In a statement, the Azores Government’s Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture, and Sports (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) announced that the region’s three football associations (Angra do Heroísmo, Ponta Delgada, and Horta) met with the Regional Directorate of Sports and reached a “consensus” on “foundational issues” for Azorean football.

From the 2027/28 season onwards, the competitive model for men’s senior football in the region will be divided into two phases.

“All teams not competing in regular national competitions will participate in their respective island championships” during the first phase of the season.

Subsequently, the top finishers from the island championships will compete in the Azores Football Championship, which is currently organised as a regional league phase.

“Once that [first] phase concludes, the regional phase will be contested by the top three teams from the Ponta Delgada Football Association, the top three from the Angra do Heroísmo Football Association, and the top two from the Horta Football Association, forming an eight-team Azores Football Championship,” the Azorean government detailed.

The regional secretariat responsible for sports also guarantees that this “competitive reorganisation” will not result in a “reduction of public investment aimed at the development of Azorean football.”

“The Regional Directorate of Sports believes that the solutions reached represent a significant step toward modernising the competitive structure of football in the Azores, promoting greater sustainability, competitive balance, and better conditions for the sport’s development,” the Azorean government affirmed. Currently, ten teams compete in the Azores Football Championship; the winner secures promotion to the Campeonato de Portugal, while the lowest-ranked teams are relegated to the island championships.

Regarding women’s football, “it was agreed that the official representative of the Azores in the National Fourth Division will be the winner of the Women’s Regional Championship”—a competition to be “contested by the winners of the championships organised by each of the three football associations,” the Government of the Azores reports.