U.D. Leiria

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 third division, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, with a 24,000-seat capacity.

History

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 On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league game at home against C.D. Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss; the side played the last two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.

Leiria

Leiria (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐjˈɾi.ɐ]) is a city and a municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The population in 2011 was 126,879, in an area of 565.09 km². The city proper has about 60,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.

History

The region around Leiria has been inhabited for a long time, although its early history is obscure. The first evident inhabitants were the Turduli Oppidani, a Celtiberian tribe (akin to the Lusitanians), who established a settlement near (around 7 km) present-day Leiria. This settlement was later occupied by the Romans, who expanded it under the original Celtiberian name Collippo. The stones of the ancient Roman town were used in the Middle Ages to build much of Leiria.

The name "Leiria" in Portuguese derives from 'leira' (from the medieval Galician-Portuguese form 'laria', from proto-Celtic *ɸlār-yo-, akin to Old Irish 'làr' 'ground, floor', Breton 'leur' 'ground', Welsh 'llawr' 'floor') meaning an area with small farming plots. It was occupied by the Suebi in 414 and later incorporated by Leovigild into the Visigoths kingdom in 585 A.D. Later the Moors occupied the area until it was captured by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques in 1135, during the so-called Reconquista. The settlement was intermittently attacked until 1140. South of Leiria in that period was the so-called "no-man's land", until regions further south (like Santarém and Lisbon) were permanently taken and re-populated by the Christians. In 1142 Afonso Henriques gave Leiria its first foral (compilation of feudal rights) to stimulate the colonisation of the region.

Leiria District

The District of Leiria (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐjˈɾi.ɐ], Portuguese: Distrito de Leiria) is located in Central Portugal. The District Capital is the city of Leiria which is also the largest city and most populous city. The district is composed by 16 municipalities: [C = city/cidade T = town/vila]

Summary of votes and seats won 1976-2011

Summary of election results from Leiria district, 1976-2011

Coordinates: 39°44′38″N 8°48′25″W / 39.74389°N 8.80694°W / 39.74389; -8.80694