Länk FC Vilaverdense

Länk Vilaverdense

Full name	Länk FC Vilaverdense
Founded	1953; 71 years ago (1953) (Vilaverdense F.C.) 2020; 4 years ago (2020) (as Länk FC Vilaverdense)
Ground	Campo Cruz do Reguengo Vila Verde, Portugal
Capacity	1,000[1]
Owner	Länk Football Group
Chairman	Isidro Fernandes
Manager	Sérgio Machado
League	Liga Portugal 2
2022–23	Liga 3, 2nd of 12 (First Stage in Serie A), 2nd of 4 (Second stage in Promotion Series Serie 1) and 3rd (promoted via play-off)
Website	Club website

Länk FC Vilaverdense (formerly known as Vilaverdense F.C.) is a Portuguese football club based in Vila Verde in the district of Braga.^[2] They currently play in the Liga Portugal 2, the second tier of Portuguese football.

The club is affiliated to Associação de Futebol de Braga and has competed in the AF Braga Taça. The club has also entered the national cup competition known as Taça de Portugal on occasion.^[2][3]

It also competes in women's football, with a more successful team playing in the first tier, Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino,^[4] using the 3,000-seat Municipal Stadium.^[1]

History

The club was founded in 1953 as Vilaverdense F.C. and play their home matches at Campo da Cruz do Reguengo in Vila Verde. The stadium is a 1,000 spectator all-seater.^[2]

In 2020, the club's name and crest was changed following an acquisition of 90% of the club's SAD (Anonymous Shareholder Sport Association) by Länk. These changes caused some controversy. ^[5][6]

On 11 June 2023, In the 2022–23 season, following a strong season that had the team in the top half of the table for the majority of the time, they managed to jump to second place in Série A, in the promotion rounds finish in second place at Série 2 and qualified for the promotion play-off against B-SAD. They drew the first leg at home with 1–1 and won the second leg in Rio Maior with 0–1 and thus with an aggregate score of 1–2, secured promotion to the 2023–24 Liga Portugal 2 for the first time in history from next season.

Involvement with Länk

In 2020, a Canadian group named Länk acquired 90% of Vilaverdense's SAD, promising to improve the club's stadium. With this they changed the club's name to Länk Vilaverdense and its badge to one in black and white, removing the green used to represent Vila Verde ("Green Town"). The team's kits, however, are still green.^[7] Although the acquisition was approved by the club's associates, the changes made by Länk came under heavy fire by the club's supporters and caused controversy.^{[5] [6]}

League history

^{[8][9][10][11]}

Players

Current squad

As of 10 February 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  BRA Laércio 4 MF  CAN Rohun Kawale 5 MF  MLI Momo Sacko 6 DF  MLI Bakary Konaté 7 FW  POR Gonçalo Teixeira 8 MF  POR João Caiado 9 FW  SWE Simon Adjei 10 MF  POR André Soares (captain) 11 FW  POR Bruno Silva 12 DF  NGA Nor Maviram 17 FW  GNB N'Anso Fati

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 DF  POR Armando Lopes 23 MF  CPV Ericson Silva 25 MF  NED Sherwin Seedorf 26 DF  POR João Batista 27 DF  POR Carlos Freitas 52 MF  USA Jude Burst 70 FW  POR Boubacar Hanne 82 GK  POR Cajó 88 MF  POR Lénio Neves 93 GK  POR Rogério Santos

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POR Ivo Gonçalves (at Felgueiras until 30 June 2024) 22 GK  POR Hugo Costa (at Os Sandinenses until 30 June 2024) — MF  BRA Diogo Machado (at Oliveira do Douro until 30 June 2024)

Honours

• AF Braga Divisão de Honra: 2010–11
• AF Braga Taça: 1988/89, 1990/91, 1992/93, 1997/98, 2009/10

References

External links

• Official website. Archived 2023-06-16 at the Wayback Machine.