The first recorded match between Lisbon and Porto was on the 17th October 1861 at Campo Pequeno in Lisbon.  The return match took place on the 28th June 1867 at the Campo Alegre in Oporto.  Since then an almost annual match has been played between Porto and Lisbon, alternating the venue annually.  The matches in Porto have always been played at the Campo Alegre ground.  In Lisbon the matches have been played at Campo Pequeno until 1900, at Cruz Quebrada from 1900-1920, at Ajuda from 1924-1956, at Carcavelos in 1922 and from 1958-2002, and in Albergaria, near Santarem from 2009.

Considered one of the oldest events of its kind on continental Europe, it became known as the Kendall Cup since 1920, when A.C. Kendall presented the Cup in memory of Lt. Rawes , a leading member of the British Community and The Lisbon C.C. was dangerously wounded in Yres and later died of his wounds in London on 15th August 1915.  In 1920 On the 25th and 26th June 1920 the first Kendall Cup was played at Cruz Quebrada, which Porto won by an innings and 87 runs.  The Cup has been contested on an annual basis, except for 1940, 1942-45, during the World War and 1989, 2008 and more recently 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.