Girabola

For the women's league, see Angolan Women's Football League.

Girabola,^[1] or Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Séniores Masculinos, is the top division of Angolan football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation.^[2]

Girabola

Founded	1979
Country	Angola
Confederation	CAF
Number of teams	16
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Segundona
Domestic cup(s)	Taça de Angola SuperTaça de Angola
International cup(s)	Champions League Confederation Cup
Current champions	Petro Atlético (2023–24)
Most championships	Petro Atlético (17 titles)
Top goalscorer	Love (135 goals)
Website	girabola.com
Current: 2024–25 Girabola

The term "Girabola" (lit. 'spin ball') is a creation of the nationalist, radio broadcaster and sports reporter Rui Carvalho, in 1972, at a time when the Angolan championship was still officially called "Campeonato do Estado Ultramarino de Angola". The name "Girabola" differentiated the competition from the other overseas provinces and was a subtle form of anti-colonial protest.^[3]

The league winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League.

History

Main article: List of Girabola seasons

The competition is the successor to the "Campeonato do Estado Ultramarino de Angola".^[4]

Between 1975 and 1979, this competition did not take place.^[4]

In 1979, the first edition of the post-independence, the competition was played, consisting of 24 teams, divided into groups of four or six teams, in a competition that started on December 8, 1979.

In 1980 the competition was contested by the thirteen teams best classified in the previous season, plus Sagrada Esperança, benefiting from the division of the Lundas into north and south. The last edition to be played by fourteen teams was in 1990.^[4]

In 1991 and 1992, sixteen teams participated in the competition.^[5] In 1993 and 1994, the number of teams competing was reduced to twelve, because of the civil war that prevented teams from Huambo from participating in the competition.^[5]

In 1995 the competition was again contested by fourteen teams. Since that year, the point system has also changed, with the winner of the game earning 3 points instead of the 2 points previously earned.

Since 2010, the championship has been contested by 16 teams.^[5]

Girabola ZAP

In January 2016, Angolan subscription TV satellite and cable provider ZAP, the Angolan Football Federation and the Girabola clubs, signed a three-year deal in which ZAP will have broadcast rights over all Girabola matches. As part of the deal, the Angolan state-owned TV station TPA will be allowed to broadcast one game per week on its free-view platform.^[6] Also as part of the deal, the Girabola changes its denomination to Girabola ZAP.

Qualification for African competitions

Association ranking for 2020–21 CAF competitions

Association ranking for 2020–21 CAF Champions League and 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup will be based on results from each CAF tournament (Champions League and Confederation Cup) from 2016 to 2019–20.

Legend

• CL: CAF Champions League
• CC: CAF Confederation Cup
•   Associations ranked 1–12 and eligible to enter two teams in each CAF tournament (Champions League and Confederation Cup)

Rank			Association	2016 (× 1)		2017 (× 2)		2018 (× 3)		2018–19 (× 4)		2019–20 (× 5)		Total
2020	2019	Mvt		CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC
1	2	+1	Morocco	4	4	6	3	5	7	5	7	8	8	190
2	3	+1	Egypt	7	0	7	0.5	5	3	4	5	11	6	167
3	1	–2	Tunisia	0	3	7	5	9	0	8	6	6	0	140
4	5	+1	DR Congo	0	5	1	5	3	4	5	0	4	1	83
5	4	–1	Algeria	0	4	4	2	5	2	5	1	3	1	81
6	6	—	South Africa	6	0	3	4.5	2	0	6	0	3	0.5	68.5
7	7	—	Zambia	4	0	2	2	2	0	0	2.5	1	2	43
8	9	+1	Nigeria	2	0	0	0.5	0	3	2	1	0	3	39
9	10	+1	Guinea	0	0	0	1	3	0	3	0	0	3	38
10	11	+1	Angola	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	0.5	4	0	36

List of champions before independence

The list of champions includes the national champions in the colonial period.^[7][8]

(Campeonato Provincial de Angola)

• 1941: Sporting de Luanda
• 1942: Sporting de Luanda
• 1943: Benfica de Benguela
• 1944: Sporting de Luanda
• 1945: Sport Clube da Catumbela
• 1946: Sporting de Luanda
• 1947: Sporting de Luanda
• 1948: unknown
• 1949: unknown
• 1950: unknown
• 1951: Ferroviário de Nova Lisboa
• 1952: Portugal de Benguela
• 1953: Ferroviário de Luanda
• 1954: Lobito Sports Clube
• 1955: Sporting de Luanda
• 1956: Sporting de Luanda
• 1957: Ferroviário de Nova Lisboa
• 1958: Sport Clube da Catumbela
• 1959: Portugal de Benguela
• 1960: Portugal de Benguela
• 1961: Portugal de Benguela
• 1962: Ferroviário de Luanda
• 1963: Sporting de Luanda
• 1964: Portugal de Benguela
• 1965: Atlético Sport Aviação
• 1966: Atlético Sport Aviação
• 1967: Atlético Sport Aviação
• 1968: Atlético Sport Aviação
• 1969: Independente Sport Clube
• 1970: Independente Sport Clube
• 1971: Independente Sport Clube
• 1972: Benfica de Nova Lisboa
• 1973: Futebol Clube do Moxico
• 1974: Ferroviário de Nova Lisboa
• 1975: Recreativo da Caála

Titles by team

P	Team	Won	Years won
1	Sporting de Luanda	8	1941, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1956, 1963
2	Portugal de Benguela	5	1952, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964
3	ASA	4	1965, 1966, 1967, 1968
4	Ferroviário de Nova Lisboa	3	1951, 1957, 1974
	Ind. de Porto Alexandre	3	1969, 1970, 1971
5	Ferroviário de Luanda	2	1953, 1962
	Sport Clube da Catumbela	2	1945, 1958
6	Recreativo da Caála	1	1975
	Futebol Clube do Moxico	1	1973
	Benfica de Nova Lisboa	1	1972
	Lobito Sports Clube	1	1954
	Benfica de Benguela	1	1943

Since independence (Girabola)

Y Club Home Nat Coach *1979: Primeiro de Agosto (1) Luanda Nicola Berardinelli *1980: Primeiro de Agosto (2) Luanda Ivan Ridanović *1981: Primeiro de Agosto (3) Luanda Joaquim Dinis *1982: Petro de Luanda (1) Antônio Clemente *1983: Primeiro de Maio (1) Benguela Petar Knežević *1984: Petro de Luanda (2) Severino Miranda *1985: Primeiro de Maio (2) Benguela Rui Rodrigues *1986: Petro de Luanda (3) Carlos Silva *1987: Petro de Luanda (4) Antônio Clemente *1988: Petro de Luanda (5) Antônio Clemente *1989: Petro de Luanda (6) Carlos Queirós *1990: Petro de Luanda (7) Carlos Queirós *1991: Primeiro de Agosto (4) Luanda Dušan Condić *1992: Primeiro de Agosto (5) Luanda Dušan Condić *1993: Petro de Luanda (8) Gojko Zec *1994: Petro de Luanda (9) Gojko Zec *1995: Petro de Luanda (10) Jesus *1996: Primeiro de Agosto (6) Luanda Mário Calado *1997: Petro de Luanda (11) Jorge Ferreira *1998: Primeiro de Agosto (7) Luanda Daniel Ndunguidi *1999: Primeiro de Agosto (8) Luanda Daniel Ndunguidi *2000: Petro de Luanda (12) Djalma Cavalcante *2001: Petro de Luanda[9] (13) Djalma Cavalcante *2002: ASA[10] (1) Luanda Bernardino Pedroto

Y Club Home Nat Coach *2003: ASA[11] (2) Luanda Bernardino Pedroto *2004: ASA[12] (3) Luanda Bernardino Pedroto *2005 Sagrada Esperança[13] (1) Dundo Mário Calado *2006: Primeiro de Agosto[14] (9) Luanda Jan Brouwer *2007: Interclube[15] (1) Luanda Carlos Mozer *2008: Petro de Luanda[16] (14) Bernardino Pedroto *2009: Petro de Luanda[17] (15) Bernardino Pedroto *2010: Interclube[18] (2) Luanda Álvaro Magalhães *2011: Recreativo do Libolo[19] (1) Calulo Zeca Amaral *2012: Recreativo do Libolo[20] (2) Zeca Amaral *2013: Kabuscorp[21] (1) Luanda Eduard Eranosyan *2014: Recreativo do Libolo[22] (3) Miller Gomes *2015: Recreativo do Libolo[23] (4) João Paulo Costa *2016: Primeiro de Agosto[24] (10) Dragan Jović *2017: Primeiro de Agosto[25] (11) Dragan Jović *2018: Primeiro de Agosto (12) Zoran Manojlović *2018–19: Primeiro de Agosto (13) Dragan Jović *2019–20: Cancelled [lower-alpha 1] *2020–21: Sagrada Esperança[26] (2) Dundo Roque Sapiri *2021–22: Petro de Luanda[27] (16) Luanda Alexandre Santos *2022-23: Petro de Luanda (17) Luanda Alexandre Santos

1. Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Titles by team

P	Team	Won	Years won
1	Petro de Luanda	17	1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2022, 2023
2	Primeiro de Agosto	13	1979, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
3	Recreativo do Libolo	4	2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
4	AS Aviação	3	2002, 2003, 2004
5	Primeiro de Maio	2	1983, 1985
	Interclube	2	2007, 2010
	Sagrada Esperança	2	2005, 2021
6	Kabuscorp	1	2013

Top goalscorers

^[28][29]

Year	Name	Team	Goals
1979	João Machado	Diabos Verdes	18
1980	Alves	Primeiro de Agosto	29
1981	Maluka †	Primeiro de Maio	20
1982	Jesus	Petro de Luanda	21
1983	Maluka	Primeiro de Maio	17
1984	Jesus	Petro de Luanda	22
1985	Jesus	Petro de Luanda	19
1986	Túbia	Inter Luanda	20
1987	Mavó †	Ferroviário da Huíla	20
1988	Manuel	Primeiro de Agosto	16
1989	André	Desportivo da Cuca	18
1990	Mona	Petro de Luanda	17
1991	Amaral Aleixo	Sagrada Esperança	23
1992	Amaral Aleixo	Petro de Luanda	20
1993	Serginho	Desportivo da EKA	14
1994	Kabongó	Sonangol do Namibe	16
1995	Serginho	Desportivo da EKA	19
1996	César Caná	Académica do Lobito	15
1997	Zé Neli	Petro do Huambo	12
1998	Betinho	Petro de Luanda	14
1999	Isaac	Primeiro de Agosto	16
2000	Blanchard	Benfica de Luanda	19
2001	Flávio Amado	Petro de Luanda	23
2002	Flávio Amado	Petro de Luanda	16
2003	Mateus André	Interclube	12
2004	Love Kabungula	ASA	17
2005	Love Kabungula	ASA	13
2006	Manucho Gonçalves	Petro de Luanda	16
2007	Manucho Gonçalves	Petro de Luanda	14
2008	Santana Carlos	Petro de Luanda	20
2009	David Magalhães	Petro de Luanda	19
2010	Daniel Mpele Mpele	Kabuscorp	14
2011	Love Kabungula	Petro de Luanda	20
2012	Yano	Progresso	14
2013	Albert Meyong	Kabuscorp	20
2014	Albert Meyong	Kabuscorp	17
2015	Yano	Progresso	13
2016	Gelson	Primeiro de Agosto	23
2017	Azulão	Petro de Luanda	16
2018	Azulão	Petro de Luanda	20
2018–19	Mabululu	Primeiro de Agosto	14
2019-20	Tony Ribeiro	Petro de Luanda	15
2020–21	Azulão	Petro de Luanda	16
2021-22	Azulão	Petro de Luanda	21
2022-23	Azulão	Petro de Luanda	20
2023-24	Benarfa	Kabuscorp	15

Most time goalscorer

• 5 times.
  • Azulão (2017, 2018, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.).

Most goals by a player in a single season

• 29 goals.
  • Alves (1980)

Most goals by a player in a single game

• 6 goals.
  • Vieira Dias (Primeiro Agosto) 7-0 against Sassamba, (1989)

All-time goalscorers

Rank	Player	Country	Goals	Years
1	Love	Angola	135	2001-2017
2	Azulão	Brazil	125	2016
3	Jesus	Angola	111	1981-1988

Multiple hat-tricks

Rank	Country	Player	Hat-tricks
1		Jesus	7
2		Alves	5
		Azulão
4		Túbia Ribeiro	4
5		Ndisso	3
		Love
		Vieira Dias
8		Abel Campos	2
		Andre
		Bebeto
		David Magalhães
		Flávio Amado
		João Machado
		Julião
		Julinho
		Rasca
		Rivaldo
		Santana Carlos
		Yano
20	Several players		1

Most hat-tricks in a single season

• 10 hat-tricks (2020-21)

Most hat-tricks by a player in a single season

• 3 hat-tricks
  • Jesus (1984)
• 3 hat-tricks
  • Túbia Ribeiro (1986)

Rádio 5 Awards

Season	Best Player	Top Scorer	Best Goal-keeper	Best coach
2013[30]	Amaro	Meyong	Abulá
2012[31]	Yano	Yano	Landu	Zeca Amaral
2011[32]	Aguinaldo	Love	Hugo	Zeca Amaral
2010[33]	Minguito	Mpele Mpele		Álvaro Magalhães
2009[34]	Job	David	Ângelo	Bernardino Pedroto
2008[35]	Love	Santana	Capoco	Bernardino Pedroto
2007[36]	Minguito	Manucho	Mário	Carlos Mozer
2006[37]	Gazeta	Manucho	Lamá	Jan Brouwer
2005[38]	Jamba	Love		Oliveira Gonçalves
2004[39]	Yamba Asha	Love
2003[40]	Love	André
2001[41]	Flávio	Flávio	Marito	Djalma Cavalcante
2000[42]	Mbiyavanga	Blanchard		Djalma Cavalcante
1999[42]	Mendonça	Isaac		Ndunguidi

See also

• List of Girabola seasons
• Girabola Clubs Participation Details
• Angola Cup
• Angola Super Cup
• Angola 2nd Division

References

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12. "Angola/Soccer: ASA Win Third National Title". ANGOP.com. 27 October 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
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External links

• Girabola.com – Updated Standings and News
• Claque magazine
• League at fifa.com
• Girabola summary(SOCCERWAY)
• Angolan Girabola, standings, results & fixtures at Live2Sport