Liga 3 (Portugal)

Liga 3 (Portugal) (Liga 3 Placard) - Portugal’s third-tier national club league competition organized by the Portuguese Football Federation. Regulations: the competition features 20 clubs and is played in two phases, the 1st phase is split into two geographic groups of 10 teams where each team plays the others home and away and points are awarded as 3 for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss, the top four in each group qualify for the 2nd phase Championship Promotion group while the remaining six in each group move to the 2nd phase Maintenance Relegation stage. In the 2nd phase Championship Promotion stage, eight clubs play a double round robin to determine the champion, the 1st and 2nd placed clubs are promoted to the second division for the next season, the 3rd placed club enters a promotion playoff against the third-from-bottom club of the second division, and the other clubs remain in Liga 3. In the 2nd phase Maintenance Relegation stage, 12 clubs are split into two groups of six and play home and away, clubs begin this stage with bonus points based on their 1st phase position and points total, the bottom two in each group are relegated to Campeonato de Portugal and the remaining clubs stay in Liga 3. Tiebreakers follow the competition regulations in a defined order led by head-to-head criteria, then goal difference and further criteria, and if required an additional match on neutral ground can be used with extra time and penalties.