União de Leiria
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| Full name | União Desportiva de Leiria |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Os Lis (The ones from the Lis river) |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Ground | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa |
| Capacity | 24,000 |
| Chairman | Alexander Tolstikov |
| Manager | Rui Amorim |
| League | Campeonato de Portugal |
| 2015–16 | Promotion Groups, South, 5th |
União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (pronounced: [uniˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ lɐjˈɾiɐ]), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, with a 24,000-seat capacity.
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, it was however 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.
The 2011–12 season was lived amongst serious financial difficulties, with the squad not being paid their wages for several months, as three coaching moves also happened during the campaign and president João Bartolomeu resigned amongst accusations of ingratitude towards the players. On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league game at home against C.D. Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss; the side played the last two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.
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