List of Portuguese football champions explained

Portuguese League (1st tier)
Campeonato da Liga (1934–1938) Primeira Divisão (1938–1999) Primeira Liga (1999–present)
Country
Portugal
Founded
1934
Number of teams
18 (since 2014–15 season)
Current champions
Sporting CP (2023–24)
Most successful club
Benfica (38 titles)

The Portuguese football champions are the winners of the highest league in Portuguese men's football, the Primeira Liga.

History

Before the creation of the Primeira Liga, there was a competition called Championship of Portugal (Portuguese: Campeonato de Portugal), created in 1922 as the first competition of Portuguese football. However, despite its name, it corresponds to today's Portuguese Cup (Portuguese: Taça de Portugal) and was held in a knock-out basis. Therefore, its winners are not considered Portuguese champions.

In 1934, Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão was created as the top-tier football in Portugal. The winners of Campeonato da Liga are considered Portuguese champions.^[1]

From the 1938–39 season on, Campeonato de Portugal was named Taça de Portugal, and Campeonato da Liga was named National Championship of the First Division, usually called First Division (Portuguese: Primeira Divisão). Since 1999, Primeira Divisão has been known as Primeira Liga.

FC Porto were the first club to be crowned League champions, in the 1934–35 season.

S.L. Benfica, with 38 titles, have been crowned champions more times than any other club and dominated the league during the 1960s and 1970s. Benfica are followed by Porto with 30 titles, who dominated in the 1990s and 2000s, who in turn are followed by Sporting CP, with 20 titles, who dominated in the 1940s and 1950s. C.F. Os Belenenses and Boavista F.C. are the only two other clubs that have managed to win the league once. All five clubs are from the two largest Portuguese cities, of Lisbon and Porto respectively.

List of champions and top scorers

	Season	Champions	Points	Runners-up	Points	Third place	Points	Teams	Rounds	Bota de Prata (Top Scorer)	Club	Goals
Clubs										Players
Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão
bgcolor=blue		1934–35		22		20		19	8	14			14
bgcolor=red		1935–36	Benfica	21	Porto	20		16	8	14			21
bgcolor=red		1936–37	Benfica (2)	24	Belenenses	23		19	8	14			24
bgcolor=red		1937–38	Benfica (3)	23		23		23	8	14			34
Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão
bgcolor=blue		1938–39	Porto (2)	23		22		21	8	14			18
bgcolor=blue		1939–40	Porto (3)	34		32	Belenenses	25	10	18			29
bgcolor=green		1940–41		23	Porto	20	Belenenses	19	8	14			29
bgcolor=red		1941–42	Benfica (4)	38		34	Belenenses	30	12	22			36
bgcolor=red		1942–43	Benfica (5)	30		29	Belenenses	28	10	18			24
bgcolor=green		1943–44	Sporting CP (2)	31	Benfica	26		24	10	18			28
bgcolor=red		1944–45	Benfica (6)	30		27	Belenenses	27	10	18			21
	1945–46	Belenenses	38	Benfica	37		32	12	22			37
bgcolor=green		1946–47	Sporting CP (3)	47	Benfica	41	Porto	33	14	26			43
bgcolor=green		1947–48	Sporting CP (4)	41	Benfica	41	Belenenses	37	14	26			36
bgcolor=green		1948–49	Sporting CP (5)	42	Benfica	37	Belenenses	35	14	26			40
bgcolor=red		1949–50	Benfica (7)	45		39		30	14	26			28
bgcolor=green		1950–51	Sporting CP (6)	45	Porto	34	Benfica	30	14	26			29
bgcolor=green		1951–52	Sporting CP (7)	41	Benfica	40	Porto	36	14	26			28
bgcolor=green		1952–53	Sporting CP (8)	43	Benfica	39	Belenenses	36	14	26			29
bgcolor=green		1953–54	Sporting CP (9)	43	Porto	36	Benfica	32	14	26			31
bgcolor=red		1954–55	Benfica (8)	39	Belenenses	39		37	14	26			32
bgcolor=blue		1955–56	Porto (4)	43	Benfica	43	Belenenses	37	14	26			28
bgcolor=red		1956–57	Benfica (9)	41		40	Belenenses	33	14	26			30
bgcolor=green		1957–58	Sporting CP (10)	43		43	Benfica	36	14	26			23
bgcolor=blue		1958–59	Porto (5)	41	Benfica	41	Belenenses	38	14	26			26
bgcolor=red		1959–60	Benfica (10)	45		43	Belenenses	36	14	26			25
bgcolor=red		1960–61	Benfica (11)	46		42		33	14	26			27
bgcolor=green		1961–62	Sporting CP (11)	43		41	Benfica	36	14	26			23
bgcolor=red		1962–63	Benfica (12)	48		42		38	14	26			26
bgcolor=red		1963–64	Benfica (13)	46	Porto	40		34	14	26			28
bgcolor=red		1964–65	Benfica (14)	43	Porto	37		35	14	26			28
bgcolor=green		1965–66	Sporting CP (12)	42	Benfica	41	Porto	34	14	26			25
bgcolor=red		1966–67	Benfica (15)	43	Académica de Coimbra	40	Porto	39	14	26			31
bgcolor=red		1967–68	Benfica (16)	41		37	Porto	36	14	26			43
bgcolor=red		1968–69	Benfica (17)	39		37	Vitória de Guimarães	36	14	26			19
bgcolor=green		1969–70	Sporting CP (13)	46	Benfica	38	Vitória de Setúbal	36	14	26			20
bgcolor=red		1970–71	Benfica (18)	41		38		37	14	26			23
bgcolor=red		1971–72	Benfica (19)	55	Vitória de Setúbal	45		43	16	30			27
bgcolor=red		1972–73	Benfica (20)	58	Belenenses	40	Vitória de Setúbal	38	16	30			40
bgcolor=green		1973–74	Sporting CP (14)	49	Benfica	47	Vitória de Setúbal	45	16	30			46
bgcolor=red		1974–75	Benfica (21)	49	Porto	44		43	16	30			30
bgcolor=red		1975–76	Benfica (22)	50	Boavista	48	Belenenses	40	16	30			30
bgcolor=red		1976–77	Benfica (23)	51		42	Porto	41	16	30			26
bgcolor=blue		1977–78	Porto (6)	51	Benfica	51		42	16	30			25
bgcolor=blue		1978–79	Porto (7)	50	Benfica	49		42	16	30			27
bgcolor=green		1979–80	Sporting CP (15)	52	Porto	50		45	16	30			31
bgcolor=red		1980–81	Benfica (24)	50	Porto	48		37	16	30			20
bgcolor=green		1981–82	Sporting CP (16)	46	Benfica	44	Porto	43	16	30			27
bgcolor=red		1982–83	Benfica (25)	51	Porto	47		42	16	30			36
bgcolor=red		1983–84	Benfica (26)	52		49		42	16	30			21
bgcolor=blue		1984–85	Porto (8)	55		47	Benfica	43	16	30			39
bgcolor=blue		1985–86	Porto (9)	49	Benfica	47		46	16	30			30
bgcolor=red		1986–87	Benfica (27)	48	Porto	46		41	16	30			22
bgcolor=blue		1987–88	Porto (10)	66	Benfica	51	Belenenses	48	20	38			23
bgcolor=red		1988–89	Benfica (28)	63	Porto	56	Boavista	49	20	38			16
bgcolor=blue		1989–90	Porto (11)	59	Benfica	55		46	18	34			33
bgcolor=red		1990–91	Benfica (29)	69	Porto	67		57	20	38			25
bgcolor=blue		1991–92	Porto (12)	56	Benfica	46	Boavista	44	18	34			30
bgcolor=blue		1992–93	Porto (13)	54	Benfica	52		45	18	34			18
bgcolor=red		1993–94	Benfica (30)	54	Porto	52		51	18	34			21
bgcolor=blue		1994–95	Porto (14)	62		53	Benfica	49	18	34			21
bgcolor=blue		1995–96	Porto (15)	84		73		67	18	34			25
bgcolor=blue		1996–97	Porto (16)	85		72	Benfica	58	18	34			30
bgcolor=blue		1997–98	Porto (17)	77	Benfica	68		59	18	34			26
bgcolor=blue		1998–99	Porto (18)	79	Boavista	71	Benfica	65	18	34			36
Primeira Liga
bgcolor=green		1999–2000	Sporting CP (17)	77		73	Benfica	69	18	34			37
bgcolor=black		2000–01	Boavista	77	Porto	76		62	18	34			22
bgcolor=green		2001–02	Sporting CP (18)	75	Boavista	70		68	18	34			42
bgcolor=blue		2002–03	Porto (19)	86	Benfica	75		59	18	34	Fary Faye		18
bgcolor=blue		2003–04	Porto (20)	82	Benfica	74		73	18	34			20
bgcolor=red		2004–05	Benfica (31)	65	Porto	62		61	18	34			25
bgcolor=blue		2005–06	Porto (21)	79		72	Benfica	67	18	34		Belenenses	17
bgcolor=blue		2006–07	Porto (22)	69		68	Benfica	67	16	30			15
bgcolor=blue		2007–08	Porto (23)	69		55		53	16	30			24
bgcolor=blue		2008–09	Porto (24)	70		66	Benfica	59	16	30			20
bgcolor=red		2009–10	Benfica (32)	76	Braga	71		68	16	30			26
bgcolor=blue		2010–11	Porto (25)	84	Benfica	63		48	16	30			23
bgcolor=blue		2011–12	Porto (26)	75	Benfica	69		62	16	30			20
bgcolor=blue		2012–13	Porto (27)	78	Benfica	77		54	16	30			26
bgcolor=red		2013–14	Benfica (33)	74	Sporting CP	67		61	16	30			20
bgcolor=red		2014–15	Benfica (34)	85		82		76	18	34			21
bgcolor=red		2015–16	Benfica (35)	88		86		73	18	34			31
bgcolor=red		2016–17	Benfica (36)	82		76		70	18	34			34
bgcolor=blue		2017–18	Porto (28)	88		81		78	18	34			34
bgcolor=red		2018–19	Benfica (37)	87		85		74	18	34		Benfica	23
bgcolor=blue		2019–20	Porto (29)	82		77		60	18	34			19
bgcolor=green		2020–21	Sporting CP (19)	85		80		76	18	34			23
bgcolor=blue		2021–22	Porto (30)	91		85		74	18	34		Benfica	26
bgcolor=red		2022–23	Benfica (38)	87		85		78	18	34		Porto	22
bgcolor=green		2023–24	Sporting CP (20)	90		80		72	18	34			29

Performance by club

All Primeira Liga champions have come from either Lisbon or Porto.

Club	Winners	Second place	Winning years	Second place years
Benfica	38	30	1936, 1937, 1938, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023	1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2020, 2024
Porto	30	29	1935, 1939, 1940, 1956, 1959, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2020, 2022	1936, 1938, 1941, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023
Sporting CP	20	22	1941, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1982, 2000, 2002, 2021, 2024	1935, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1950, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2022
Belenenses		3	1946	1937, 1955, 1973
Boavista		3	2001	1976, 1999, 2002
Académica de Coimbra	–	1	-	1967
Vitória de Setúbal	–	1	-	1972
Braga	–	1	-	2010

Performance by city

Five clubs have been champions, from a total of two cities.

City	Number of titles	Clubs
Lisbon		Benfica (38), Sporting (20), Belenenses (1)
Porto		Porto (30), Boavista (1)

Doubles, Trebles and Quadruples

The Double, called Dobradinha in Portuguese, means winning the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal in the same season. The first double was achieved by Sporting CP in 1941 and the most recent by Porto in 2022.

The Treble, called Triplete in Portuguese, usually refers either winning the domestic treble of Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga (domestic treble) or winning a UEFA competition, the Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal (continental treble) in the same season. The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira does not count. Benfica is the only Portuguese club to have achieved a domestic treble by winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga in 2014, and Porto is the only Portuguese club to have achieved a continental treble by winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and UEFA Cup in 2003, and by winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and UEFA Europa League in 2011.

The Quadruple, called Quadriplete in Portuguese, refers to winning 4 titles in the same season. This feat has only been achieved by Porto (furthermore twice) in the 1987–88 season, when it won the European Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal, and in the 2010–11 season when it won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Primeira Liga, UEFA Europa League and Taça de Portugal.

Teams below have made the Double:

Season	Winners	Trophies
1940 - 41	Sporting CP	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1942 - 43	Benfica	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1947 - 48	Sporting CP (2)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1953 - 54	Sporting CP (3)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1954 - 55	Benfica (2)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1955 - 56	Porto	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1956 - 57	Benfica (3)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1963 - 64	Benfica (4)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1968 - 69	Benfica (5)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1971 - 72	Benfica (6)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1973 - 74	Sporting CP (4)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1980 - 81	Benfica (7)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1981 - 82	Sporting CP (5)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1982 - 83	Benfica (8)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1986 - 87	Benfica (9)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1987 - 88	Porto (2)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
1997 - 98	Porto (3)	Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal
2001 - 02	Sporting CP (6)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2002 - 03	Porto (4)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2005 - 06	Porto (5)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2008 - 09	Porto (6)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2010 - 11	Porto (7)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2013 - 14	Benfica (10)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2016 - 17	Benfica (11)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2019 - 20	Porto (8)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2021 - 22	Porto (9)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal

Teams below have made the Treble:

Season	Winners	Trophies
2002 - 03	Porto	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, UEFA Cup
2010 - 11	Porto (2)	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, UEFA Europa League
2013 - 14	Benfica	Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga

The below teams have made the Quadruple:

Season	Winners	Trophies
1987 - 88	Porto	Intercontinental Cup, European Super Cup, Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal
2010 - 11	Porto (2)	Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, UEFA Europa League

Notes and References

News: Portuguese FA confirms Sporting has only 18 national titles. 1 March 2017. observador,pt. 16 December 2016.