History
Football started to gain popularity in Portugal in the late 19th century, brought by Portuguese students who returned from England.
The first organized game in the country took place in 1875 in Camacha, Madeira, organized by Madeira-born Harry Hinton.
The person responsible for its spread was Guilherme Pinto Basto (according to some people, his brothers Eduardo and Frederico brought the ball from England). He organized an exhibition in October 1888 and a match on in January the following year. The match, played where today's Campo Pequeno bullring is located, involved opposing teams from Portugal and England. The Portuguese won the game 2–1. Consequently, football started attracting the attention of high society, distinguished by the Luso-British rivalry.
The game reached colleges and led to clubs across the country. By century's end, associations such as Clube Lisbonense, Carcavelos Sport Club, Braço de Prata, Real Ginásio Clube Português, Estrela Futebol Clube, Futebol Académico, Campo de Ourique, Oporto Cricket, and Sport Clube Vianense had been founded.
The first domestic match, between Lisbon and Porto, took place in 1894, attended by King Carlos.
Clube Internacional de Futebol (founded in 1902) was the first Portuguese team to play abroad, defeating Madrid Fútbol Clube in 1907 in Madrid, Spain.
On 31 March 1914, the 3 regional associations that existed in Portugal (Lisbon, Portalegre and Porto), merged to create a national association called "a União Portuguesa de Futebol" the ancestor of the current national association "Federação Portuguesa de Futebol" which was formed on 28 May 1926.
Read more about this topic: Football In Portugal
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