Association football, the most popular sport in Portugal, has a long and storied history in the country, following its introduction in 1875 in cities such as Funchal, Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra by English merchants and Portuguese students arriving back home from studying in England. This led to the establishment of local clubs dedicated to the practice of the sport.
Football fans at the Estádio da Luz
Monument in Camacha, celebrating the first ever organised football game in Portugal
A memorial to the first football match played on mainland Portugal in Cascais in October 1888
Portuguese football fans supporting the Portugal national team
The Taça de Portugal is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 season. Organised by the Portuguese Football Federation since it was first held in 1938, the competition is open to professional and amateur clubs from the top-four league divisions. Matches are played from August–September to May–June, and the final is traditionally held at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, near Lisbon. The winners qualify for the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira and the UEFA Europa League.
Replica of the Taça de Portugal trophy first awarded to Académica de Coimbra in 1939.