Summary

Before the creation of the Primeira Liga, there was a competition called Championship of Portugal (Campeonato de Portugal), created in 1922 as the first competition of Portuguese football, however, despite its name and being at the time crowned Portuguese Champions, they are not recognized as Champions any longer. The knock-out format of this Competition corresponds to today's Portuguese Cup (Taça de Portugal).

In 1934, Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão was created as the top-tier football in Portugal. The winners of Campeonato da Liga are considered Portuguese champions.

From the 1938–39 season on, Campeonato de Portugal was named Taça de Portugal, and Campeonato da Liga was named National Championship of the First Division, usually called First Division (Primeira Divisão). Since 1999, Primeira Divisão has been known as Primeira Liga.

FC Porto were the first club to be crowned League champions, in the 1934–35 season.

S.L. Benfica, with 38 titles, have been crowned champions more times than any other club and dominated the league during the 1960s and 1970s. Benfica are followed by Porto with 30 titles, who dominated in the 1990s and 2000s, who in turn are followed by Sporting CP, with 20 titles, who dominated in the 1940s and 1950s. C.F. Os Belenenses and Boavista F.C. are the only two other clubs that have managed to win the league once. All five clubs are from the two largest Portuguese cities, of Lisbon and Porto respectively.

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