2015–16 LigaPro
The 2015–16 LigaPro (also known as Ledman LigaPro for sponsorship reasons) is the 26th season of Portuguese football's second-tier league, and the first season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 24 teams compete in this division, including five reserve sides from top-flight Primeira Liga teams. The season began on 7 August 2015 and is scheduled to end on 14 May 2016.
Teams
A total of 24 teams contest the league, including 19 sides from the 2014–15 season, two teams relegated from the 2014–15 Primeira Liga (Gil Vicente and Penafiel) and three promoted from the 2014–15 Campeonato Nacional de Seniores (Mafra, Famalicão and Varzim).
Other team changes compared to the previous season include the promotion of Tondela and União da Madeira to the 2015–16 Primeira Liga, and the relegation of Marítimo B, Trofense and Beira-Mar to the 2015–16 Campeonato de Portugal.
On 19 June 2015, the LPFP announced that five teams instead of three will be relegated to the third tier to reduce the number of Segunda Liga teams to 22 beginning from the 2016–17 season.
LigaPro
The LigaPro (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈliɣɐˈpɾɔ]; English: ProLeague), also called Ledman LigaPro for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system, after the Primeira Liga. At the end of each season, the top-finishing teams are promoted to the Primeira Liga, and the lowest-ranked teams are relegated to the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal.
The LigaPro was founded in 1990 as the Segunda Divisão de Honra (Second Division of Honour), superseding the now-folded Segunda Divisão (Second Division) as the second tier of Portuguese football. When the division came under the auspices of the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) in 1999, it was renamed to Segunda Liga (Second League), a designation that was kept until 2016, with the exception of a period between 2005 and 2012, when it was known as Liga de Honra (League of Honour). The current branding and sponsorship were introduced during the 2015–16 season.
The division is contested nationwide by a total of 24 teams, including the reserve sides (B teams) of several top-flight clubs. This number will be reduced to 22 in the 2016–17 season, with a further reduction to 20 and 18 teams scheduled for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, respectively.
