Liga 3

The Liga 3 is a semiprofessional soccer league from Portugal. The league saw the light in 2021 as part of a restructuring process started by the Portuguese Football Federation. Liga 3 took the place that formerly belonged to the Terceira Divisao. The first edition of Liga 3 was held with 24 teams, but that number was eventually cut to 20 clubs.

The league works under a promotion-relegation system, with all 20 clubs being divided into two groups of ten for geographical reasons. The competition sees teams from each of the groups playing against each other twice. The top four from each lot enter the promotion phase, while the other 12 are involved in the relegation phase.

The promotion phase sees the eight teams facing each other twice, and the top two who get the most points are promoted to Liga 2. The third-ranked team enters a promotion playoff with the 16th team in Liga 2.

Regarding the relegation phase, the twelve teams are divided into two groups of six, where they play against their rivals twice. To help them through this phase, each team is granted starting points for their spot in the previous round (eight for sixth place and all the way to one for the tenth spot). Relegation is handed out to the bottom two clubs from each group.

All Liga 3 teams get access to the Taça de Portugal, with the only exception of reserve or B teams playing in this category.