Taça de Portugal is the oldest football tournament of the country, which has been organized annually since 1922. It’s second in order of importance in Portugal and the most large-scale one. All members of the Football League of Portugal (4 top divisions), as well as regional football tournaments winners (about 160 teams in total) compete for the trophy. Unlike other top European championships, it’s not allowed for farm clubs (B) to take part in the Taça de Portugal, that’s why the number of participants is always different.
The first competition, held in 1912, was called Taça do Império. World War I slowed down the development of Portuguese football and the Taça de Portugal in particular. Only on its completion and the country restoration the appropriate competition (the Championship of Portugal) could be conducted.
It had existed until 1934 and is considered to be the Primeira Liga forerunner. The tournament was organized in the play-off format, rivals from the same districts and even cities competed at early stages. The 1922 final was carried out in three matches, the results of which revealed the winner – “Porto”. After that, it was decided to hold a standard one-match final, and in case of a draw a replay was assigned.
In 1934, an independent championship of Portugal was created, while the Taça de Portugal relegated to second place. Any club owning an arena or renting it from another team could take part in the tournament. The first winner of the independent Taça de Portugal became “Académica de Coimbra”, which beat “Benfica” 4-3 in the final.
After the reorganization of the Portuguese football system in 1946, only representatives of the two top divisions of the country could take part in the cup tournament. In 1968, representatives of the third division of Portugal were admitted to the competition. The last and currently the most monumental rearrangement in the Taça de Portugal took place in 1991. It became possible for the fourth division representatives and regional championships winners to enter the contest. Since that point the number of participants varied from 140 to 160.
