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 4th May 2022
This is the Portuguese football set-up in
descending order for season 2021 - 2022. National Leagues consist
of four tiers. Lower tiers, where they exist, 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.
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.
Very few games are usually 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 usually no matches on Easter
Sunday, they are mostly played on the Saturday instead. Minor
leagues do not have games at Easter.
There is virtually no midweek football (ie Tuesday or Wednesday) anywhere in Portugal below the top two Divisions.
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. After the required cancellations in
2020, a small scale event was held in October 2021. A full
scale event involving 35 teams will be taking place on 25th
and 26th April 2022 at Ferreiras FC, just outside Albufeira.
This website will be of interest to visitors - https://walkingfootballalgarve.com/
not connected with us, this is the site of the East Algarve
Walking Football club.
This map shows the various grounds used by the professional and
semi-professional clubs based in the Algarve. Zoom in to see a
more precise location, click the marker to see who plays there.
Many towns have no active senior football clubs, hence the big
gaps in the map!
The two marked in red are those of Portimonense and Farense, the
two top level teams of the Algarve.
Those marked in yellow are, so far as I know, used only by junior
age group teams. For interest I have marked, in grey, some of the
grounds I know and that are now not used by anyone.
Season 2021 -
2022 season ends weekend 14th - 15th May
Portimonense
(the team based in Portimão) have once again escaped relegation
after a desperately poor second part of the season and will
therefore continue in the top division next season.
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 on the non-members side, no match
day programmes etc.
Their website is www.portimonense.pt
- it is only in Portuguese. The stadium holds about 5,500. If it's
looking like rain, be aware that the entire stadium, apart from
the executive area, has no roof cover. Average attendance so far
this season (as of 21 December) is 1,157, a quarter full or three
quarters empty empty depending on now you look at it. There is no
chance of a ticket when they play the big three teams i.e.
Benfica, Sporting CP and Porto. Members of home and away cubs get
priority.
Note for visitors - children under 6 years old are not allowed in.
The price of tickets will be €10 - 15 in non-members areas.
Tickets are not sold on websites etc except for the big games.
Ticket office opens 2 hours before kick-off. There are cafés and
bars in the surrounding area in which to wait, there is NOTHING
inside the ground in the way of spectator amenities before the
game starts.
There is a fairly large free car park outside,
which does get full as it also serves two large apartment blocks.
There are other places to park nearby. For those coming by bus,
the ground is 4 minutes walk from the main bus stop area on
Avenida Guanaré. The railway station is about 15 minutes walk.
However, given TV schedules, many games are played at times not
allowing journeys by train or bus.
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 top flight matches are shown live on TV and are therefore mostly played in the evenings, sometimes kicking off as late as 21.15hrs even on Sundays.
Games are 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, sometimes 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.
Apart from games involving the 'big three' and
the honourable exceptions of Braga and Guimarães, crowds often
number less than 5,000.
Season 2021- 2022 season ends weekend 14th - 15th May
Most games are played on Sunday afternoons, but
there will be some moved for TV broadcast and often at only a week
or two's notice.
Farense,
the team of Faro, play in the renovated city centre São Luis
stadium, which has a capacity of about 12,000.
They were promoted from the Second Division in
2019 - 2020 and relegated straight back down last time. In the
Second Division the average attendance is around 2,000. They are,
as of April 2021, the best supported team in the Division with an
average attendance of 2,348.
The stadium is located on the north side of the
city near the large hospital, about 15 minutes walk from the
railway and bus stations . There is no cover from the elements on
the non-members side of the stadium. Official website https://www.scfarense.pt/modalidades/futebol
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.
Portimonense were knocked out in the
quarter-finals by a Second Division team.
The League Cup (Taça Allianz) is played
by the Superliga and Segunda Liga teams only. The top teams are
obliged to play a majority of Under-23 players. Farense and
Portimonense were out of the competition in its early stages.
The best place to check for fixtures and
kickoff times is Portuguese FA Website
This consists of regionalised divisions of ten or eleven teams
with two phases to the season. After each team has played each
other home and away, the leagues split into two. A further round
of matches takes place, with the top teams playing for promotion
places and the rest playing to avoid relegation.
Matches are normally played on Sunday afternoons. The first phase group that included the Algarve teams had only ten teams. One of those was expelled for failing to fulfil fixtures.
The first phase ended on 6th March. The second phase of more
group matches started 20th March. The two top teams from the
Algarve, Olhanense and Moncarapachense, will be in a group of six
vying for a playoff spot and promotion to the third division. The
other three, Imortal Albufeira, Lagos and Louletano, will play a
short series to determine who stays up and who gets relegated.
Final games will be played early in May, dates vary according to
which section teams are in.
Moncarapachense
play in a tiny stadium in the small village of
Moncarapacho, a few miles / km from Olhão. There is no public
transport on weekend afternoons, so you need to find another way
to get there and back if you have no car.
Lagos
play in an open air stadium just outside the town centre, about 10
minutes walk from the bus and railway stations.
Louletano
play most games in the 28,000 seat Algarve Stadium, several km
from the town. That easily accommodates their average crowd of
120. There is no public transport at the Algarve Stadium.
Olhanense 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. 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. They do have a
small number of resident British fans who meet before the game in
a bar opposite the main entrance.
The Algarve
League First Division season will end on 28th May!
There are no games over the Easter holiday
weekend.
This is a semi-professional league, roughly the
equivalent of a good English county FA league. Matches are
normally played on Saturday afternoons, although some games are at
different times because of ground sharing.
First Division
Almancilense; Culatrense (based in Faro),
Farense 'B', Ferreiras, Guia, Internacional Almancil, Lagoa,
Louletano 'B', Lusitano VRSA; Odiáxere; A.D Quarteira 1937;
Quarteira SC, Silves; Sport Faro e Benfica; 11 Esperanças (Faro).
Algarve League games are played on SATURDAYS
normally at 3pm (4pm In April, 4pm or 5pm May) but as before
fixtures can change, often at short notice. Best check locally if
you can. Some kickoff times are changed because of ground sharing.
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
kick-off 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 I forget to look...
Fixtures (with kick-off times) can be seen at http://www.afalgarve.pt/index.php/comunicacoes/jogos-no-algarve
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 kick-off times each
Monday or Tuesday at www.albufeira.com/forum
The Algarve Cup is the regional cup
competition and most teams enter, including those in the national
Leagues. Most matches are played midweek. The fginal wil be
between Ferreiras (Algarve League) and Moncarapachense (Campeonato
de Portugal). It will be a midweek date which as of 4th May is not
yet known.
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.
Portugal's Sport TV channels show English
Premier League matches each weekend and during midweek,
including the 3pm Saturday matches not normally available to UK
viewers. English language commentary is not currently available.
SportTV also show FA Cup and League Cup matches.
Many bars in tourist areas (ie the Algarve) have
access to various international satellite channels, notably Bein
Sport also South African. US and Canadian channels, which show
many English Premier League games with English commentary. Some
have Irish channels. You can find bars showing three games at the
same time on a Saturday afternoon.
Portugal's SportTV (subscription channel) 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 (La Liga) 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.
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, many games are scheduled for TV purposes only a few days in advance of the weekend concerned. Tickets are therefore not normally available until a few days beforehand. Some 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
currently (MAy 2022) very hard work with very few buses running. A
trip out and back in one day almost impossible! Click here for public transport
information Algarve - Seville.
The new season started on Sunday 26th September and will end mid-
May. As in previous seasons, Guia FC will be the Algarve's sole
representative in the top two divisions. They are now playing
their Division Two home games at Ferreiras FC. Ferreiras has, for
the first time ever, their own women's team. They play in the
regionalised Third Division of the national system. Matches are
usually on Sunday afternoons. Fixtures can be found at https://www.fpf.pt/pt/
- click MENU on the top right , then Futebol Feminino then the
required competition.
Very little women's 11-a-side football in played in the Algarve.
The whole Algarve Region has just the two teams active team, those
of Guia FC and Ferreiras FC. They do not play every week.
Guia's home matches are played at Ferreiras.