Great points Karl, and I disagree, you didn't ramble at all.

I mostly agree with your assessment that there's nothing wrong with teams that are perenial mid-table or even lower table clubs. The problem is when they do try to go for it and overspend and become crippled.
It's just not in Portugal, it's everywhere. Palermo and Udi in Italy come to mind. They basically just try to get Europa play, and that's ok.

I've railed against Braga since I don;t think they really triy to retain Paciencia. That would have meant a huge investment in the club. I called them stingy, but I could be wrong.
This Is Not Put Down!!!
Braga's management seems content in finishing in the top 4 and making it into Europa. There is nothing wrong with that.
If anything it just might be smart management.

PS I was sad to see Est. Amadora fold. and that was after finishing 11th in the league. Crazy.
I do believe that they are back in the lower divisions.

then your middle teir teams play a mini cup to see who can get some european spots. and the top 6 play to see who would win the league and qualify for the cl and automatic el. who in portuga;l would not watcha benfica porto match to decide the campionship, or who would be excited by a 5 and 6th making it to the semis or even final. and who wouldnt be onthe egde of their sea f if helton concedes a penelaty in extra time of the final againts braga. this system creates interesting and clinical matches which would grip the whole of portugal. this aswell as better match times is what would bring the league to a better place.

This is happening in all leagues the big clubs have a big advantage. Barca and Real in spain, rangers and celtic in scotland, the big four in england, etc. We fix it with a salary cap. One reason why the Liga Sagres is the way it is is because the big three is much better than the smaller clubs. If Fifa introduced a salary cap this would stop the poor performance by small clubs. If this was put into football then teams like Leiria and Steubal and Beira Mar may win something and get more fans and take them out of the financial situation theyre in. I dont want to make them better than the big three, but i want them to be as good. And if that happens then more fans will show up.

torpiano, I agree that a smaller league would make much more sense. It would allow the clubs that remain in the 1st division to get better players, and make the league a bit more competitive.
That being said;
- I'm not sure that would help with attendance. After the top 5, the average attendance drops all the way down to the 4,000's and below. Benfica had more people at one match than what 10 teams were able to generate for the whole year. Like it's been mentioned, people need to go out and watch their "local" team. A those teams need to reach out and try to get them in.

- Yes the stadiums are too big so it looks silly. Can teams tarp, ala baseball, the top of stadiums. How about letting kids in for free, and giving out free tickets during a match for a future match.
The stadiums in South Africa are going to rot. they have no use for them and rugby isn't enough to fill them all.
That's another reason why the Qatar WC nomination was ridiculous. They are going to donate the stadiums and move them at their expense, to under privilaged nations. Ridiculous since those nations will never fil them or have the money to support such a structure. They will most likely become evac places in a crisis. If football wanted to grow, the stadiums should be going to Italy, who need, could and just might be able to support the new stadiums

- I also wonder how our UEFA coefficient will be affected by the smaller league. If only two teams were allowed in the CL, it could also cripple a team. We just might become a "Big 2" league, ala the SPL.

rich, unfortunately the merchandising rules in football aren't the same as in American sports. Once a player is sold, his image rights belong to that team, so a former teams can't go out and sell his jersey. That's why big clubs get bigger. Per example, Real was able to renegotiate their deal with Adidas (jersey), due to buying CR7. They basically went back to Adidas and said that they wanted more money since they were able to put Nike's biggest footballer in an Adidas jersey.
They also justified CR7's cost, due to them taking in a tremendous amount of money, via jersey sales.
Once a player retires, I believe that a team can then work out a deal for his "image rights" if he played for them. Like Eusebio with Benfica.

As for revenue sharing, it's a much more difficult thing to do in football. First and foremost, I do think that revenue should be shared in league matches, if it isn't already. Even if it's skewed to the big teams percentage wise.
That being said, why should a team share European match play revenue? They earned the position and should profit fully from it.
There's also issues due to teams dealing with players from all parts of the world. Teams aren't just buying from withing the league.
People disagree, but I'm a big believer in needing the "Big" biys to be "Big". It's ok for teams to be mid-table fodder, and spend wisely.

Let add that, contrary to popular belief , paridy is not great for sports. The NFL has always had better ratings when their a dominant squad. The Steelers and Cowboys, followed by the 49'ers and Giants, and then the Patriots. Yes, there's surprises here and there, but we have those in football as well. Braga the last two years, and did we forget about Guimaraes already.
Ratings are also better in baseball when the Yankees and Red Sox play. People may hate them, but the ratings prove that people watch when powerhouses play. Basketball has always been that way.

By far it's not an easy fix, and I sure don't have a solution. The economy can only hamper the situation as well. I just hope that we can continue to thrive in European football. If we could get a couple of teams to be just a bit more consistant, quality could improve greatly.

I think, like all problems of this magnitude, there is never ONE solution. Yes, the majority of fans support the big 3.
By why can't they support more than that? Support your local club AND support one of the Big 3 (4).

My family came from Madeira. Overall, my favorite team is Benfica. More and more, it's Porto. But I still support Maritimo.

I think if some big names started to show support for these clubs, it could help. I'm not talking about financial support, but think of this:
What if Mourinho started showing up at Vitoria de Setubal games, helped organize some fundraisers? That would generate some interest\attendance.
Same with Ronaldo. He's very proud of his Madeiran heritage, what if he showed up at some Nacional or Andorinha games or did some fundraisers for them?

I realize there may be some conflict of interest somewhere in that with them being tied to a contract at a different club albeit in a different league.

But it could definitely help.
"I got my start here, this is my hometown, come out and support this great team."

Hey, have the club sell a "vintage" shirt from when they played. I'm sure all the Ronnie-fanboys would buy that!

For the rock fans out there:
How many CDs did Danzig sell once James Hetfield started wearing their shirts in concert?


Just my 2 cents...

Yes it's sad to see this happen but it's not their fault. Note in England and the majority of the rest of Europe the small teams have small modern stadiums that seat 15000 the most. Why dont the FPF market this league and get investors to invest and buy this small teams and develop the small teams and become profitable another blogger was mentioning South Africa in 10 years and little do they know that the major stadiums build for the world cup are now being used as state of the art rugby stadiums because of the springboks. Lets all think and if we can market our league investors will buy our teams and become a very dominant league in Europe and the world.

I am very much against the creation of an Iberian League. It would most likely destroy Portuguese football. The cost of travel alone would crush some squads.
Yes, I think that it's in dire straights anyway.

I do agree with the earlier start times. I think that it's important to hold games at different times of the day, and maybe even on different days. We all know that almost everyone roots for one of the Big Three, and then has a passing interest with a local squad.
I for one was brought up a Benfiquista, but I have always tried to catch a Belenenses and now an Atletico match (newly promoted to Liga de Honra), due to their proximity to where I stay in Lisboa.
I have never entered "The Pia".
The different start times might just allow fans to go to a league match and still be able to go home a watch one of the Big Three.

Guimaraes and Braga are the only two other clubs that can honestly say that they have their very own supporters. Braga averaged 14,509 and Guimaraes 13,349.

By the way, it was great to have Estadio Municipal de Aveiro back in the 1st division. Sadly, although ranked 7th in attendance, Beira Mar only averaged 3,926 fans.

Since I am going to Portugal as a visitor, either business or pleasure, I guess I look at it from a different prespective. I think that Aveiro is a beautiful city and would turn the match into a whole day event. I've been to Braga's stadium, another beautiful city, and I loved it.
But I just don't see the same thought out of family members in Portugal. We have a beautiful country, and maybe some people in Portugal have to start rediscovering it. If it has to be through football, so be it.

It's a double edge sword in my opinon. The fact is that Portugal needs the Big Three to be dominant so they can compete in European play and bring money into the league. If we were to have multiple winners, I think that it would actually hurt the league in the long run.
Just take a look at what happened in Italy when Juve and Milan were sent down. It rocked that league so much that their coefficient has fallen. If they could have done it over, I doubt any team would have been sent down.

As for other countries doing it right, I would only put Germany and England in that category. Germany caters to families and England made sure to get rid of the holligan aspect in the league.
In Italy you see plenty of empty stadiums. The atmosphere at the stadiums themselves isn't a friendly one with all of the "ultras" taking over. It doesn't feel safe.
As for Spain, they also have a ton of clubs losing money, with empty stadiums.
Let me add that I have also attended games at The Luz where idiots have sat next to me. They cursed and basically had nothing to offer to the match. It wasn't even cheering, it was just loonacy. I've also had a great time, but I would never take my 11 year old to a match. And that's paying for the expensive seats. it's a shame. I have taken my wife who really enjoyed it.

All in all I get that we will always have a hard time in supporting all of the clubs, but the clubs themselves have to do a better job of promoting themselves to their own communities. There's no reaching out to possible fans, and trying to foster relationships. The total number of spectators should be better.

This (well-written) article brings to mind many issues with the state of football in Portugal.

First, this stadium was constructed for Euro 2004, which was awarded to Portugal back in the heady days of 1999. Part of the reason Portugal was awarded the bid was because it promised to construct new stadiums and update older stadiums. For the Big 3's stadiums, it was a no brainer--new stadiums for heavily supported clubs. For the rest, the stadiums were built without much planning for what would happen after the tournament. In the case of UDLeiria, there's no way that a club that size could've been expected to fill that stadium on a regular basis. Same thing for Faro (Farense, who aren't even in the first division) and Aveiro (Beira Mar).

The sad thing is, all that money was spent building the stadium and it hosted two(!) matches in 2004. Cost/benefit analysis anyone? Major tournaments have been bid for and operated on the idea that "if you build it, they will come." Build stadiums and expect football support and revenue to blossom. Let's check in on South Africa in 10 years and see how that plan worked for them...

The problem lies with Portuguese football and the Big 3. The Big 3 take the rest of the clubs in the Liga for granted. As long as they have their own stadiums filled, they don't care what happens in the rest of the country. (Remember LFV telling Benfica supporters not to go to away games?) The smaller clubs can't rely on 3 matches per year against FCP, SLB and SCP to pay their bills.

There eventually will need to be greater profit-sharing by the Big 3--if not directly between clubs, then indirectly, via TV contracts, endorsements, etc. (Even TV contracts may become irrelevant if the Big 3 are able to hoard broadcasts of their games for their own channels.) If the non-Big 3 teams were supported and became more competitive, attendance would go up, TV ratings would go up and revenue would increase--for everyone!

With clubs with rich histories (see Boavista, Salgueiros, Farense, etc.) failing financially, could there be a day when the Big 3 don't have anyone left to play against?

Braga is financial fine. Averaged around 15 thousand a game this year and has built a fan base over the 3 largest city in Portugal. We shouldn't pretend that Porto, Sporting, and Benfica are the most financially responsible clubs in Portugal.

Thats why I want to see teams like Braga, Gurmaraes, ect, win trophies...But Portuguese football will always have the big 3 dominating..Only two teams apart from Benfica, Porto and Sporting have won the Portuguese league, One time Belenenses, they won the league a very very long time ago..And the other Boavista around 10 years ago..

The original story about starting with changing the game times to an earlier time is a good idea. Other than an early match between Maritimo-Braga in Barreiros, it's been the usual late start times. If you have early or late afternoon games you may encourage families to bring their kids with them. I believe England and Italy match early matches too and it works.

Sad yes but in Portugal only 3 teams get supported, the rest have a few diehards but not enough to support a team. It would be better if the league contracted even more into 12-10 teams then when the big teams come to town the smaller teams get a few more sellouts because instead of playing twice a year you could maybe play 4 times a year (twice at home , twice away). Portugal is too small a country to support 16 teams. Maybe even join Spain and have a Iberian League alltogether. A combined Portuguese+Spanish league would be ranked number 1 in coefficiants and overtake the EPL as the best league in the world easily.

I can't believe a stadium like that will be left there empty and unused for some considerable amount of time. Both management and supporters should be ashamed of themselves. Only way I can see that stadium being used now is when the NT uses it for friendlies.

Probably the saddest article I've read here on Portugoal. One of the few beautiful stadiums in Portugal will now be left to rot. It really sucks that some mid and lower clubs suffer through this, but its the harsh reality of Portuguese Futebol. I think the Portuguese League, as well as, other leagues should take notes from the Bundesliga. That league in Germany is ran really well and you never hear complaints surrounding scandals, money, attendances, competition level, scheduling, etc.