In 1989, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017, a second place club participated in the national championships, Académica do Mindelo in 1989, Mindelense in 2014 and FC Derby in 2015 and in 2016 and will be for 2017.

The two island competitions were the highest level local championship in Cape Verde.

The only entrant was a club from the island of São Vicente up to the end of colonial rule.

Some clubs were created years later including Castilho and Falcões do Norte in the 1960s and increased its clubs to six, the points system was introduced and featured a ten-match season that started in the early of the year.

After Batuque was founded, the club number rise to eight and nine in around 1990 after Corinthians who was the first Brazilian based club on the island was founded in 1988, it started a sixteen match season and had a two-year season.

Recently of club participations in the Premier Division, since May 8, 2016, only four are unrelegated and are Mindelense, Batuque, Derby and Falcões do Norte.

Mindelense continued to be island champions between 1996 and 1998, Amarante was the next winner in 1999, two consecutive champions was won by Derby and later by Batuque in 2002, the recent club to win their first title, Mindelense won titles every two years between 2009 and 2015 and recently won third second consecutive in 2017 and is the recent champion of the island.

Of any of the island leagues, it is second to Académica do Porto Novo of the nearby Santo Antão South Zone The left indicates the participation listed here in the regional championships and since 2008 the Premier Division as of the 2016-17 season, the bold represents its current clubs.