Aside from football, Marítimo have teams in other sports competing in national leagues, such as volleyball, handball, roller hockey and athletics.

[1] After a long period of being restricted to regional competitions, Marítimo made their inaugural appearance in the national league in 1973[b] and four years later became the first club based outside Portuguese continental territory to achieve promotion to the top division in 1977.

Marítimo's most recent foray into European competition came in 2017, though their best performance was during the 2012–13 season, finishing third in the Europa League group stage.

The name Marítimo, meaning Maritime in English, was used to reflect the fact that many of the team's players were workers of the nearby Funchal docks, a prominent employer at the time.

The first ever match for Marítimo was a 2–1 win against Santa Clara, a select team composed of workers of the Western Telegraph Company.

José Rodrigues Barrinhas, an old-fashioned attacking centre-half, made a name for himself in these games and in matches against rivals CS Madeira.

Nevertheless, in 1938–39 the teams from the islands started to participate in the Taça de Portugal, after the champions of Madeira and Azores played a qualification round between themselves.

Due to the existing semi-professionalism and some logistical difficulties, the club is relegated to Second Division in 1980–181, rising immediately next season, winning for the second time the II Divisão.

Since then the club has remained in the Primeira Liga, consolidating its status as a team that consistently finishes in the top ten and competes for European qualification.

[8] The entry of a young coach, ambitious Brazilian Paulo Autuori, allied to greater internal organization and attractive attacking football, so that in the 1991–92 campaign the club reached seventh place, staying just outside European qualification.

The 1992–93 season saw a "wonder-trio" (Ademir, Edmilson and Jorge Andrade) drive the club to have the third best attack of the league, with 56 goals.

In 1994–95, another great achievement was made when the club qualified to the Taça de Portugal finals for the first time in its history, after defeating Porto in the semi-finals 1–0.

In the 2014–15 season, Maritimo reached the League Cup final for the first time ever, beating Porto in the semi-final but then losing to Benfica 2–1.

In the 2012–13 season, Marítimo qualified for the Europa League group stages for the first time ever, finishing third with a win against Club Brugge and two draws against Newcastle United.

[9] Although there is no date or author, the first crest clearly refers to the maritime origins of the club, which is stated in the paddle, the float, the harpoon, and the anchor.

The crest was updated again in 1999 to a modern version, following the formation of the SAD organisation, however the classic logo remained on the team jerseys until 2008.

A similar situation is present in Cape Verde, where Marítimo do Porto Novo play in the same green and red stripes when competing in the Santo Antão Island League (South).

There are several famous fans of Marítimo who have publicly declared their support for the team on various occasions, such as the multimillionaire businessman Joe Berardo and Madeira's Regional Governor, the controversial politician Alberto João Jardim.

The fact that archrivals Nacional were allowed to construct a new stand and training facility at their Estádio da Madeira (with government backing) angered Marítimo's fans even more.

Initial plans indicated that the stadium would be completed by 2011 but following the 2010 flooding disaster, the local government withdrew its funding and construction was halted.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Other sports groups within the organisation include athletics, figure skating, fishing, futsal, karate, kart racing, rallying, rhythmic gymnastics, roller hockey, rugby union and swimming.