Portuguese Rugby Federation

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The Portuguese Rugby Federation (Federação Portuguesa de Rugby) is Portugal’s governing body for rugby union. It was founded in 1926 and joined World Rugby in 1988. Rugby began in Portugal in 1903 with a match by British officials, and the Associação de Rugby de Lisboa (founded 1926) grew into the national federation, which became Portugal’s rugby union in 1957.

The federation helped establish the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur in 1934 and joined the International Rugby Football Board in 1988. After Portugal qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, interest in the sport rose, but a lack of facilities led to a downturn in rugby’s growth and media coverage.

In 2023, the federation was awarded the Order of Public Instruction by the President of Portugal. In 2019 there was an international hoax about a co-manager appointment for the national team; the federation denied the claim and a retraction followed.

The Portuguese Rugby Federation runs the main national competition, the Campeonato Nacional de Rugby, and oversees Portugal’s national teams—men’s and women’s, as well as age-grade and sevens teams for both genders.