Portimonense

Portimonense was a regular presence in the Portuguese first division, even finishing fifth in 1984–85 – highlights included 0–0 home draws against Benfica and Sporting CP – which led to participation in the UEFA Cup in the 1985–86 season. The team were eliminated in the first round of that competition by FK Partizan of Yugoslavia.

In the 1990s and 2000s, however, the club primarily played in the Segunda Liga, while also having a brief spell in the third level. In 2009–10, Portimonense started with Angolan Lito Vidigal at the helm, but when he left for União de Leiria, former Sporting midfielder Litos took charge, and led the team to a final second place, behind S.C. Beira-Mar, thus returning it to the top flight after exactly 20 years of absence; substitute Wilson Eduardo scored the only goal away to U.D. Oliveirense to guarantee the promotion.

Midway through the 2010–11 campaign, Litos was fired due to bad results, as Portimonense eventually ranked second from bottom and was relegated back. The team met the same fate in the following season, even managing to rank in a worse position; however, after Varzim S.C. was not allowed to promote from division three due to financial irregularities, Portimonense was reinstated.

Portimonense won the 2016–17 LigaPro to return to the top flight after six years; the campaign was managed by Vítor Oliveira, who had begun his coaching career with the club three decades earlier and had won promotion for the fifth consecutive time. The team went down on the last day of the 2019–20 season, as competitors C.D. Tondela and Vitória de Setúbal also won their games, however, Portimonense remained in the division due to issues off the pitch at both Vitória de Setúbal and C.D. Aves meaning these two were relegated and the Algarve side would stay up.