Portería

Portería is a Spanish noun with multiple, related uses. In standard Spanish, the most common spellings and senses are connected to access control and to sports, especially football.

In architecture and building management, la portería refers to the area at the entrance where the porter or doorman works. It encompasses the reception desk, the entry point, and the staff or office responsible for controlling access, receiving visitors, and sometimes handling mail and deliveries. The term emphasizes the social function of security and hospitality at a building or complex.

In sports, particularly football (soccer), la portería denotes the goal or the goal area. It refers to the physical frame formed by the posts and crossbar and to the space that the opposing team tries to score in. Common expressions include cerrar la portería (to keep a clean sheet) and marcar en la portería rival (to score in the opponent’s goal).

Etymology and spelling note: the standard and widely accepted form is portería. The variant porterí­a (with an accent and different vowel sequence) is not recognized as the normative form in contemporary dictionaries and is generally considered a misspelling or nonstandard usage. In most regional varieties, portería is the preferred spelling for both meanings.