Meeting with Azorean football associations secures consensus over this sport - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação, Cultura e Desporto

The Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport, through the Regional Directorate for Sport, recently met with the three Azorean football associations — the Angra do Heroísmo Football Association, the Ponta Delgada Football Association and the Horta Football Association — at a working session chaired by the Regional Director for Sport.

The meeting was mainly intended to define consensual solutions for the regional regulation of this sport, focusing on two key issues for the development of football in the Azores: access for senior women’s teams to national competitions and the restructuring of the Azores Football Championship.

In an atmosphere marked by constructive dialogue, consensus-building, a spirit of cooperation, and a strong sense of institutional responsibility from all parties, a joint agreement was reached on both matters.

As for women's football, it was agreed that the official representative of the Azores in the national 4th tier —an open competition —will be the winner of the Regional Women's Championship, which will be contested among the winners of the local championships organised by each of the three football associations.

Azorean teams currently competing in the 4th tier will also participate in this regional phase, except when they qualify for the 3rd tier or suffer relegation (finishing last).

Given that this is an open competition format, regional financial support for participating in this national competition will be granted solely to the winner of the Regional Championship. Exceptionally, two teams may receive support if an Azorean team is relegated from the 3rd to the 4th tier.

Considering the temporary application of this new model, it was further agreed that, for the 2026/2027 season, the representative of the Azores will be the team currently competing in the national league - Vitória Clube do Pico da Pedra.

From the 2027/2028 season, the competition will be restructured.
In a first phase, all teams not competing in regular national competitions will participate in their respective island championships.

Once this phase is complete, the top three teams from the Ponta Delgada Football Association, the top three from the Angra do Heroísmo Football Association and the top two from the Horta Football Association will compete in the regional phase, forming an eight-team Azores Football Championship.

During the meeting, the Regional Directorate for Sport confirmed its commitment to maintaining the financial savings generated by reducing the Azores Football Championship from ten to eight teams within the overall budget allocated for this sport.

This financial boost will be allocated through Sports Development Programme Contracts for Regional, National and Refereeing Activities, ensuring that the competitive reorganisation does not lead to a decrease in public investment for the development of Azorean football.

Following the consensus reached, the three football associations will now proceed with drafting the formal regulatory proposals.

The specific regulatory proposal for senior women's football will be submitted to the Regional Directorate for Sport by the end of July for revision and validation in time for the 2026/2027 season.

In turn, the general regulatory proposal for this sport, including the restructuring of the Azores Football Championship, will be submitted by the end of August, thus concluding the regulatory revision process.

The Regional Directorate for Sport considers the solutions reached an important step toward modernising the competitive structure of Azorean football, fostering greater sustainability, competitive balance, and improved conditions for its growth.

The process leading to these decisions has demonstrated that prior coordination among associations and institutional dialogue with the Regional Directorate for Sport are the most effective way to find stable, consensual solutions tailored to the reality of sport in the Azores.

The Government of the Azores would like to thank the three Azorean Football Associations for their sense of responsibility, willingness and spirit of commitment they have demonstrated throughout this process. The capacity for dialogue and consensus-building shown at this meeting is an example of institutional maturity. It also evidences the fact that the best results for Azorean sport are achieved through cooperation among all partners.

The Regional Government will continue to prioritise this collaborative working model, confident that cooperation, mutual trust and the active participation of those involved in sport are the foundations for finding solid responses to the present and future challenges. These moments of reflection and joint decision-making are the hope for an Azorean football that is increasingly stronger, more united and better prepared to meet the needs of clubs, athletes and their respective associations. They also demonstrate that, when there is dialogue, strategic vision and a willingness to build together, it is possible to find balanced, sustainable and beneficial solutions for the development of sport in the Region.