{{Short description|District football association}} {{Infobox organization | name = Associação de Futebol de Leiria | image = AF Leiria logo.jpg | image_border = | image_size = 170 | caption = | abbreviation = AF Leiria | formation = 9 September 1925 | purpose = District Football Association | headquarters = Rua Manuel Ribeiro de Oliveira | location = 2400-178 [[Leiria]]<br /> [[Portugal]] | coordinates = | leader_title = President | leader_name = Júlio João Carreira Vieira | website = [http://www.afleiria.com/portal/page/portal/PORTAL_FUTEBOL/LEIRIA/LEIRIA_ASSOCIACAO Official Website] }}
The '''Leiria Football Association''' ({{langx|pt|Associação de Futebol de Leiria}}) is one of the 22 [[Portuguese District Football Associations|District Football Associations]] that are affiliated with the [[Portuguese Football Federation]]. The AF Leiria administers lower-tier [[football (soccer)|football]] in the [[district of Leiria]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Associação Futebol Leiria|url=http://www.afleiria.com/Home.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210155230/http://www.afleiria.com/Home.aspx|archive-date=2013-02-10}}</ref>
On 5 January 2014 Leiria FA won the Portuguese Regions Cup and will represent [[Portugal]] in the [[2015 UEFA Regions' Cup]], starting in September 2014.
== Background == [[File:Leiria Football Association headquarters.jpg|right|185px]] The association, commonly abbreviated as the '''AF Leiria''', is the governing body for football in the Portuguese district of Leiria. The Football Association is based in Cruz de Areia in Leiria, close to Escola Secundária Francisco Rodrigues Lobo (Francisco Rodrigues Lobo Secondary School) and LeiriaShopping. The Association's President is Júlio Vieira.<ref>{{cite news|title=Associação Futebol Leiria - Dirigentes|url=http://afleiria.fpf.pt/Associa%C3%A7%C3%A3o/Org%C3%A3osSociais/Dirigentes.aspx}}</ref>
Established on 9 September 1925, known then as '''Federação Desportiva do Distrito de Leiria''' (Leiria District Sports Federation), this Federation however ceased to exist in May 1926, due to the trouble times of the politically unstable and financially chaotic years of the [[Portuguese First Republic]]. On 20 May 1929, Leiria Football Association was restarted, in his current name. New statutes and regulations was discussed and approved, and elected his first President, Acácio de Almeida Henriques. The founding clubs were: Sport Club Bombarralense, [[Caldas Sport Clube]], Sporting Club das Caldas, Grupo Desportivo "Os Nazarenos", Sporting Club da Nazaré, [[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]], Sport Operário Marinhense, Leiria Gimnasio Club, Gimnasio Sportivo Lis e Associação Académica.<ref>{{cite web|title=Associação Futebol Leiria - História|url=http://afleiria.fpf.pt/Associa%C3%A7%C3%A3o/Hist%C3%B3ria.aspx}}</ref>
==Competitions== [[File:Leiria Football Association sign.jpg|right|185px]] Leiria clubs compete in the three national levels of the [[Portuguese football league system]] in competitions run by the [[Portuguese League for Professional Football]] ([[Primeira Liga]] and [[Liga de Honra]]) and [[Portuguese Football Federation]] ([[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores]]).
[[Caldas Sport Clube]] join the First National Division, where remained four seasons from [[1955–56 Primeira Divisão|1955–56]] to [[1958–59 Primeira Divisão|1958–59]]. In 2012 [[União de Leiria]] were demoted to the [[Segunda Divisão]] after failing to meet the deadline to sign the team in [[Liga de Honra]], Leiria was automatically relegated to the [[Segunda Divisão|third level]].<ref>[http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/interior.aspx?content_id=758695 U.Leiria fora dos Campeonatos profissionais (U. Leiria out of professional competitions)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903042029/http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/interior.aspx?content_id=758695 |date=2012-09-03 }}; Record, 25 May 2012 {{in lang|pt}}</ref> [[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] join the First National Division in [[1982-83 Primeira Liga| 1982-83]] for one season.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
Below the [[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores]] (Portuguese Third Division) the competitions are organised at a district level (known in Portuguese as '''[[Distritais]]''') with each [[Portuguese District Football Associations|District Association]] organising its competitions according to geographical and other factors. The AF Leiria runs to league competitions with the Liga de Honra (1ª division) being at the fourth level of the league system and 1ª Divisão (2ª division) at the fifth level. This second tier is divided into two groups on a geographical basis
In more general terms the AF Leiria currently organises District Championships for Soccer and Futsal for men and women for all age groups including Senior, Junior, Youth, Beginners, Infants and Schools.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==Notable clubs affiliated to AF Leiria 2023–24 season ==
{{Col-start}} {{Col-1-of-3}} ;[[Primeira Liga]] (tier 1) * none
;[[Segunda Liga]] (tier 2) * [[União de Leiria]]
{{Col-2-of-3}} ;[[Liga 3 (Portugal)|Liga 3]] (tier 3) * [[Caldas Sport Clube]]
;[[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores]] (tier 4) * [[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] * [[Grupo Desportivo de Peniche]] {{Col-3-of-3}} ;[[Distritais]] (tiers 5 & 6) * [[Associação Beneditense de Cultura e Desporto|Beneditense]] * [[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] * [[Sporting Clube de Pombal]] * [[A.D. Portomosense|Associação Desportiva Portomosense]]
{{Col-end}}
==District championships==
===Historic champions=== {{col-begin|width=auto}} {{col-break}} {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Champions |- |1929/30 |[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] |- |1930/31 ||[[Caldas Sport Clube]] |- |1932/33 ||[[Caldas Sport Clube]] |- |1933/34 ||[[Caldas Sport Clube]] |- |1934/35 |[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] |- |1935/36 || Sporting Clube das Caldas |- |1936/37 |[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] |- |1937/38 |[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] |- |1938/39 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |} {{col-break|gap=1em}} {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Champions |- |1939/40 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1940/41 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1941/42 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1942/43 |[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]] |- |1943/44 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1944/45 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1945/46 ||[[S.C.U. Torreense]] |- |1946/47 ||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] |} {{col-end}}
===Recent Division Honra winners===
{{Col-start}} {{Col-2}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" !Season !1ª Divisão |- |2000/01||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] |- |2003/04||Grupo Desportivo Os Nazarenos |- |2004/05||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] |- |2005/06||Sport Clube Escolar Bombarralense |- |2006/07||União Desportiva da Serra |- |2007/08||[[G.D. Peniche|Grupo Desportivo de Peniche]] |- |2008/09||Associação Desportiva Portomosense |- |2009/10||Sport Clube Escolar Bombarralense |- |2010/11||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] |- |2011/12|| Centro Cultural e Recreativo Alqueidão da Serra |- |2012/13|| Associação Desportiva Portomosense |- |2013/14|| Sporting Clube Pombal |- |2014/15|| [[G.D. Peniche|Grupo Desportivo de Peniche]] |- |2015/16||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]] |- |2016/17||[[A.C. Marinhense|Marinhense]] |- |2017/18||[[G.D. Peniche|Grupo Desportivo de Peniche]] |- |2018/19||[[A.C. Marinhense|Marinhense]] |} {{Col-end}}{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==List of member clubs==
{{Col-start}} {{Col-2}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" ! style= width="120px" |[[List of football clubs in Portugal|Abbreviation]] ! style= width="200px" |[[Human settlement|Settlement]] ! style= width="300px" |[[List of football clubs in Portugal|Official Name]] ! style= width="120px" |[[Portuguese football league system|Division (tier)]] ! style= width="40px" |[[Taça de Portugal|Cup]] ! style= width="100px" |Other information |- |Alegre e Unido||[[Leiria Municipality|Bajouca]], [[Leiria]]||Grupo Alegre e Unido||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Alfeizerense||[[Alfeizerão]]||Sport União Alfeizerense||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |Alqueidão da Serra||[[Porto de Mós Municipality|Alqueidão da Serra]], [[Porto de Mós]]||Centro Cultural e Recreativo Alqueidão da Serra||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |Alvaiázere||[[Alvaiázere]]||Grupo Desportivo de Alvaiázere||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Ansião||[[Ansião]]||Clube dos Caçadores de Ansião||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |ARCUDA||[[Pombal Municipality|Albergaria dos Doze]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Associação Recreativa e Cultural Desportiva de Albergaria dos Doze||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Atouguiense||[[Atouguia da Baleia]], [[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]]||Grupo Desportivo Atouguiense||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |Avelarense||[[Ansião|Avelar]], [[Ansião]]||Atlético Clube Avelarense||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |[[Associação Beneditense de Cultura e Desporto|Beneditense]]||[[Alcobaça Municipality|Benedita]], [[Alcobaça, Portugal|Alcobaça]]||[[Associação Beneditense de Cultura e Desporto]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |Boavista||[[Leiria Municipality|Boavista]], [[Leiria]]||Grupo Desportivo e Recreativo da Boavista||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Bombarralense||[[Bombarral]]||Sport Clube Escolar Bombarralense||[[Distritais]] (5)||* *|| |- |[[Caldas Sport Clube|Caldas]]||[[Caldas da Rainha]]||[[Caldas Sport Clube]]||[[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores|Campeonato Nacional]] (3)||* * *|| |- |Caseirinhos||[[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Associação Cultural e Desportiva dos Caseirinhos||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Figueiró dos Vinhos||[[Figueiró dos Vinhos Municipality|Figueiró dos Vinhos]]||Associação Desportiva de Figueiró dos Vinhos||[[Distritais]] (4)||*|| |- |[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça|Ginásio Alcobaça]]||[[Alcobaça, Portugal|Alcobaça]]||[[Ginásio Clube Alcobaça]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |Guiense||[[Guia (Pombal)|Guia]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Grupo Desportivo Guiense||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |GRAP||[[Leiria Municipality|Pousos]], [[Leiria]]||Grupo Recreativo Amigos da Paz||[[Distritais]] (4)||None|| |- |Ilha||[[Pombal Municipality|Ilha]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Grupo Desportivo da Ilha||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Leiria e Marrazes||[[Leiria Municipality|Marrazes]], [[Leiria]]||Sport Clube Leiria e Marrazes||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |Lisboa e Marinha||[[Marinha Grande Municipality|Marinha Grande]]||Sport Lisboa e Marinha||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Maceirinha||[[Leiria Municipality|Maceira]], [[Leiria]]||Associação Cultural e Recreativa Maceirinha||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |[[A.C. Marinhense|Marinhense]]||[[Marinha Grande Municipality|Marinha Grande]]||[[A.C. Marinhense|Atlético Clube Marinhense]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |Mata Mourisquense||[[Pombal Municipality|Mata Mourisca]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Uniao Desportiva Recreativa Cultural Mata Mourisquense||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Meirinhas||[[Meirinhas]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Associação Recreativa de Meirinhas||[[Distritais]] (4)||None|| |- |Moita do Boi||[[Louriçal]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Associação de Promoção Social, Desportiva, Recreativa e Cultural da Moita do Boi||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Motor Clube||[[Leiria Municipality|Monte Redondo]], [[Leiria]]||Motor Clube||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Nadadouro||[[Nadadouro]], [[Caldas da Rainha]]||Associação Cultural Recreativa Nadadouro||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Nazarenos||[[Nazaré, Portugal|Nazaré]]||Grupo Desportivo Nazarenos||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |Os Vidreiros||[[Marinha Grande Municipality|Marinha Grande]]||Grupo Desportivo «Os Vidreiros»||[[Distritais]] (5)||*|| |- |Outeirense||[[Leiria Municipality|Carvide]], [[Leiria]]||Clube Os Democratas Recreativo Outeirense||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Pataiense||[[Alcobaça Municipality|Pataias]], [[Alcobaça, Portugal|Alcobaça]]||Clube Desportivo Pataiense||[[Distritais]] (4)||*|| |- |Pedroguense||[[Pedrógão Grande Municipality, Portugal|Pedrógão Grande]]||Recreio Pedroguense||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Pelariga||[[Pombal Municipality|Pelariga]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Grupo Desportivo Pelariga||[[Distritais]] (4)||None|| |- |Peniche||[[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]]||[[G.D. Peniche|Grupo Desportivo de Peniche]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||* * *|| |- |Portomosense||[[Porto de Mós]]||Associação Desportiva Portomosense||[[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores|Campeonato Nacional]] (3)||* *|| |- |Pousaflores||[[Ansião]]||Grupo Desportivo Recreativo Pousaflores||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Ranha||[[Pombal Municipality|Vermoil]], [[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||Associação Desportiva da Ranha||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Santo Amaro||[[Leiria Municipality|Ortigosa]], [[Leiria]]||Grupo Desportivo Santo Amaro||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |[[Sporting Clube de Pombal|Sp. Pombal]]||[[Pombal, Portugal|Pombal]]||[[Sporting Clube de Pombal]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||* *|| |- |[[União de Leiria|U.Leiria SAD]]||[[Leiria]]||[[União de Leiria]]||[[Campeonato Nacional de Seniores|Campeonato Nacional]] (3)||* * *|| |- |[[União de Leiria|U.Leiria]]||[[Leiria]]||[[União de Leiria]]||[[Distritais]] (4)||None|| |- |Unidos||[[Leiria]]||Grupo Desportivo, Recreativo e Cultural Unidos||[[Distritais]] (5)||None|| |- |Vieirense||[[Marinha Grande Municipality|Vieira de Leiria]], [[Marinha Grande Municipality|Marinha Grande]] ||Industrial Desportivo Vieirense||[[Distritais]] (5)||* *|| |- |} {{col-end}} ;Footnote: * 1-10 games in [[Taça de Portugal|Portuguese Cup]]. * * 11-100 games in [[Taça de Portugal|Portuguese Cup]]. * * * 101+ games in [[Taça de Portugal|Portuguese Cup]]. * * *
==See also== * [[Portuguese District Football Associations]] * [[Portuguese football competitions]] * [[List of football clubs in Portugal]]
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130210155230/http://www.afleiria.com/Home.aspx A.F. Leiria] {{in lang|pt}}
{{coord|39.739776|-8.816271|display=title|region:PT_type:landmark}}
{{Football in Portugal}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Portuguese District Football Associations|Leiria]] [[Category:Leiria]] [[Category:Sport in Leiria]] [[Category:1925 establishments in Portugal]]