Liga de Elite Macau

Liga de Elite, Macau

The Liga de Elite (Chinese: 澳門甲組足球聯賽; "Elite League") is Macau's top football division, run by the Macau Football Association. A championship has existed since the late 1940s; the modern first division dates from 1973 and took its current name around 2000-01. Ten clubs play a double round-robin from roughly January to July.

There is promotion and relegation with the 2ª Divisão. The domestic cup is the Taça de Macau; the champion is eligible for the AFC Challenge League, though Macau sides have often failed to obtain an AFC club licence.

Macau is a separate football system from mainland China (like Hong Kong). Pitch space is scarce, so most matches are staged at the Estádio Campo Desportivo / Macau Olympic Complex Stadium on Taipa (about 16,000 seats) or Lin Fong Stadium.

The league mixes local amateurs with foreign professionals and is typically high-scoring. Matches are streamed on FIFA+.

Lam Pak are the historic record holders with nine titles, but they withdrew years ago.

The modern era has been a duel between S.L. Benfica de Macau (six titles, including a five-in-a-row from 2014-18 and another in 2024) and Chao Pak Kei / MUST IPO (titles in 2019, 2021-23 and 2025).

In 2026, Shao Jiang SA (澳門少將) won their first championship, finishing on 47 points from 18 games with 90 goals scored, just ahead of MUST IPO/Chao Pak Kei. Gala (嘉華) were third; Benfica finished mid-table. University of Macau and Artilheiros went down.

The league is small, semi-professional and locally focused, but it is the only senior pathway in the SAR and the shop window for Macau players who want a route into AFC competition.