The Sal Premier Division is a regional championship played in Sal Island, Cape Verde. The winner of the championship plays in Cape Verdean football Championships of each season. The competition are organized by the Sal Regional Football Association (Associação Regional de Futebol de Sal, ARFS).Sal Football (Soccer) Association at the FCF website The Premier Divisions contains eight clubs. In title history, Académico do Aeroporto has the most titles numbering 14, and is ranked fifth in the most championship titles of any of the island leagues in Cape Verde. The champion promotes into the Cape Verdean Football Championships each season while the last placed club relegates into the second division the following season.
History The regional championships was founded shortly after independence and became the four championships to compete at the national level.
SC Verdun from Santa Maria was the first club to win a title, Académico Sal, Palmeira and Académica do Aeroporto were the next club to win a title, SC Santa Maria was the fifth club to win a title in 1987. From 1990 to 2014, it was the only regional championship in Cape Verde that every club has won a title, Juventude was the last club who was without a title in 1990.
Up to the 2014 season, the league had only six clubs competing. From the mid-2000s to 2011, it had the second most clubs in the country, up until 2014, it had the fewest clubs in the country after Maio and Brava. When the Second Division was introduced, the championships has the fifth most clubs in the nation after São Vicente.
Sal was the most recent club to have a Second Division added in the 2014/15 season, each two divisions had 6 clubs each. In the following season, two clubs added to the premier division totalling eight.
Broadcasting rights Its top clubs, the Académica clubs of the island are broadcast on TCV but not often except for a club competing at the national level, it is aired often on its Sal affiliate.
Sal Premier Division - Clubs 2017/18 Académico do Aeroporto - Espargos Académica do Sal - Espargos ASGUI - Santa Maria Florença - Santa Maria Gaviões - Hortelã, Espargos - relegated after finishing last Juventude - Morro Curral, Espargos Palmeira - champions Santa Maria
Winners Sal Island/Regional Championships
1960: Atlético 1961–69: not known 1970–75: not held 1975–76: Juventude 1976–77: Juventude 1977–78: Not held 1978–79: Juventude 1979–80: Verdun 1980–81: Santa Maria 1981–82: Académica 1982–83: Santa Maria 1983–84: Académica 1984–85: Palmeira 1985–86: Santa Maria 1986–87: Académico do Aeroporto 1987–88: Santa Maria 1988–89: Juventude 1989–90: Juventude 1990–91: Académica 1991–92: Académica 1992–93: Académica 1993–94: Académica 1994–95: Académico do Aeroporto 1995–96: Académica 1996–97: Santa Maria 1997–98: Santa Maria 1998–99: Juventude 1999–00: Palmeira 2000–01: Académica 2001–02: Académico do Aeroporto 2002–03: Académico do Aeroporto 2003–04: Académico do Aeroporto 2004–05: Académica 2005–06: Académico do Aeroporto 2006–07: Académico do Aeroporto 2007–08: Académico do Aeroporto 2008–09: Santa Maria 2009–10: Académico do Aeroporto 2010–11: Académico do Aeroporto 2011–12: Juventude 2012–13: Académico do Aeroporto 2013–14 : Verdun
Sal Premier Division 2014–15: Académico do Aeroporto 2015–16: Académico do Aeroporto 2016–17: Académico do Aeroporto 2017–18: Palmeira 2018–19: Oásis Atlântico 2019–20: Palmeira 2020–21: abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22: Palmeira 2022–23: Palmeira 2023–24: Académico do Aeroporto 2024–25: Palmeira
Performance By Club Club Winners Winning years Académico do Aeroporto 15 1987, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2024 Académica 10 1960, 1982, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2005 Palmeira 7 1985, 2000, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025 Juventude 7 1976, 1977, 1979, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2012 Santa Maria 7 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2009 Verdun 2 1980, 2014 Oásis Atlântico 1 2019
Performance by area Settlement or town Winners Winning years Espargos 32 1960, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2024Santa Maria 15 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025 Pedra de Lume 2 1980, 2014
Other sporting clubs Basketball The island also has its basketball competition. The competition is run by the Sal Basketball Association (ARBS, Associação de Basquetebol (or Basquete) do Sal). All of its games are played at Polidesportivo Municipal do Sal. One of its clubs include:
Académico do Aeroporto GDRC Pretória
See also Sal Regional Football Association Sports in Sal, Cape Verde
References
External links Sal Island League