Amarante

Early years (1923–1977)

Amarante Futebol Clube was founded on 4 March 1923 by Pompeu da Cunha Brochado. The club played its first football match on 31 May 1923, defeating Stª. Natália 4–0. It affiliated with the Porto Football Association (AF Porto) in 1934, entering official regional competitions.

Amarante won its first regional title in 1935, becoming champions of the AF Porto championship in the 1934–35 season. The club subsequently progressed through the district divisions, winning promotion from the 3ª Divisão Distrital to the 2ª Divisão Distrital in 1953 and from the latter to the 1ª Divisão Distrital in 1964. In 1966, Amarante competed in the Terceira Divisão for the first time, after winning its regional series. The competition was then contested by the leading teams from the regional championships, with the winner gaining access to the Segunda Divisão. Amarante won its group and reached the quarter-finals, losing to Tirsense 0–1.

In 1977, Amarante won the AF Porto 1ª Divisão Distrital and returned to the Terceira Divisão, which by then operated as a national third-tier competition. This marked the beginning of the club's presence in the national divisions, where it would remain continuously until 1997.

Rise to the second tier (1977–1990)

Amarante established itself in the national divisions in the late 1970s. After finishing second in its Terceira Divisão series in 1978–79, the club earned promotion to the Segunda Divisão, then the second tier of Portuguese football, for the first time. It spent three consecutive seasons at that level from 1979–80 to 1981–82.

During its first spell in the second tier, Amarante also recorded one of the most notable results in its history. On 1 December 1979, it held Sporting CP to a 1–1 draw at Campo da Barroca in the Taça de Portugal, before losing 5–0 in the replay at Estádio José Alvalade.

After returning to the Terceira Divisão, Amarante won promotion back to the Segunda Divisão in 1985 and again in 1988. In total, the club spent five seasons in the second tier during the period, before its last appearance at that level in 1988–89.

A restructuring of the national championships in 1990 placed Amarante in the newly established Segunda Divisão B, then the third tier of Portuguese football. Amarante entered the competition at that level in 1990–91.

Between the national divisions and the district leagues (1990–2006)

The 1990s and early 2000s were marked by repeated movement between the national and district competitions. After being relegated from the Segunda Divisão B in 1990–91, Amarante returned to the third tier in 1993–94 but was relegated again in 1995–96. Following another relegation in 1996–97, the club spent the 1997–98 season in the AF Porto district competitions before winning promotion back to the national fourth tier for 1998–99. Amarante remained in the national divisions until 2002, when it was relegated to district football again. After finishing third in the AF Porto Divisão de Honra in 2004–05, the club won the competition in 2005–06 and returned to the national divisions.

Return to national prominence (2006–2023)

Amarante's return to the national divisions in 2006 began a period of renewed success. In 2007–08, the club won the Terceira Divisão, securing its first national championship at the fourth tier. It repeated the achievement in 2010–11.

In 2013, the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão were merged to form the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores, with Amarante competing in the new third tier from the 2013–14 season. In 2015–16, the club reached the Round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal for the first time, defeating Primeira Liga side Marítimo 1–0 before losing 2–1 to Arouca. In June 2019, the Portuguese Football Federation certified Amarante as a four-star training entity, recognising its youth-development structures and organisation. Amarante continued to compete in the Campeonato de Portugal through the late 2010s and early 2020s.

In 2021, Amarante reached the promotion phase for the newly established Liga 3 after finishing among the qualifying teams in the 2020–21 Campeonato de Portugal. Although it did not secure promotion to Liga 3, the subsequent restructuring of the national leagues placed the Campeonato de Portugal and Amarante at the fourth tier for 2021–22.

Recent success (2023–present)

In 2023–24, Amarante secured promotion to Liga 3 in May 2024 before winning the Campeonato de Portugal title in June, defeating Vitória de Setúbal 3–0 in the final at the Estádio Nacional. The title was Amarante's third national championship at the fourth tier, following its victories in 2007–08 and 2010–11. During the same season, Amarante reached the Round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal for the second time, where it was eliminated by Gil Vicente.

In its first Liga 3 campaign in 2024–25, Amarante reached the promotion phase, finishing seventh. The following season began under manager Eurico Couto, who was dismissed in October 2025 after a difficult start to the campaign. Alex Costa was appointed as his replacement on 17 October 2025.

Under Costa, Amarante recovered strongly and qualified for the promotion phase of Liga 3. On 10 May 2026, Amarante secured the club's first promotion to the professional leagues and its return to the second level of Portuguese football for the first time since 1988–89 by defeating União de Santarém 1–0. Six days later, it defeated Vitória de Guimarães B 3–1 away to win the Liga 3 title. In recognition of the 2025–26 campaign, four Amarante players were selected for the Liga 3 Team of the Year, while Tiago Ventura received the league's Revelation Player award. In July 2026, the Municipality of Amarante awarded the club the Municipal Medal of Merit in recognition of its Liga 3 title and historic promotion to Liga Portugal 2.

Ahead of the 2026–27 season, Costa left the club and was replaced by Jorge Pinto, who returned to Amarante after previously managing the club in 2021–22. Pinto was dismissed from his duties on 12 October after leading the club to two wins in their first 8 matches. On 20 October, Renato Coimbra returned as head coach, having previously led the club to the 2023–24 Campeonato de Portugal title and promotion to Liga 3.