Big Three (Portugal)

The Big Three ( _pt. Os Três Grandes) is the nickname of the three most powerful sports clubs in Portugal. The football teams of SL Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting CP have a great rivalry, and are usually the main contenders for the title. Between them they share all but two of the Portuguese Football Championships ever played and generally end up sharing the top three positions. The only two clubs outside the big three to have won the Portuguese league are Belenenses in the 1945-46 season and Boavista in the 2000-01 season.

In other sports, the rivalry between the "Os Três Grandes" is also considerable (although currently football and handball are the only team sports where all three clubs field professional teams) and it usually leads to arguments between the fans and players. These clubs dominate Portuguese football so completely that it is very rare for anyone to claim to support any other team as their "first club". The general rule in Portugal is that, first and foremost, you support one of the "The Big Three" with your local team coming in second place (or in many cases not coming at all). The big three have the highest average attendance ratings every season in Portugal, but the other teams, lacking support from the locals, have suffered from weak attendances due in part to the big three's monopoly. The lack of support for local teams is considered to be one of the main reasons why Portuguese Football registers one of the worse attendance ratings in European Football's main championships, alongside the price of game tickets, perceived corruption (see "Apito Dourado" scandal) and the showing of too many games in TV.

Benfica is the team with most titles won but Porto has been the dominating force in the last two decades and a half, however it is being investigated in many corruption cases, such as the famous "Apito Dourado"..