95% NATIONAL SUPPORT FOR PORTUGAL'S BIG THREE

There have been 92 editions of the Portuguese Primeira Liga to date. Only two of them have been won by clubs other than Benfica, Sporting and Porto.

A whopping 95% of football fans in Portugal support the big three – a share that even dwarves the share of national support for the big three in Türkiye and the Netherlands.

So how have the trio established such a fierce grip on the domestic game and its fans? What role have the country’s history and geography had to play? And what chance, if any, does a club outside the big three have of breaking its stranglehold?

Plus, countrymen Torreense claim the first European league phase win for a lower-league team in a decade and our partner Golaço Kits holds a Portuguese club shirt giveaway!

You can already listen to Monday’s bumper bonus podcast on Patreon. In it, we take a virtual journey across Central and Eastern Europe to profile four unique clubs, including the village team who lured Real Madrid’s 12th man to Moldova!

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:52 – Triumph for Torreense

02:40 – Big three dominance

07:43 – 95% national support

10:58 – Lusophone influence

14:10 – Potential challengers

18:10 - Golaço Kits giveaway