U.D. Leiria

Leiria's biggest rivals in Portugal are S.C. Beira-Mar, Associação Naval 1º de Maio and Académica de Coimbra, which belong to the same geographical region. In 1979–80, the club first competed in the top division, finishing in 13th position and being the first team inside the relegation zone.

A heavy contender in the battle to reach European competitions in the 2000s, the club was relegated in 2007–08 to the second level, after finishing last. The team would be immediately promoted back, coming in second after champions S.C. Olhanense.

On 23 August 2004, União de Leiria reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup final with Lille. After getting a 0-0 in France in the first leg, the whole city thought it would be possible for the club to win a European competition. However, in the second leg, after another 0-0 draw at their home stadium, the team would lose the game in extra time by 0-2, mostly due to the excessive fatigue. For the history, it was the first Portuguese team to reach the final of this competition.

The 2011–12 season was lived amongst serious financial difficulties, with the squad not being paid their wages for several months,[1][2] as three coaching moves also happened during the campaign[3][4] and president João Bartolomeu resigned amongst accusations of ingratitude towards the players.[5] On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league match at home against C.D. Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss.[6][7] The side played the last two matches, against S.L. Benfica and C.D. Nacional, with a complete team, but three players came from the juniors.[8][9]

After failing to meet the deadline to register the team in Division Two, Leiria were automatically relegated to the third level.[10] Overwhelmed with the task of rebuilding a squad from scratch, the organization hired several players in an attempt to return to the professionals,[11][12][13] as a second senior team also begun competing in the Leiria regional leagues, coached by former club player Luís Bilro.[14] On 28 June 2013, the UD Leiria SAD was declared bankrupt in a meeting of creditors, which demanded the payment of a debt amounting to €13.5 million, with the Portuguese state abstaining for demanding a debt of over €3.6 million.[15] The second senior team that competed in the regional league took the place of the SAD by buying their sports rights for €1,000, with the club returning to the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa after playing their home matches at other grounds for two seasons.[16][17]

In February 2015, at an extraordinary general assembly, UD Leiria would vote for the creation of another SAD, opening doors to the arrival of Alexander Tolstikov, who after João Bartolomeu would become the new "Lord" of Leiria. The club would have already had a SAD between 1999 and 2013, having been extinguished in the face of its high debt value. The SAD's initial share capital is 40% owned by UD Leiria and 60% owned by DS Investment LLP, of which Alexander Tolstikov is one of those responsible. Thus, DS Investment started to control the main Football team and also the junior team.

Currently, the club is competing in the National Senior Championships (National Third Division).

As of 24 August 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 Fábio Ferreira 2 DF João Dias 3 DF Laércio 4 DF Anilton (Captian) 5 MF Micael Neves 7 FW Bryan Rosa 8 MF Vasco Pontes 11 FW Lucas Reis 13 DF Roberto 16 MF Luís Gouveia 17 FW Luca Oliveira 20 MF Rúben Cacheta

No. Position Player 21 FW Renato Alexandre 22 MF João Leal 23 MF Víctor Córdoba 24 DF Emanuel 27 DF Filipe Moreira 29 FW Nicky Clescenco 30 FW João Silva 31 DF Sérgio Félix 37 DF Alexis Rodrigues 42 MF Alex Oliveira 77 MF David Rojo 99 DF Ivan Sousa

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
1970–71	2DN	3	26	11	8	7	40	34	30
1971–72	2DS	3	30	14	7	9	50	29	35
1972–73	2DS	5	30	17	5	8	50	27	39
1973–74	2DS	7	38	16	9	13	52	49	41
1974–75	2DS	13	38	12	10	16	50	56	34
1975–76	2DS	17	38	11	12	15	42	52	34
1976–77	2DC	11	30	10	8	12	26	31	28
1977–78	2DC	8	30	11	8	11	34	42	30
1978–79	2DC	1	30	20	6	4	56	20	46				Promoted
1979–80	1D	13	30	6	9	15	26	49	21				Relegated
1980–81	2DC	1	30	19	7	4	56	21	45				Promoted
1981–82	1D	16	30	8	4	18	25	50	20				Relegated
1982–83	2DC	3	30	17	10	3	44	17	44
1983–84	2DC	9	30	10	8	12	35	25	28
1984–85	2DC	2	30	17	7	6	42	27	41
1985–86	2DC	9	30	10	8	12	33	49	28
1986–87	2DC	12	30	10	7	13	28	40	27
1987–88	2DC	4	38	18	11	9	64	43	47
1988–89	2DC	10	34	9	13	12	42	44	31
1989–90	2DC	3	34	20	9	5	61	18	49
1990–91	2H	9	38	14	13	11	45	35	41
1991–92	2H	8	34	13	9	12	34	32	35
1992–93	2H	8	34	13	8	13	36	37	34
1993–94	2H	2	34	19	7	8	46	19	45				Promoted
1994–95	1D	6	34	13	10	11	41	44	36
1995–96	1D	7	34	14	5	5	38	50	47		IC	GS
1996–97	1D	17	34	8	6	20	25	53	30				Relegated
1997–98	2H	1	34	20	10	4	73	32	70				Promoted
1998–99	1D	6	34	14	10	10	36	29	52	last 16
1999–00	1D	10	34	10	12	12	31	35	42
2000–01	1D	5	34	15	11	8	46	41	56				Best classification ever
2001–02	1D	7	34	15	10	9	52	35	55
2002–03	1D	5	34	13	10	11	49	47	49	final	IC	1st round
2003–04	1D	10	34	11	12	11	43	45	45	last 16	UC	1st round
2004–05	1D	15	34	8	14	12	29	36	38	last 32	IC	runner-up
2005–06	1D	7	34	13	8	13	44	42	47	last 64	IC	3rd round
2006–07	1D	7	30	10	11	9	25	27	41	last 32
2007–08	1D	16	30	3	7	20	25	53	16	last 32	IC UC	Winner 1st round	Relegated
2008–09	2H	2	28	15	9	6	46	29	53	last 64			Promoted
2009–10	1D	9	30	9	8	13	35	41	35	last 32
2010–11	1D	10	30	9	8	13	25	38	35	last 64
2011–12	1D	16	30	5	4	21	25	56	19	last 64			Relegated
2012–13	2DS	7	30	13	7	10	36	31	46	last 32
2013–14	3	3	32	17	8	7	43	33	24	last 64
2014–15	3	3	30	16	7	7	57	35	39	2nd rd

• 1D: Primeira Liga and predecessors (1st level)
• 2H: Liga de Honra (2nd level)
• 2DN, 2DC, 2DS, 3: Portuguese Second Division, Northern Zone, Central Zone, Southern Zone (pre-1991: 2nd level; post 1991: 3rd level), renamed Campeonato Nacional Seniores in 2013
• UC: UEFA Cup; IC: UEFA Intertoto Cup

• Second Division: 1997–98
• Third Division: 1980–81
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004 - Runner-up; 2007 – Joint Winner[18]
• Taça de Portugal: Runner-up 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: Runner-up 2003

Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa

The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa was built for UEFA Euro 2004 in 2003, hosting during the competition Croatia's matches against Switzerland (0–0) and France (2–2). It also hosted the 2006 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira final between FC Porto and Vitória de Setúbal, as well as the following (Sporting CP 1–0 Porto).

The architect who designed the stadium was Tomás Taveira, who also designed stadiums for Euro 2004, including Beira-Mar's Estádio Municipal de Aveiro and Sporting CP's Estádio José Alvalade. The grounds belong to the municipality of Leiria.

Due to an excessive rent, Leiria relocated to the Estádio Municipal in the nearby town of Marinha Grande, for 2011–12. For the following season, the club moved to Campo da Portela in Santa Catarina da Serra, home of U.D. Serra.[19]

After the SAD bankruptcy, the club returned to play its home matches at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa.

União's fans are called Leirienses, and their main group of supporters is Frente Leiria ("Leiria Front").

• Apito Dourado

• Official website (in Portuguese)
• Zerozero team profile