Clube de Futebol Andorinha de Santo António ''(abbreviated as CF Andorinha)'' is a Portuguese football club based in Santo António, Funchal, on the island of Madeira.

Background

CF Andorinha currently plays in the

Terceira Divisão The Terceira Divisão Portuguesa (in English: ''Portuguese Third Division'') was a football league in Portugal, situated at the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. The Third Division was initially the third level of the Portugue ...

Série Madeira which is the fifth tier of Portuguese Football. The club was founded on 6 May 1925, and they play their home matches at the Estádio Do Andorinha in Santo António, Funchal. The stadium is able to accommodate 500 spectators. It is a small stadium with a synthetic playing surface and seating for 400 people. The ground is located in the northern area of Funchal's Santo António ''

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Por ...

'', on the outskirts of the city. It is in very close proximity to

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

's training complex and Andorinha's ground is in fact often used to stage matches for Marítimo's youth teams. Up until the end of the 2008–09 season CF Andorinha only played

Distritais There are 22 district Football Associations in Portugal. These organizations are the governing bodies (alongside the Portuguese Football Federation) of football in each Portuguese district. Overview Until the reform of Portuguese football in 194 ...

(Tier 5) football on Madeira but following league restructuring the 1ª Divisão clubs of the AF Madeira became part of the

(Third Division) in 2009–10. After finishing second at the end of the First Phase, Andorinha won the Promotion Group and gained promotion to

Segunda Divisão The Segunda Divisão Portuguesa (English: ''Portuguese Second Division'') was a football league situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system. The division had previously been the second level of the Portuguese pyramid but, w ...

Série Norte for

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

with the manager/coach Nelson Calaça e Duarte Santos. While their first season in the Second Division proved short with relegation at the end of the season, it was a tremendous achievement for the club to be competing against mainland clubs for the first time at the Portuguese third tier level. The club is considered youth training and has had many young promising players play for them, including

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. They have a partnership with FC Porto Dragon Force schools from 2012–2014 with the manager Nelson Rosado's leadership. The club is also affiliated to

Associação de Futebol da Madeira The Madeira Football Association (''Associação de Futebol da Madeira'', abrv. ''AF Madeira'') is the regional governing body for the all football competitions in the former Portuguese district of Funchal, including both Madeira Island and Porto ...

and has competed in the AF Madeira Taça. The club has also entered the national cup competition known as

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

on a few occasions.

Season to season

Honours

* Terceira Divisão – Serie Madeira: 1 ** 2009–10 * AF Madeira Championship: 1 **2007–08 * AF Madeira Cup: 1 **1985–86

References

External links

Zerozero team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andorinha, C.F. Football clubs in Portugal Association football clubs established in 1925 Sport in Madeira 1925 establishments in Portugal