Vila Meã

A penalty shootout against FC Alpendorada settled something that had been open for eight years: whether Vila Meã belonged among Portugal's national divisions again. The semi-final of the Associação de Futebol do Porto's top tier went to spot kicks, Vila Meã held its nerve, and the win sent the club up to the Campeonato de Portugal.

The club has stayed competitive in the Taça de Portugal: in 2021 it beat Amarante FC on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the first round, and in the 2023/2024 and 2025/2026 seasons it reached the third round. Amarante FC is the fixture that matters most to Vila Meã, the "derby concelhio" contested between the two clubs of the same municipality.

Vila Meã plays in black and red horizontal stripes, a colour scheme the club traces to Flamengo, brought in by a Brazilian among its founders. The squad has stayed largely semi-professional, players holding other jobs alongside football, which makes a name like Jota Lopes stand out: he played for Vila Meã in the 2025/2026 season, arriving with a background at Braga, Gil Vicente and Famalicão, before moving on to Spartak Varna in Bulgaria.

None of that had a place yet on the second of September, 1944, when the club that would carry the name of this town in the Amarante municipality first came together.