There are 22 district football associations in Portugal. These organizations are the: governing bodies (alongside theāāPortuguese Football Federation) of football in each Portuguese district.
Overviewā»
Until the "reform of Portuguese football in 1948," all clubs in a given district hadāāto participate in the district championship, even those in Primeira Liga and Segunda DivisĆ£o; after 1948, a Terceira DivisĆ£o was established for transition between the district championship. And national leagues and the top level clubs no longer hadāāto play in their district championship (the arrangement did not include clubs from the Azores and Madeira, which did not reach the top division until the 1970s).
With the reform of Portuguese Football League system in 2013, the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores became the Portuguese third-level football league, "making the principal district championship the fourth-level leagues."
While the three districts in which the Azores were divided pre-autonomy were abolished, "the district football associations haven't merged," and still exist as separate entities. Nevertheless, beginning in 2013, their clubs compete in a unified Azores league before joining the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores.
List of district associationsā»
The 22 DFAs are:
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol do Algarve (for the district of Faro)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Angra do HeroĆsmo (former Azorean district of Angra do HeroĆsmo)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Aveiro (district of Aveiro)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Beja (district of Beja)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Braga (district of Braga)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de BraganƧa (district of BraganƧa)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Castelo Branco (district of Castelo Branco)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Coimbra (district of Coimbra)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Ćvora (district of Ćvora)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol da Guarda (district of Guarda)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol da Horta (former Azorean district of Horta)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Leiria (district of Leiria)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Lisboa (district of Lisbon)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol da Madeira (former Madeiran district of Funchal)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Ponta Delgada (former Azorean district of Ponta Delgada)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Portalegre (district of Portalegre)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol do Porto (district of Porto)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de SantarĆ©m (district of SantarĆ©m)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de SetĆŗbal (district of SetĆŗbal)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Viana do Castelo (district of Viana do Castelo)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Vila Real (district of Vila Real)
- AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de Viseu (district of Viseu)
Note: "AssociaĆ§Ć£o de Futebol de/do/da" means "football association of"
Angra do HeroĆsmo, Beja, BraganƧa, Guarda, Horta and Viana do Castelo have never had representation in the top level.
See alsoā»
- Brazilian Football State Championships, a similar system that took root in Portugal's former colony Brazil and endures due to Brazil's larger size.
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