Viborg Fodsports Forening ("Viborg Footsport Association"), or Viborg F.F. and VFF for short, is a Danish professional
football club based in
Viborg. The club was founded in 1896 and waited more than a century before winning its only national trophy, the 2000
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official " knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will qu ...
.
History
Viborg FF was founded in 1896, with several other
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
apart from football - among other things were
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
,
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...
,
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
,
athletics,
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...
,
weight-lifting, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
.
The first big sporting highlight of the club came in
1924, when Viborg FF won the championship in ''Mesterrækken'' (The Champion Division), which was the best regional division in
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. A big title win at the time when, among others,
AGF were a dominating club in Jutland.
Following the championship, Viborg dropped somewhat out of the picture, but never more than the club has always been on the
Danish footballing map. It was a big relief for the club when it was
promotion to the national competitions (4th Division) for the first time in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, following many closely missed attempts at qualification. One of the players taking part in the promotion was
Erik Bundgaard, whose 421 matches for VFF is still club record.
Except for a couple of seasons in the start of the 1970s, Viborg has not been
relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
to a tournament lower than the national competitions since 1959. Though the country's best league have been domicile for Viborg, during the last couple of years the club has been moving up and down between the country's two best leagues.
The finest achievements of the club came in the 1999–2000 season, where the Superliga bronze medals were missed by the smallest margin. Instead, the team was celebrated as winner of the
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official " knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will qu ...
, the DONG Cup. They then added the
Danish Super Cup The Danish Super Cup was played for by the Danish League champions and the Danish Cup Winners.
Winners
*1994 : Brøndby IF 4-0 Silkeborg IF
*1995 : F.C. Copenhagen 2-1 Aalborg BK
*1996 : Brøndby IF 4-0 AGF
*1997 : Brøndby ...
, beating champions
Herfølge Boldklub
Herfølge Boldklub is a Danish football club founded in 1921. It is based in Herfølge, a southern suburb of Køge in the eastern part of Zealand. In 2009, the club shared its licence, and merged its professional football with Køge BK to for ...
in a penalty shoot out.
In 2021, Viborg finished first in the
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...
, earning promotion to the top tier. Their first season back in the Superliga was immediately successful, as they qualified for the
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on the ...
. After knocking out
Sūduva and
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn ( fo, Bóltfelagið 1936 Tórshavn) is a Faroese semi professional football club based in the capital of Tórshavn, playing in the Faroe Islands Premier League, the top tier of Faroese football. B36 Tórshavn has always played it ...
, they eventually lost over two ties against
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...
.
Colours and badge
Viborg F.F.'s colours are green and white.
Stadium
Viborg plays its home matches at
Viborg Stadion, which has a capacity of 9,566 spectators, all seated. The biggest stand is the eastern stand (2,792 seats) and the smallest is the southern (2,040 seats). The field size is 105 x 68 m, the same size as the national stadium,
Parken
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractab ...
. The light is 1200 lux. The sound comes from an Ascon PA-system. There is undersoil heating installed at the venue, which
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
has approved as an international stadium.
Supporters
Viborg FF has no official fanclub. A former official fanclub is The Green Pride. It was one of the largest in Denmark with over 500 members. There is a small continuation of The Green Pride active in Viborg to this day.
The first ultra group was established in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
, when a group of young adults established Fanatikos. In 2004 a new group, Shamrock Ultras, was born.
Players
Current squad
''As of 22 September 2022.''
Out on loan
Retired numbers
*
''22'' Søren Frederiksen,
Forward, (1989–94, 1995–96, 1998, 2001–05)
Academy
Managerial history
Honours
League
*
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...
** Champions:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
Cup
*
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official " knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will qu ...
** Winners:
1999–2000
*
Danish Super Cup The Danish Super Cup was played for by the Danish League champions and the Danish Cup Winners.
Winners
*1994 : Brøndby IF 4-0 Silkeborg IF
*1995 : F.C. Copenhagen 2-1 Aalborg BK
*1996 : Brøndby IF 4-0 AGF
*1997 : Brøndby ...
** Winners: 2000
European record
Recent history
:
References
External links
Viborg FF- official site
Viborg FF Fans- official supporter club site
{{Danish Superliga teamlist
Football clubs in Denmark
Association football clubs established in 1896
Fodsports Forening
1896 establishments in Denmark