During my travels, if given the chance, I love to watch local teams play football. Over the last few years I’ve been to see FC Copenhagen, Partizan Belgrade and Hajduk Split play (amongst others), and on every occasion, the home team won. Am I a bearded lucky charm? Probably not, but it’s a nice coincidence nonetheless.
So, seeing as though I was in Madeira for a month in February and March (2024), it made perfect sense for me to go and see the two local sides (Marítimo and Nacional) in action. Both sides are in the second division of Portuguese football, and both found themselves towards the top of the table at the time of my visit.
Here’s my guide on the grounds, how to get tickets, how much they cost, and the matchday experience as a whole. I decided to split up the article into two, one focusing on Nacional, and one on Maritimo.
If you want my guide on how to watch the other team in Madeira, Maritimo, just click here.
Nacional:
BIG UPDATE! The boys only went and got promoted! Firstly, a huge congratulations to Nacional. Secondly, this will naturally mean that tickets will be more in demand, but whispering, I still don't think you'll have too many issues getting tickets.
The screenshots below are of two of their home games that have taken place so far this season. The first two are against Sporting Lisbon, the reigning Primeira Liga title holders, and as you can see, it was pretty busy.
This will arguably be the most popular game of the season though, and as you can see in the second screenshot from the highlight video, there were still seats available on the side. I couldn't see how many seats were free in the other stand, but if there are seats free for this game, you should be okay for every other fixture (of course, don't take this as gospel!).
The only other games that should be as popular as this one will be against Porto and Benfica. My advice would be to try and get tickets earlier in the week for these, or come to the stadium a few hours before kick-off.
The third screengrab is from a game against a less popular team (Farense), and as you can see, there were plenty of empty seats. Regardless of the game, it's important to remember that Madeira is a super isolated island, so any walk up and pay on the day crowd is going to be limited, so follow the advice below for how to get tickets for games, and for my views on the Nacional matchday experience.
Original article - Written in May 2024
I will start with the team I saw first, and that was Nacional. Nacional are perhaps most well-known for helping Cristiano Ronaldo become one of the most famous players in the history of football. Ronaldo, born in Madeira, spent two years as a youth player at Nacional, and the training ground opposite the main stadium bears his name.
Getting to the stadium:
So, for both Nacional and Maritimo, I purchased tickets on the day, and on both occasions, the experience was really straightforward. The Nacional stadium is on the outskirts of the capital of Madeira, Funchal, and sits on a hill overlooking the city.
I had a rental car when I came to watch Nacional, and there is a car park underneath the stadium that you can park in, making the whole process nice and easy. Simply put the stadium location into your phone/sat nav, and you’ll arrive at the stadium, and follow the signs for the car park.
The car park gives you a ticket as you drive in, and parking only costs 2 euros for the match, which is a great price. With regards paying, make sure that you pay for your car park ticket when you buy your ticket for the match (has to be in cash). You can do it all at the same place, and then you’ll avoid any issues when you leave the car park.
It took me around 15/20 minutes to leave the car park after the match with the queues etc, and it was all nice and straightforward.
I personally wouldn’t recommend walking to the stadium if you can avoid it, and if you’re coming from Funchal. The hills are ridiculously steep, even for Madeira, and it was a struggle in a car. I am not sure if there is a bus going to that area, and if not, a bolt or a taxi would be your best bet.
Buying tickets:
On the main road, opposite the training football pitches, you’ll see a few windows where you can buy tickets, and also pay for your car park tickets as mentioned. Naturally I forgot to take a photo of said windows, but they’re in this vicinity.
Cost:
I think there are two price options for tickets, one at €7.50 and one at €10. I went for the ten euro option, and the seats were great! I was in one of the two stands, more or less on the half-way line. To get to the other side of the stadium, take this tunnel (close to where you buy your tickets), and you come to the entrance.
And, here was the view from my seat! For the price I paid, it was a very pleasant surprise to have such good seats.
What can you bring in?
Not much! My bag is full of junk as I use it for travelling, so there are a lot of random things in that backpack. The security wanted to take a few items from me (including sunscreen, hand sanitiser etc), which I would have got back at the end of the game. So, to make things easier, I would just bring a jacket and a wallet with you to the game. As mentioned, I drove to the match, so I popped back down to the car park, and left my bag there.
Access to the museum:
There is a little museum section when you enter the stand, and it was nice to have a quick look around there.
Thoughts on the stadium:
It’s cute! For British football fans, it’s probably comparable to a League Two/ higher non-league ground, with only two main stands. As mentioned near the beginning of this article, the stadium is perched high over Funchal, and you get incredible views over the city, which I got to enjoy at half-time. The seats were comfortable (well, by football stadium standard), and the tickets were a bargain.
Food and Drink:
There was one main food and beverage stall in my stand underneath the stadium, and I visited before the match, where it was a lot quieter (it got really busy at half-time). I didn’t get food, but I got a 500ml Pepsi Max, and a 500ml bottle of water for €3.50, which is super cheap compared to the majority of stadiums I’ve been to. For a place like Madeira, which is also on the more expensive side, this was a nice surprise.
The match:
Very entertaining! Nacional beat Penafiel 3-2, coming from 2-1 down to win. Here’s the match winning goal for you to enjoy. The standard was decent enough, and for just ten euros, I couldn’t ask for much more from a game. For Nacional. Vladan Danilović stood out. Very tidy on the ball, and always involved (he’s the scorer of the match winner above). Witi (scorer of the first goal) was also a stand out. Fast, tricky, and he took his goal well (he recently scored for Mozambique against Egypt at the AFCON finals).
Attendance:
I am not sure of the official attendance, but the ground was probably around half full, maybe even a bit less than that. The official capacity is just over 5,000, but I’d imagine that the only time there is a sell out is in the local derby against Maritimo, and now that they've been promoted, the games against Sporting Lisbo, Benfica and Porto will be the busier ones.
If in doubt, maybe pay a visit to the stadium in the week before the game, and ask for more information. I’d say 9 times out of 10 though, you’ll be fine buying your ticket on the day as I did.
Overall experience:
I really enjoyed my afternoon going to watch Nacional! Perhaps I’m a spoiled football fan, but there was something heart-warming about going to a stadium and a match like this. Excuse my mini sermon, but football is so commercialised these days, so stripping it all back, and just enjoying the game for the game equalled a lovely afternoon. And for you Ronaldo fans, it’s nice to see that the link between club and player is as strong as ever.
For €15.50, I managed to get a football ticket, two drinks, and covered my car park costs. The enjoyable game was just the icing on the cake.