Marítimo

The pitch at Estádio do Marítimo sits on a site the club has occupied since the 1950s, when it opened as Estádio dos Barreiros. Marítimo did not own it outright until April 2009, and what stands now is largely the product of a rebuild that ran from 2009 to 2016 and cost €35 million before reopening in December that year. It holds 10,600 people, which fits a club that has never played anywhere but Funchal.

The island setting explains more about Marítimo than its name does on its own — Cândido Fernandes de Gouveia founded the club in 1910 among men who worked Funchal's docks, and the red and green on the shirts were a deliberate break from the blue and white of city rivals Club Sports da Madeira, a colour split that traced back to Portugal's republican and monarchist flags. It remains the club's only national championship.

Being from Madeira rather than the mainland shaped the harder parts of the story too. Marítimo did not reach the top flight until 1977, the first side based outside continental Portugal to do so, and two Taça de Portugal finals — 1994/95 and 2000/01 — both ended in defeat, as did two Taça da Liga finals against Benfica in the mid-2010s. A 38-year run in the Primeira Liga ended with relegation in 2022/23. That absence lasted three seasons: Marítimo won Liga Portugal 2 in 2025/26 and returns to the top division.