page_title: Leiria
section_title: Sport
hierarchical_section_title: Leiria / Sport
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium in Leiria, Portugal. Français&#160;: Le stade Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, à Leiria, au Portugal.
context_page_description: Leiria is a city and a municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and in the historical province of Beira Litoral.
  It is the capital of Leiria District. The population in 2011 was 126,879, in an area of 565.09 square kilometres. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.
context_section_description: The city of Leiria has its own football team, the União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly called just União de Leiria. It currently plays at the third level of Portuguese football, in the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores, but recently spent 16 seasons in the Primeira Liga.
  An important facility is the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, situated close to Leiria castle. The modern stadium has a capacity for 23,000 people and was built for the UEFA Euro 2004. Efforts were made to sell it, as its debt (nearly €50M) overburdens the city finances,  União de Leiria rents the stadium, but played the 2011-12 season in Estádio Municipal da Marinha Grande due to a rent dispute.
  The district football in Leiria is managed by the Leiria Football Association, overseeing the regional leagues.
  Regarding other sports, Leiria has a notable women's handball team, Juve Lis, which plays in the Women's Handball League, and also participated in EHF competitions. Since 2013 Leiria has had a chess academy (Academia de Xadrez) offered as an activity for young people by the Corvos do Lis. Enrolled students have won titles in National Competitions: second place by teams under 12 years old in 2014 and 2015 and a National Champion, (Blitz, 2013, Under 8) and (Super Rapid play, 2015, under 10). They work with many primary schools in the region teaching chess, considering it a useful complement to developing intellectual skills.
caption: Stadium Dr. Magalhães Pessoa
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