Santiago Island League (North)
| Region |
 Northern Santiago Island including Assomada, Cape Verde
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 (unilateral) 2002 (formal) |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Promotion to | Cape Verdean Football Championship |
| Relegation to | Santiago North Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Santiago Island (North) Cup Santiago Island (North) Super Cup |
| Current champions |
AJAC da Calheta (official, 1st time) (2016-17) |
| Most championships | Scorpions Vermelho (4 times) |
| Website | Official website |
The Santiago Island League (North) is a regional championship played in Santiago Island, Cape Verde. The competittion are organized by the Santiago North Regional Football Association (Associação Regional de Futebol de Santiago Sul, ARFSS). The winner of the championship plays in Cape Verdean football Championships of each season.
The league was formed in 1999, the champion qualified into the single island championship which challenged the South Zone champion and the winner qualified into the National Championships, in 2003, the Santiago Island League was split into the north and south zones and was formally created, the two are the youngest island league in Cape Verde. In 2003, the league had into the northcentral and southcentral groups and several teams from the Second Level from the north became a single group. The competition was not held for the 2006 season. Clubs from São Domingos would participate in the South Zone as a couple of more clubs were created in the North Zone, also being almost equal to half of the island's population. Also up to 2010, it had the largest land area of the football association in Cape Verde, the Boa Vista Regional Football Association took the position afterwards.. Unlike other island leagues, between 2012 and 2015, it had the first and second phases and a playoff system in which the first four clubs would participate. The 2015/16 season featured 14 clubs and the first regional league in Cape Verde to have up to 26 rounds. In the 2016 season, three clubs were relegated while the fourth to last placed club participated in the division decisional match that featured Uniāo Picos, the club won and remained for the following season and currently reduced to 12 clubs equalling to the neighbouring South Zone.
The 2016-17 Premier Division went to a halt in February 7 as the referees needed the salaries for the 17th and the 26th rounds last season and the rounds of this season., it did not resumed until February 25 as the referees were paid four days earlier by its sponsorship of two telecommunications companies, one of them was Cabo Verde Telecom and the municipalities where the clubs are based.
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