The LPFP (Portuguese Professional Football League) yesterday confirmed the quarter-final lineup for next season’s Taça da Liga – the Portuguese League Cup.
The competition has been reformatted, yet again, with the group stage discarded and the tournament starting at the quarter-final stage. The participants will be the teams that finished in the top six positions in the Primeira Liga plus the winners and runners-up of the Second Division.
2026/27 Taça da Liga quarter-final lineup
Porto v Académico de Viseu
Sporting v Marítimo
Benfica v Gil Vicente
Braga v Famalicão
As such, the current holders of trophy, Vitória SC, will not be able to defend their title. Vitória beat Minho rivals Braga in a memorable final in January, sparking huge celebrations in Guimarães.
It is another example of how a potentially interesting competition has been badly mismanaged, with a constantly changing format, to the extent that many football fans in Portugal do not take it seriously.
The Portuguese football authorities have made it increasingly clear that they have done everything in their power to ensure the country’s four biggest clubs, Benfica, Porto, Sporting and Braga, make it to the semi-finals.
Ironically, arguably the two most memorable editions of the competition resulted in this year’s triumph for Vitória in a fantastic all-Minho final, and the shock win for Moreirense in 2017.
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Académico de Viseu back in the big time
One set of fans will be excited at taking part in the competition though. Académico de Viseu yesterday won promotion back to the top flight after a 37-year absence from Portugal’s elite. The club from central Portugal will play champions Porto in their quarter-final tie.
The twentieth edition of the competition is scheduled to kick off on 27 October.
Reformat on the cards again for 2027/28 season
The format for the Taça da Liga next season will be a one-off, with a new model already in place for the following campaign.
From 2027/28 onwards, the competition will be open to all clubs in the top two divisions, like in its initial years, but Portugal’s six participants in European competitions will get a bye into the quarter-finals. In other words, the other 30 clubs will fight it out for two quarter-final berths.
The thinking behind the latest format is to enable all clubs in the top two divisions to participate in the Taça da Liga while avoiding fixture overload for Portuguese teams involved in UEFA competitions.
