque Municipal dos Desportos de Fafe | 8,000 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 2) | |
| São João de Ver | São João de Ver, Santa Maria da Feira | Estádio do SC São João de Ver | 5,000 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 3) | |
| Sanjoanense | São João da Madeira | Estádio Conde Dias Garcia | 15,000 | 3rd L3 Promotion (Serie 3) | |
| Canelas 2010 | Canelas, Vila Nova de Gaia | Estádio do Canelas Gaia Futebol Clube | 10,800 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 4) | |
| Lusitânia Lourosa | Lourosa, Santa Maria da Feira | Campo do Lusitânia | 11,000 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 4) | |
| Oliveira do Hospital | Oliveira do Hospital | Estádio Municipal de Oliveira do Hospital | 5,000 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 5) | |
| Caldas | Caldas da Rainha | Campo da Mata | 13,000 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 5) | |
| Alverca | Alverca | Complexo Desportivo do FC Alverca | 7,705 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 6) | |
| União de Santarém | Santarém | Campo Chã das Padeiras | 5,000 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 6) | |
| Oriental Dragon | Moita | Estádio Juncal Desportos | 2,500 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 7) | |
| Sporting B | Alcochete | Aurélio Pereira Stadium | 1,180 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 7) | |
| Amora | Amora, Seixal | Estádio da Medideira | 5,000 | 1st L3 Promotion (Serie 8) | |
| Real SC | Massamá, Sintra | Estádio do Real SC | 3,600 | 2nd L3 Promotion (Serie 8) | |
In the first stage, the 24 clubs were divided in two series (Serie A and B) of 12 teams, according to geographic criteria.
In the second stage, the 24 clubs were divided in 2 promotion series (Serie 1 and 2) of 4 teams and 4 relegation series (Serie 1, 2, 3 and 4) of 4 teams.
Alverca advances to Promotion play-offs.