If you like football – or futebol, as we call it here – then you’ve already got a great way of getting in with the locals. The Portuguese have been futebol crazy since students brought the game over here from England and played the first official game in 1875.

The main competition is the Primeira Liga, which EUFA rank the fifth best national league in Europe. There are currently 16 teams in it, including the world famous Os Três Grandes – “The Big Three”: SL Benfica, FC Porto, and Sporting CP.

And the national team has shown it can compete with the very best since its first World Cup in 1966, when it reached the semi-finals; only losing to the eventual winners England. They’ve had mixed success since then but you always feel they have the potential to go all the way one day. They play at the national stadium at Oeiras, near Lisbon, where all the other important national games are traditionally played. It’s over 70 years old now but the atmosphere is always fantastic on big match days.

Now I’m off to check out the PortuGOAL website. It tells you everything you need to know about all levels of Portuguese football.

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!

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