Sport in Portugal

Sports in Portugal are important in Portuguese culture. Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. Other than football, many other professional or semi-professional well organized sport competitions take place every season in Portugal, including basketball, swimming, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, futsal, rink hockey, team handball, volleyball, surfing, canoeing and rugby union championships among the hundreds of sports played in this country.

The major Portuguese professional sports leagues, championships and events include:

Other popular sport-related recreational outdoor activities with thousands of enthusiasts nationwide include airsoft, golf, hiking, orienteering, and Bull fighting.

American football is played in a national league since 2009, initially with five teams. Between 2013 and 2016, the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Americano was split in two conferences, north and south. The eighth edition in 2016, will have ten teams. Lisboa Devils are the defending champions. Lisboa Navigators are the most successful team with six titles.

Portugal has been traditionally strong in the sport of athletics in long distance running, and is the birthplace for a number of successful athletes including Rosa Mota, Carlos Lopes, Fernanda Ribeiro, and Manuela Machado. Rui Silva and sprinter Francis Obikwelu have won several gold, silver and bronze medals in European, World and Olympic Games competitions. Naide Gomes is a multiple World and European champion in the women's pentathlon and long jump events and Nelson Évora is world and Olympic champion in the triple jump. In the triathlon, Vanessa Fernandes has won a large number of medals and major competitions across the world, including the silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

...
Wikipedia