These notes are to help those who would like to
watch a live game while visiting the Algarve. I have been to many
of the grounds myself.
Page updated 22nd May 2017 - the domestic season finishes next weekend for the Algarve teams with the final of the Algarve FA Cup. Leagues are already concluded.
This is the Portuguese football set-up in
descending order for season 2016 - 2017. National Leagues consist
of three tiers. The fourth and, where they exist, fifth tiers are
the regional leagues. Promotion and relegation operates between
all tiers.
This English language website http://www.portugoal.net/
covers the top level and national team. Some information seems not
be updated regularly, so treat with caution. There are these
English language 'blog' type websites which predictably
concentrate on the top division, but make an interesting read for
those wishing to keep in touch -
http://portugalfutbol.net/
and http://futebolfactory.com/
Another good website, with areas in English and
several other languages, is www.zerozero.pt which, among a lot of
information has results, league tables and fixtures for all levels
of the game in Portugal.
There is only one website specifically for
Algarve football, the official Algarve FA website www.afalgarve.pt in
Portuguese only but easy enough to navigate and make sense of.
In Portugal, there is little or no recreational
or 'park' football as we know it in the UK. Most organised
football is played on enclosed grounds with 'proper' referees and
linesmen.
There are also national and regional set-ups for
U-19 etc type football. There are some unofficial veterans
leagues.
You will be pleased to hear that admission charges are a lot less than in the UK for the comparable level of football. Tickets are readily available apart from, for example, Benfica v Sporting or Benfica v Porto. In most top level grounds and all those below that level you can pay on the day.
No league games are scheduled over the weekend
between the Christmas and New Year Holidays, or over the two
weekends at all if those holidays fall on a Friday, Saturday or
Sunday. At Easter there are no matches on Easter Sunday, they are
mostly played on the Saturday instead.
Would you like a football tour to the
Algarve? Algarve Football Tours can organise games at any level, from full
professional down to veterans and school-aged teams.
The company deals with top level and
semi-professional teams from Germany, Sweden, Norway etc during
their winter break and also arranges pre-season training matches
for top British and other clubs. Matches can be arranged against
suitable local opposition and also on a tournament basis between
visiting teams. Qualified referees are arranged for all matches
and those at higher level will be provided with appropriate people
from the Portuguese or Algarve Football Association lists.
Semi - professional clubs can also have suitable
matches arranged pre-season against local opposition. All matches
at such levels require official sanctions from the relevant
Football Associations. 
For those at the lower levels of the game, we
can organise end of season and pre- season tour games against
local teams of ex-pats, short end-of-season tournaments between
visiting teams, also trips for school age teams during the winter
and Easter holidays. Intending school aged teams should be
aware that most weekday matches would be played in the evenings on
3G pitches under floodlights. We ensure that age appropriate match
arrangements are in place.
It is not easy to organise anything in July and
August as it is too hot. The local football season, apart from the
top two divisions, ends in mid-May and resumes in late
September. Veteran's and school aged games are normally good
until the end of June.
For smaller groups, we have access to 3G pitches
with floodlights (and a bar adjacent!) for five a side and
seven a side matches, often in a short tournament format.
The Algarve is regularly visited not only by
teams from the UK but from Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Sweden,
Norway, Iceland and the USA. A chance to meet different
opposition!
Algarve Football Tours will make all the
arrangements necessary to make your trip a successful event -
except booking flights and the essential insurance! Hotels,
transport to and from matches, training venues (if required) and
other off the field and non football activities can be organised
Click the logo below to visit our website for
more information, testimonials and contact details.
As Women’s football gathers momentum and
popularity, we are delighted to offer Portugal as a great
destination for Women’s Football Tours offering bespoke packages
including matches or tournaments. Throughout Portugal we have
women's/girls teams providing ideal opposition for all levels,
amateur to Semi Professional. Selected hotels offer full training
facilities for the more serious, or we can create a tailor made
package based in a lively resort to make a perfect football
holiday.
We can create a tailor made package for your women’s and girl's
football teams with hotels/accommodation to suit your
requirements, training facilities and those all important matches
or tournaments. In the Algarve, Lisbon or Porto we have
great conditions, venues and opposition choices to be sure your
team has a great football experience in Portugal.
If your prefer your tour to be a more sociable event, you can be
based in one of the Algarve’s lively resorts, to enjoy beautiful
beaches, good restaurants and nightlife based around your
football.
Women's Futsal tours with
matches and tournaments can also be arranged. 
Futsal in Europe has a long history in the sport and Portugal is
host some of the best players and teams. Take the chance to test
your skills on the European stage. Our package of accommodation,
training facilities and matches all set in a lively resort means
you and your team can enjoy a great tour in the Algarve.
Please click here
to make an enquiry for more information about football trips for
women. See also http://futebolfemininoportugal.com/
Strictly for the over 50's, we are now able to help you with
visits and competitions for walking football teams. There are a
growing number of active walking football teams in the Algarve.
Contact us if you would like a one-off game or perhaps we can
organise a small tournament. Our second such successful venture
will take place in Albufeira on 20th March, featuring twelve teams
on three pitches, with a mix of locals and teams from UK.
The current season ended on 22nd May and resumes mid August.
Portimonense (the team based in Portimão) were second division champions in season 2016 - 2017 and will therefore play in the top division next season. It remains to be seen where they will play their big matches.
A bit about their ground -
They play in Portimão's city
centre municipal stadium, a short walk from buses and trains. It
is an 'old fashioned' ground in that there are steep terraces close to
the pitch and no running track etc around it. To be honest it would
barely pass muster in the UK National League (5th tier) let alone the top division of a national competition. Spectator facilities are minimal, there are few toilets, one portable bar, no match day programmes etc.
Their website
is www.portimonense.pt.
The stadium holds about 5,000 . Season average thus far is 1808, but
there have been a couple of crowds of around 2,500 and, with free
admission, the crowd at the final home game was 4417. If it's looking like rain, be aware that
the entire stadium, apart from the executive area, has no roof
cover.
Note for visitors - children under 6 years old
are not allowed in. The price of tickets for next season will be
rather more than the 5 Euros they asked for this season just ended. They
have never sold tickets on line, the only option for non season ticket
holders was to pay on the day. I shall update ticketing information as
and when available.
The Lisbon based teams of Benfica , Sporting and Belenenses are about 3 to 4 hours drive from the Algarve or between 4 and 5 hours by bus or train. That includes the time spent in the city getting to the ground. It is impossible to travel to and from their games by train unless staying overnight. If going by coach (bus to non UK readers) you will have a long wait (until 0100) before your return journey! ALL Benfica, Sporting and FC Porto matches are shown live on TV and are therefore played in the evenings, sometimes kicking off as late as 9.15pm on Sundays!.
Superliga games are almost all scheduled for
television purposes and are played over Friday, Saturday, Sunday
and Monday evenings. Very rarely does a team play at 4pm on a
Sunday afternoon, the 'default' time for kickoffs.
Dates and times of matches are confirmed four to six weeks in advance, except at the end of the season when certain games are ordered to be played at the same time, at less than a week's notice! Fixture dates and times can be found on the official Superliga website which also has links to the club websites.
There is virtually no midweek football (ie
Tuesday or Wednesday) anywhere in Portugal below the top two
Divisions.
Apart from games involving the 'big three' and
the honourable exceptions of Braga and Guimarães, crowds often
number less than 5,000.
With Portimonense promoted and Olhanense relegated, there will be no Algarve team at this level in season 2017 - 2018.
The second tier of Portuguese football is,
sadly, played in almost empty stadia. Average crowd for this
season was 1082, about 10% more than last season and boosted by some
larger crowds in the final weeks
as the glory hunters came out. The teams relegated last
season continued to attract much bigger crowds than the majority.
Table below are the attendance figures after the 42
full rounds of matches. The biggest crowds of the season
come from clubs offering free admission for some games, Leixões managed
to treble their normal attendance for their last four games, despite
having nothing to play for. Portimonense, the Algarve's leading club,
did the same for their last home game and more than doubled the crowd,
almost filling the stadium. Portimonense won the league and are promoted to the top division, see above.
| Portugal Segunda Liga Attendance Chart Season 2016/7 |
|||||
| Average | Total | Highest | Lowest | ||
| Crowd | 1082 | 499879 | 5813 | 0* | |
| Ranking for attendances |
Figures above are season summary all matches |
||||
| 12 | 910 | 18200 | 3324 | 465 | Ac. Viseu |
| 1 | 2570 | 53962 | 3542 | 1737 | Academica Coimbra |
| 7 | 1349 | 28333 | 3000 | 504 | AD Fafe |
| 8 | 1153 | 24219 | 3500 | 550 | CD Aves |
| 13 | 892 | 18725 | 1613 | 343 | Cova Piedade |
| 2 | 2503 | 52555 | 4164 | 1075 | FC Famalicão |
| 16 | 606 | 12733 | 1526 | 393 | FC Penafiel |
| 18 | 565 | 11855 | 1148 | 259 | FC Porto B |
| 9 | 1065 | 23432 | 1890 | 627 | FC Vizela |
| 11 | 965 | 20266 | 2762 | 442 | Gil Vicente FC |
| 3 | 1906 | 40027 | 5813 | 0 | Leixões SC * |
| 4 | 1808 | 37962 | 4417 | 696 | Portimonense |
| 19 | 408 | 8561 | 740 | 0 | SC Braga B * |
| 20 | 304 | 6381 | 637 | 137 | SC Covilhã |
| 17 | 569 | 11956 | 1116 | 328 | SC Freamunde |
| 21 | 289 | 6063 | 821 | 145 | SC Olhanense |
| 15 | 736 | 15458 | 1331 | 283 | SL Benfica B |
| 22 | 274 | 5754 | 451 | 94 | Sporting CP B |
| 10 | 1040 | 21835 | 2642 | 342 | Sta. Clara |
| 14 | 781 | 16397 | 1723 | 352 | Un. Madeira |
| 6 | 1391 | 29204 | 2303 | 746 | Varzim SC |
| 5 | 1714 | 36001 | 3201 | 1021 | Vitória Guimarães B |
The Algarve's other second tier team, Olhanense, finished
bottom and are relegated to the third tier.
The League has the 'B' teams of several top
flight clubs eg FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP.
Olhanense are now doomed to relegation down to the third tier! They
play at the Estadio José Arcanjo in Olhão. This is near the
centre of town, not far from the main N125 road and McDonald's.
The tall floodlights can be seen from a long distance. Average
crowd this season 289, down by 25% from last season as they
ended rock-bottom of the league. There is little cover from the
elements on one side, none at all on the other. There is a car
park outside and street parking a few minutes walk away.
Segunda Liga matches are almost always played on
a Saturday or Sunday afternoon at 3pm or 4pm. However every now
and then there is an 11.15am kick-off for television. Midweek
matches are usually played in the afternoon to avoid the cost of
floodlights etc. Kick off times should be checked on the official website or locally.
A particular problem with the Segunda Liga is
that many matches are played out of sequence, either brought
forward or postponed for a few weeks. However the official website
lists games strictly by 'Jornada' or round of matches. The quick
way to get a team's fixtures in chronological order is to click on
the team name in the league table, then, when the next screen
opens, click on the 'Ver Jogos' (see games) tab, which will list
results and fixtures in date sequence. Bear in mind that these may
be correct only for the next three or four weeks.
Kickoff times are confirmed about three
weeks in advance. Admission for the general public for league
matches is normally 10 Euros, although Portimonense are currently
only charging €5!
Confirmed fixture dates and times can be found
on the official Superliga
website which also has links to the club websites. Clubs do
not produce programmes and few have club shops.
The Portuguese FA Cup is open to all
teams in the National setup, including those in Madeira and the
Azores. Almost all games are played at the weekend, as the leagues
mostly consist of between 12 and 16 teams, thus creating plenty of
spare dates. The only regional teams allowed to enter are,
generally, the league runner's up and the regional cup
winners. The fixtures can be found at www.zerozero.pt
but kickoff times are harder to find and will have to be checked
locally.
The League Cup (Taça CTT) is played by
the Superliga and Segunda Liga teams only. It's a rule that a
majority of players must be under 23. Normally very few people
bother to attend. The final was played at the Algarve
stadium, underdogs Moreirense were the winners.
Division II is split into several regional
sections each of ten teams. The Algarve is included in section H.
The League is played in two phases. After the first round of 22
matches, the top teams play a second round for promotion places,
the bottom ones play to avoid relegation. The series is now concluded.
Five Algarve teams were in the League this
season : Farense (relegated from Segunda Liga) Louletano,
Lusitano VRSA - Vila Real de Santo António, Armacanenses (based in
Armação de Pêra) and Almancil.
The second phase ended with all five Algarve teams
being neither promoted nor relegated. Next season therefore, with the
addition of Olhanense (relegated from the second tier) and the Algarve
League champions Moncarapachense, there will be seven Algarve teams playing at this
level in 2017 - 2018.
Various websites and newspapers publish the
fixture list, but rarely are kickoff times included. Up to date
League tables plus last and next games can be seen here in English - external link.
Games are usually played on Sunday afternoons at
3pm (4pm in April and May, and 5pm in September), but check
kickoff times locally as they may vary. There are no midweek
matches unless there is a postponement to be rescheduled.
Admission is normally 7 Euros. Attendances for
the Algarve teams are around 150 at the most.
The best place to check for fixtures and
kickoff times is Portuguese FA Website
Farense, the team of Faro, play in the
now renovated city centre São Luis stadium, which has a capacity
of about 10,000. The stadium is about 15 minutes walk from the
railway and bus stations. Average crowd last season was 834
with very low crowds as they struggled and failed to avoid
relegation. They did have a couple of crowds of around 1500 for
the two local derbies, but number fell off as they slid towards
the bottom of the table! There is no telling how many turn up for
Third tier matches, attendances are not published.
There is by the way no cover from the elements
on the non-members side of the stadium.
They have a web site page http://scfarense1910.blogspot.co.uk/
but the quality seems to vary from week to week. It's only in
Portuguese despite the UK web address.
Louletano mostly played in the town centre stadium, but did play a couple of times in the 28.000 seat Algarve Stadium. That easily accommodated their average crowd of 120.
This is the lowest level of football in the
Algarve region and is a semi-professional league roughly the
equivalent of a good English county FA league. The new
season is now under way and will be split into two phases. The top six will then
played another round of matches between them to determine champions
and promotion, the bottom six to avoid relegation. Admission to matches is €2,50, attendances rarely exceed 100!
The championship was decided on the final day of
the season. The leaders, Quarteirense B were two points ahead of
Moncarapachense, who they travelled to meet on Saturday 20th. Moncarapachense won 3-1, thus winning the league and gaining promotion to the national third tier.
ALGARVE DIVISION ONE TOP SIX FINAL
Teams carried their points through from the 22 match first phase.
The Algarve League games are normally played on
SATURDAYS normally at 3pm (4pm In April, 5pm May and 4pm September) but as
before fixtures can change, often at short notice. Best check
locally if you can. The local FA website usually publishes changes
to the fixture lists with confirmed kickoff times on the TUESDAY
prior to the weekend concerned. The local press does not list
kickoff times in their information.
A problem is that kickoff times and even match
dates are altered with as little as a week's warning. It is
difficult therefore to keep up to date as none of the clubs has an
official website and the FA website does not highlight any
changes. So if forget to look...
Fixtures (with kickoff times) can be seen
at http://www.afalgarve.pt/index.php?Itemid=355
then click 'Jogos a realizar' for the date you need. Fixtures and
current league table can also be seen here.
Reminder that ko times for more than 2 or 3 weeks ahead are
subject to change.
I list all fixtures with kickoff times each
Monday or Tuesday at www.albufeira.com/forum
Imortal
(Albufeira) play in the Municipal Stadium just outside
the town centre. Location Map here.
For Imortal's results and fixtures click here. Most other grounds are pretty well in
the centre of the town or village and are not hard to find.
Moncarapachense have now moved into their new ground in the town.
I do not know where it is!
The neat ground of Ferreiras
FC is right in the village centre. Ferreiras is 3
miles / 5km from Albufeira, easily reachable by bus or taxi if you
don't drive.
The Algarve Cup is the regional cup
competition and most teams enter, including those in the national
Leagues.
The final will be on Saturday 27th May, between
Quarteirense and Lusitano VRSA. The venue will be the Olhanense stadium in Olhão, ko time 1730hrs / 530pm.
Many bars in the Algarve, especially those run
by British people, have UK satellite dishes or internet streams.
In the Algarve you will almost always be able to find somewhere
showing the football. Some bars will also show Scottish games, but
you may have to look rather harder!
If you are coming to the Albufeira area and need to know a good bar in which to watch a game near where you are staying, go to www.albufeira.com/forum and ask there for a recommendation.
With the demise of the satellite signal that
allowed most UK channels to be easily received here, it is no
longer simple for some bars to show matches screened on BT Sport,
BBC, ITV etc. Most now have devised various internet based
solutions of varying quality and quantity. Sky Sports channels are
still available through satellite, but we understand they will soon also go.
Portugal's Sport TV3 channel shows English
Premier League matches each weekend and during midweek,
including the 3pm Saturday matches not available to UK viewers.
English language commentary is not currently available. This and
other subscription channels on SportTV also show FA Cup and League
Cup matches.
Many bars in tourist areas (ie the Algarve) have
access to various satellite channels, notably Bein Sport (Al
Jazeera), which show all English Premier League games with English
commentary, also some have Eir Sports (Irish) channels. You can find bars showing three games at the same time on a
Saturday afternoon.
Portugal's SportTV also shows live US Major League, Dutch,
Italian, French, German and Spanish games fairly regularly. You
may also get Brazilian games late at night.
If you have a car while you are here, you might
be able to get over to Huelva or Seville. Seville play in the
Spanish First Division of course as do the other team in Seville,
Real Betis.
The local team just across the border in Huelva,
called Recreativo, are in the third division for this
season.
You can get fixtures from an English Language website at www.soccer-spain.com; which also has information about kickoff times and ticket sales generally. Beware that in Spain, most games are scheduled for TV purposes only a few days in advancethe weekend concerned. Tickets are therefore not normally available until a few days beforehand. Many games kick off as late as 10.15pm.
The city of Seville is easily accessible from the Algarve by car, but there are no trains and by bus it is very hard work! Click here for public transport information Algarve - Seville.