Portuguese District Football Associations

There are 22 district Football Associations in Portugal. These organizations are the governing bodies (alongside the Portuguese Football Federation) of football in each Portuguese district.

Until the reform of Portuguese football in 1948, all clubs in a given district had to participate in the District Championship, even those in Primeira Liga and Segunda Divisão; after 1948, a Terceira Divisão was established for transition between the District Championship and national leagues and the top level clubs no longer had to 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 will compete in a unified Azores league before joining the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores.

The 22 DFAs are:

Note: "Associação de Futebol de/do/da" means "Football Association of"

Angra do Heroísmo, Beja, Bragança, Guarda, Horta and Viana do Castelo have never had representation in the top level.

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