União Desportiva de Leiria (Portuguese pronunciation: [uniˈɐ̃w dɨ lɐjˈɾiɐ]), commonly known as União de Leiria, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Leiria. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, with a 23,888-seat capacity.
Contents
History
In 1979–80, the club first competed in the top division, finishing in 13th position and being relegated.
On 16 April 2001, the club appointed former Benfica manager José Mourinho on a two-year contract. In January 2002, having taken the team as high as third, he departed for Porto. His successor Mário Reis resigned after five games, having lost four, and the team concluded the season in seventh under Vítor Pontes.
The club lost the 2003 Taça de Portugal final to Mourinho's Porto, with the only goal coming from ex-União de Leiria striker Derlei. As the northern club had won the double of league and cup, União de Leiria were their opponents in the 2003 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira on 10 August, with the same scoreline.
União de Leiria reached the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup final with Lille. After goalless draws in France and at home, the team lost 0–2 in extra time on 24 August. Three years later, the club won the same event with a 4–1 second-leg win over Serbia's Hajduk Kula reversing a 1–0 away loss. After defeating Israel's Maccabi Netanya by a single goal in the qualifying round, the club took on Bayer Leverkusen in the first round of the UEFA Cup, losing 5–4 on aggregate with a 3–2 home win in the second leg.
In 2007–08, the club was relegated to the second level, after finishing last; it was additionally involved in the Apito Dourado scandal. The team would be immediately promoted back, coming in second after champions 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 On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league match at home against Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss. The side played the last two matches, against Benfica and Nacional, with a complete team, but three players came from the juniors.
After failing to meet the deadline to register the team in Division Two, Leiria were automatically relegated to the third level. Overwhelmed with the task of rebuilding a squad from scratch, the organization hired several players in an attempt to return to the professionals, as a second senior team also begun competing in the Leiria regional leagues, coached by former club player Luís Bilro.
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. 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.
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.
In October 2020, after a vote at a general meeting, the members approved the entry of a new investor into the club's SAD: Armando Marques, a former director of Vitória de Guimarães. Furthermore, they waived their right of first refusal in the sale of 60% of DS Investment LLP, a company owned by Alexander Tolstikov, leading to their departure from the SAD structure.
In 2022–23, the club won Liga 3 and promotion to Liga Portugal 2. The team defeated Belenenses 1–0 at the Estádio Nacional to return to professional leagues for the first time since 2012.
Players
Current squad
As of 21 August 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Honours
Segunda Divisão/Liga Portugal 2: 1980–81, 1997–98
Liga 3: 2022–23
UEFA Intertoto Cup co-winners: 2007
Taça de Portugal runners-up: 2002–03
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runners-up: 2003
Stadium
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.
After the SAD bankruptcy, the club returned to play its home matches at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa.
Fans
União's fans are called Leirienses or Unionistas, and their main group of supporters is Armata Ultra ("Armata Ultra").
Leiria's biggest rivals are Beira-Mar, Associação Naval 1º de Maio and Académica de Coimbra, which belong to the same geographical region.