Best of Portugal

Portuguese football

Portugal is one of the premier members of the European Union and is also foremost among the first world countries and with the passage of time consolidated its position as an emerging world power. In the country different sporting activities are patronized and Portugal participates in all the major sporting events in the world coming up with impressive performances. However, the most important and loved sport in the country is definitely football. The origin of the game can be traced to the later years of the 19th century around 1888 when the idea of the game was imported from England by some students and it is believed that Guilherme Pinto Basto was the first to organize the first ever football match in Portugal. It is interesting to note that in this first match, the Portuguese won against the team from England and it was after this victory that the game began to draw the interests of the higher classes of Portuguese society as well. This also led to the beginning of the foundation of various sporting clubs and organizations dedicated to the practice and spread of the game. Some of these clubs included Braco de Prata, Clube Lisbonense, the Futebol Academico, the Campo de Ourique and many others. In 1894 the first official match was played between Porto and Lisbon.

At present the Portuguese football team is one among the top ten football playing nations of the world and though it has not yet managed to win the football world cup despite being in the finals twice, it has already impressed critics with their competent performances against the top league teams. According to May 2006 statistics, Portugal is ranked seventh in the world by FIFA. Some of the prominent players of the Portuguese national team include Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rui Costa. The Portuguese Liga is the most significant domestic football competition in Portugal and some of the prominent domestic teams include FC Porto, Sporting CP etc.