Liga de Elite

Liga de Elite, previously known as Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol, is the top division of the Macau Football Association, created in 1973. The league features local players and professional foreign players. Due to the lack of football fields in Macau, most matches are played at the Estádio Campo Desportivo. As with Hong Kong, the league is separate from the mainland Chinese football league system. The league is generally played between January and July of each calendar year.

History
In the inaugural 2014 edition, Lam Pak, Lam Ieng and Kuan Tai all forfeited from the First Division before the start of the competition. Lam Pak and Lam Ieng withdrew due to the lack of backing from sponsors and Kuan Tai cited budget issues and could no longer afford to pay some of its players. To solve the problem of three sudden vacancies, the Macau Football Association clarified that the two clubs that were relegated in 2013, Kei Lun and MFA Development, were invited to remain, and an additional third team would come from the Second Division. After careful consideration by the MFA, no team from the Second Division was picked, being deemed not competitive enough for the First Division.

Previous season
10 teams will contest the 2024 Liga de Elite. Gala and University Of Macau were promoted from last season's 2ª Divisão de Macau.

Previous winners
Winners were:


 * 1949: Polícia de Segurança Pública
 * 1950: Sporting Clube de Macau
 * 1951–60: unknown
 * 1962: Sporting Clube de Macau
 * 1963: Sporting Clube de Macau
 * 1964: Hong Lok
 * 1965: Macao Post Office
 * 1965–72: unknown
 * 1973: Polícia de Segurança Pública
 * 1974–84: unknown
 * 1985: Wa Seng
 * 1986: Hap Kuan
 * 1987: Hap Kuan
 * 1988: Wa Seng
 * 1989: Hap Kuan
 * 1990: Hap Kuan
 * 1991: Sporting Clube de Macau
 * 1992: Lam Pak
 * 1993: Leng Ngan
 * 1994: Lam Pak
 * 1995: GD Artilheiros
 * 1996: GD Artilheiros
 * 1997: Lam Pak
 * 1998: Lam Pak
 * 1999: Lam Pak
 * 2000: Polícia de Segurança Pública
 * 2001: Lam Pak
 * 2002: Monte Carlo
 * 2003: Monte Carlo
 * 2004: Monte Carlo
 * 2005: Polícia de Segurança Pública
 * 2006: Lam Pak
 * 2007: Lam Pak
 * 2008: Monte Carlo
 * 2009: Lam Pak
 * 2010: Windsor Arch Ka I
 * 2011: Windsor Arch Ka I
 * 2012: Windsor Arch Ka I
 * 2013: Monte Carlo
 * 2014: Benfica de Macau
 * 2015: Benfica de Macau
 * 2016: Benfica de Macau
 * 2017: Benfica de Macau
 * 2018: Benfica de Macau
 * 2019: Chao Pak Kei
 * 2020: Benfica de Macau - non oficial championship due to covid
 * 2021: Chao Pak Kei
 * 2022: Chao Pak Kei
 * 2023: Chao Pak Kei

Best player

 * The edition of the 2022 championship, two best player was chosen.

Record season goalscorers

 * 4 times
 * Carlos Leonel (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021)
 * 4 times
 * William Carlos Gomes (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)

Most goals by a player in a single season

 * 41 goals:
 * William Carlos Gomes (2018).
 * William Carlos Gomes (2018).

Most goals by a player in a single game

 * 8 goals:
 * William Carlos Gomes (Windsor Arch Ka I) 1-12 against Hang Sai, 16 June 2018.
 * William Carlos Gomes (Windsor Arch Ka I) 1-12 against Hang Sai, 16 June 2018.

Multiple hat-tricks

 * Most hat-tricks in a single season:
 * 24 hat-tricks (2021).
 * Most hat-tricks by a player in a single season:
 * 7 hat-tricks
 * Carlos Leonel  (2021).