On the island of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, a large number of different sports are practiced, both outdoor and indoor the various facilities available throughout the island. Amongst the variety of sports practiced on the island, it includes the following:

Football

The first organised game of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

took place in 1875 in

Camacha Camacha () is a parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz, on the southeastern part of Madeira Island. It is situated in the mountainous interior of the island, 3 km north of Caniço, 7 km northeast of Funchal Funchal () officially ...

, organised by the Madeira born Harry Hinton (it was the first organised football match anywhere in Portugal). Madeira has two football teams in the

Portuguese Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

(Portugal's top league):

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M (), commonly known as Marítimo or Marítimo da Madeira, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Established in 1910, Marítimo is best known for its football team ...

and

C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional (), commonly known as Nacional da Madeira and sometimes just Nacional, is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal , P ...

The

Al Nassr FC Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is List of unrelegated assoc ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

footballer

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

was born in Madeira and played for

CF Andorinha Clube de Futebol Andorinha de Santo António (abbreviated as CF Andorinha) is a Portuguese football club based in Santo António, Funchal, on the island of Madeira. They compete in the AF Madeira's Divisão de Honra, the fifth tier of Portuga ...

and

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

before going to

Sporting Lisbon Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

is considered the biggest club of Madeira and has enjoyed various campaigns in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

having recorded famous results against teams such as

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. Having finished 5th in the league in the 2009/2010 season,

qualified for the Europa League for the 2010/2011 season. C.S. Marítimo has nurtured great players such as

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish and Portuguese name José (Joseph). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), Brazilian footballer José Macia *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer ...

, now retired,

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

, who retired at the club in 2018,

Jorge Costa Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida (born 14 October 1971) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager. Nicknamed ''Bicho'' (animal) and ''Tanque'' (tank) by his colleagues and fans for his aggressive and phys ...

, a retired

F.C. Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

player currently managing

CS Gaz Metan Mediaș Clubul Sportiv Gaz Metan Mediaș (), commonly known as Gaz Metan Mediaș or simply as Gaz Metan, was a Romanian professional football club based in Mediaș, Sibiu County. Founded in 1945 as ''Karres Mediaș'', the team spent most of its exist ...

Tarik Sektioui Tarik Sektioui (; born 13 May 1977) is a Moroccan professional football coach and former player who currently manages the Morocco national under-23 team. He spent most of his professional career in the Netherlands and Portugal, amassing Erediv ...

, a former F.C. Porto player among other clubs who is now managing

RS Berkane Renaissance Sportive de Berkane () commonly referred to as Nahdat Berkane or RS Berkane for short, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Berkane, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football. Founded on 21 May 1938 a ...

Nuno Valente Nuno Jorge Pereira da Silva Valente (; born 12 September 1974) is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played as a left-back or a winger. He later became a manager. He played professionally in Portugal and England for Sporti ...

, who retired at Everton in 2009,

Ariza Makukula Ariza Makukula (born 4 March 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 26 matches and nine goals over three seasons for Marítimo, Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal, spending ...

, who retired in 2014 at

BEC Tero Sasana Police Tero Football Club (), formerly known as BEC-Tero Sasana, is a Thai professional football club based in Lak Si, Bangkok. The club finished runners-up in the inaugural AFC Champions League competition in 2003. BEC-Tero Sasana Football Club ...

Moussa Marega Moussa Marega (born 14 April 1991) is a professional footballer who played as a second striker for Saudi Arabian club Al-Diriyah. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team. He began his career in France, playing no higher than the C ...

the current

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

player,

Moussa Maâzou Ouwo Moussa Maâzou (born 25 August 1988) commonly known as Moussa Maâzou, is a Nigerien professional footballer who plays as a striker for Luxembourgish club FC The Belval Belvaux. Club career Maazou began his senior career as a player with ...

the current

Sektzia Nes Tziona F.C. Sektzia Ness Ziona (, ''Sektziyat Kaduregel Nes Tziona'', ) was a professional football club from the Israeli city of Ness Ziona. It most recently played in the Liga Alef South, the third tier of domestic football. Home matches were previously p ...

player, Bakero the journeyman who retired in 2015 at

Felgueiras Felgueiras () is a municipality in Porto District, Portugal. The current mayor is Nuno Fonseca. There are two cities located in the municipality: Felgueiras (city status received on 13 July 1990) and Lixa. The population in 2011 was 58,065, in a ...

, and many others. In 2003–04

achieved fourth place in the Portuguese League, their best classification ever. They repeated it three years later and are the only Madeiran team to finish fourth place in the Portuguese League. Nacional were the first Madeiran team to reach the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group stage (in the 2009-2010 season) until Marítimo reached the group stages in the 2012-13 season.

, a football player, played in Nacional until he was 12 years old before moving to Sporting Lisbon. Nacional plays in the Madeira Stadium (Estádio da Madeira), considered by CNN in 2011
one of the eight more unusual stadiums in the world
Besides Cristiano Ronaldo, other known footballers have also played at Nacional including

Paulo Assunção Paulo Assunção da Silva (born 25 January 1980), known as Assunção, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He also held a Portuguese passport due to the many years in spent in the country, mainly ...

(

and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

among others),

Rúben Micael Rúben Micael Freitas da Ressureição (born 19 August 1986), known as Micael, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He totalled 206 Primeira Liga games and 19 goals over ten seasons, representing Naciona ...

(Porto and

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

among others, current Nacional player),

Maicon Maicon is a Brazilian variant of the given name Michael. It may refer to: Brazilian footballers * Maicon (footballer, born 1981), Maicon Douglas Sisenando, Brazilian football right-back * Maicon dos Santos (born 1981), Brazilian football midfielde ...

(Porto among others),

Diego Benaglio Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his professional career with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany's top flight, the Bundesliga, winning the 2009 ...

(Wolfsburg among others) and Felipe Lopes (Wolfsburg among others). Outside the Portuguese top league, there are four other Madeiran teams not in the District Championships, all in the Campeonato de Portugal:

União da Madeira União is the Portuguese word for Union. It may refer to: *the Brazilian federal government *União do Vegetal, a church known for its usage of Hoasca as tea * Brazilian frigate ''União'' (F45), a general-purpose ''Niterói'' class frigate launc ...

, a former

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

side,

Câmara de Lobos Câmara de Lobos (; or 'Wolves' Chamber') is a municipality and town in the southern coast of the Portuguese island of Madeira, divided in 5 freguesias. A de facto suburb of the much larger capital city of Funchal, it is one of the larger pop ...

, Marítimo B (the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

of Marítimo), and

A.D. Camacha Associação Desportiva da Camacha, known as A.D. Camacha, is a Portuguese football club from Santa Cruz, Madeira. Founded in 1978, they play in the Campeonato de Portugal (league), Campeonato de Portugal. They play their home games in Campo Muni ...

, a newly promoted side.

Basketball

In recent years, Madeira has had a considerable amount of success in professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, with

CAB Madeira Clube Amigos do Basquete, also known as CAB Madeira, is a professional basketball team based in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring ...

having won numerous titles, especially their female team. CAB is often seen competing in European matches such as the

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

EuroCup and former stars include Filipe da Silva and ex-

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

player

Ike Nwankwo Ikenna Nwankwo (born December 27, 1973) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From Houston, Texas, he played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, winning a national championship in 1995. College career Nwankwo played w ...

Surfing

In 2001 the World Surfing Championships were held in Madeira at Surfspots including

Paul do Mar Paul do Mar is a civil parish in the municipality of Calheta, in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 871, in an area of 1.40 km2. History The origin of the toponymy ''paul do mar'' is linked to its geographic ...

, Ponta Pequena and

Jardim do Mar Jardim do Mar ( Portuguese for ''garden of the sea'') is a civil parish in the western part of the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese island of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 204, in an area of 0.74 km2.Surfing in Madeira).

Handball

Madeira Andebol SAD Madeira Andebol S.A.D., known until 1998 as Academico Funchal, is a Portuguese handball club from Funchal. Its women's team has won the national championship a record 15 times since 1994, and it is a regular in the EHF Cup and Cup Winners' Cup' ...

, the island's only professional

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

team is one of the most successful in the country.

Running

The oldest

Saint Silvester Road Race The Saint Silvester Road Race () is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil. Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazilian competition is held yearly in the cit ...

in Portugal and one of the oldest in the Europe Union is held every December 28 and is called the

Volta à cidade do Funchal The Volta à cidade do Funchal (Tour of the city of Funchal in English) is an annual night road running, road race of about 6 km which is celebrated around Saint Silvester's Day on December 31 in Funchal, Madeira since 1958, making it the ol ...

and is made up of professional and amateur runners. There is also the Madeira Island Ultra Trail which is an

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

, that takes place once a year. More to that there are: Boa Ventura Trail run, Sky Trail Camp – Porto da Cruz, Trail de Porto Moniz – São Vicente, Madeira Trail Camp – São Vicente, Trail do Porto Santo, Madeira Trail Series – São Vicente, Trail do Ludens de Machico, Corrida Nocturna Baia dos Descubrimentos, Vertical KM – Câmara de Lobos, Trail da Zona Militar da Madeira, Ultra Sky Marathon Madeira, Cristo Rei Trail, Funchal Sky Race, Trail de Água de Pena, Ultra Trail Porto da Cruz Natura, Trail de Santa Cruz, Vertical KM – Funchal, Madeira Uphill 2000, Vertical KM – Fanal, Eco Trail do Funchal, Trail de Câmara de Lobos, Trail da Calheta, Trail Nocturno de Machico
Source

Scuba diving

Scuba diving has become very popular in recent years due to the crystal waters and the abundance of life that characterize Madeira. The Marine Reserve of Garajau and the Marine park of Cabo Girão where lies the Wreck of the F488 Afonso Cerqueira, can offer the best dive sites of the island. These areas are reachable from the dive shops of Funchal. The clear waters and marine life of Madeira, known for its numerous nature reserves and marine areas, offer countless fascinating and electrifying dive spots. The marine fauna of this region consists mainly of coastal species. Sandy and rocky bottoms host numerous species of marine creatures: groupers (''Epinephelus guaza'') and other serranids, salps, sea bream, mullet, scorpion fish (''Scorpaena scrofa''), moray eels, octopuses, cuttlefish, barracudas, damsels are just some of the species that divers may commonly spot. Among the invertebrates, besides various species of anemones and starfish, we emphasize the presence of numerous bearded fireworms (''Hermodice carunculata''), known for their considerable size (up to 30 cm) and for their painfully stinging bristles. Common are also several species of crabs; the most curious of them is definitely the arrow crab (''Stenorhynchus seticornis''). Large, typically pelagic organisms can also be occasionally encountered: wahoos, tunas, cetaceans (i.e. the spotted dolphin and Risso's dolphin), sea turtles, manta rays and mobulas, and the famous but rare monk seal (''Monachus monachus'').

Walking and hiking

Madeira offers about of walks, many alongside the levadas, some of the island's greatest attractions. The levadas provide stunning walks, some of which are quite challenging.

Canyoning Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a sport that involves traveling through canyons using a variety of techniques, such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling (rappelling), swimming, and raft ...

has increased in popularity over the last few years with many companies offering canyoning tours.

Other sports

The

Rali Vinho da Madeira The Rali Vinho da Madeira is a tarmac Rallying, rally held in Madeira Island, Portugal, and it is the biggest annual sporting event of the island, bringing thousands of people into the roads to watch the drivers compete through the hilly terrain an ...

is the largest sporting event held in the archipelago each year, attracting thousands of spectators from Europe. The motor rally (established in 1959) has been part of several international pan-European championships since the 1970s, most notably the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

and the

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport, Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers ...

Karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

and golf are other popular sports played on the island. The island lies in an ideal location for water sports such as

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, sailing and diving due to its climate and location.

Jogo do Pau () is a Portugal, Portuguese and Spain, Spanish martial art which developed in the regions along the Minho (river), Minho River: Minho (province), Minho, Trás-os-Montes (region), Trás-os-Montes, Province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra and Province ...

, a Portuguese

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

, is still practiced in the rural areas of the island but has declined since its peak in the early part of the 20th century. Madeira is also popular as a Mountain bike destination, organizing stops of the Enduro World Series championship.