Viborg FF
Association football club in Denmark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viborg Fodsports Forening (lit. 'Viborg Footsport Association'), also referred to as Viborg FF or simply VFF, is a Danish association football club based in the Central Jutland city of Viborg. The club currently competes in the Danish Superliga, the highest league of the Danish football league system. Nicknamed De Grønne, the club was founded on 1 April 1896. As of the end of their 2025–26 season, the club's only trophies are the 1999–2000 Danish Cup and the 2000 Danish Super Cup.
 | |
| Full name | Viborg Fodvorts Forening |
|---|---|
| Nickname | De Grønne (the Greens)[1] |
| Short name | VFF |
| Founded | 1 April 1896 |
| Ground | Energi Viborg Arena |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Coordinates | 56°27′21″N 9°24′7″E |
| Owners |
|
| Chairman | Kim Nielsen |
| Head coach | Nickolai Lund |
| League | Danish Superliga |
| 2024–25 | Superliga, 8th of 12 |
| Website | vff |
After originally playing their football matches at Eksercerpladsen, Viborg moved into their current stadium, Energi Viborg Arena, in 1931. Following the stadium's reconstruction in the early 2000s, the current capacity is 10,000.
History
Viborg Fodsports Forening was established on 1 April 1896.[2] The club originally encompassed several sports, including cricket, gymnastics, boxing, and others. Football was not initially a sport included within the club; however, the club won Mesterrækken in 1924, which was highest football league on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark at the time. By 1929, as other sports had separated into other independent organizations, football remained as the club's only sport. For the next several decades, the club maintained an amateur status and competed in regional leagues, until joining the Danish 4th division in 1959 following promotion after several attempts. Erik Bundgaard was one player involved in the club's achievement, and his 421 matches played for the club were a record until 2008, when Jakob Glerup surpassed his mark.[2]
During the 1970s, Viborg FF was again relegated to the lower divisions of Danish football before returning to the 4th division.[2] Since this time, the club has stayed within the upper tiers of the Danish football pyramid. Following several promotions, the club found itself in the Danish 1st Division, which was the highest level of professional football within Denmark at the time. After only one season, the club were relegated to the 2nd Division once more and would not return until 1989. Following an investment into youth football, the club once more returned to the top league in the country, the Danish Superliga, which had been created in 1991. Once more, however, the club were relegated after only one season once more. In 1995, the club again returned to the Superliga where they would remain for more than a decade.
Viborg FF's highest achievement came during the 1999–2000 Danish Cup. With a 1–0 victory over AaB in the final, the club won the biggest football tournament in the country.[3] The club was given the opportunity to play in the Danish Super Cup in the season following their cup win, defeating Herfølge BK on penalties. The club received an invitation to the UEFA Cup for the 2000–01 tournament, marking their participation in continental football for the first time in the club's history. Their participation would be short-lived however, as they were eliminated in the second round by Spanish club Rayo Vallecano.[4] The same season, the club established full-time professional contracts for all its playing staff.[2] By 2002, Viborg FF had fully established a youth academy of their own in FK Viborg.[5]
While Viborg FF continued to enjoy varying degrees of success in the years after, including a 4th place finish in 2005–06, the club was once again relegated in the spring of 2008. After several more years in the 1st Division, the club became a yo-yo club for the next several years with two promotions and two more relegations between the 2012–13 and the 2016–17 seasons. The club captured their fourth 1st Division title during the 2020–21 season and once more returned to the Superliga. Their first season back in the Superliga proved to be successful as the club reached the UEFA Conference League, after defeating AaB in a European play-off match. The club advanced to the play-off round following victories over Lithuan club FK Sūduva[4] and Faroese-side B36 Tórshavn,[6] before losing 6–1 on aggregate to eventual-tournament winner West Ham United.[7] As of the 2025–26 season, the club remains in the top-flight.
Stadium
Viborg plays its home matches at Viborg Stadium, known as Energi Viborg Arena since 2011 due to sponsorship.[8] Originally built in 1931, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt in 2001[9] at a cost of 62.1 million Danish kroner (93.8 million DKK in 2023).[10] The stadium has a capacity of 10,000, of which 9,566 is seated. The seats are divided in multiple sections with the eastern stand having the highest capacity at 2,792 seats, and the southern stand with the lowest capacity at 2,040 seats. The pitch size is the same dimensions as the national stadium at 105 metres (115 yd) long and 68 metres (74 yd) wide.[11] UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, has approved the stadium for international use, and the stadium is also home to the Danish women's national football team. The men's national team has also played select matches at the ground.[12]
Viborg Stadium itself is part of the Viborg Stadion Center and is owned by the Viborg Municipality.[9]
Supporters
Viborg FF has no official Fanclub. A former official Fanclub is The Green Pride.[13] It closed in June 2024 however.[14] Previously 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, when a group of young adults established Fanatikos.[13] In 2004 a new group, Shamrock Ultras, was born.[13]
Their main rival is FC Midtjylland and the game is called "Hadets Opgør" (The Battle of Hatred) or "det midtjyske derby" (Central Jutland Derby). Viborg fans, see themselves as being the true Central Jutlanders and most Viborg fans are annoyed by the fact that FC Midtjylland call themselves FC Midtjylland (FC Central Jutland) with the fans often calling FCM "FC Vestjylland" (FC Western Jutland).[15][16] The derby can also be seen as a battle between traditional football and modern football.
Players
First-team squad
- As of 2 February 2026[17]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players in use 2025–26
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
- 22
Søren Frederiksen, Forward, (1989–94, 1995–96, 1998, 2001–05)
Academy
Forenede Klubber i Viborg (English: United Clubs in Viborg), more commonly known as FK Viborg is the youth academy of Viborg FF. FK Viborg consists of youth teams on under-18, under-16, under-14 and under-12 basis.
FK Viborg was founded in 2002 as a superstructure on Viborg FF, Overlund GF, Viborg B67, Viborg Søndermarken IK, Viborg Nørremarken and Houlkær IF's best youth teams.
Managerial history
- Harald Hansen (1926–27)
- Axel Holm (1930–31)
- Sophus Nielsen (1932–33)
Charlie Pohl (1933–35)- Arnold Thisted (1935–37)
- Valdemar Bodilsen (1937–38)
- Emil Asmussen (1940–41)
- Willy Henriksen (1942–44)
- Valdemar Bodilsen (1945–47)
- Poul Snedker (1947–49)
- Aksel Larsen (1949–50)
- Svend H. Mønster (1950–53)
- Walter Presch (1953–54)
- Harry Albertsen (1954–55)
- Svend H. Mønster (1955–56)
- Walter Presch (1956–57)
Kaarlo Niilonen (1958–60)- Leo Nielsen (1961–63)
- Rudi Strittich (1964)
- Erik Schou (1965)
- Knud Schou (1966–68)
Jim Magill (1969)- Robert Andreasen (1970–71)
- Kaj Stærk (1972–74)
- Eduard Bründl (1975)
- Bent Martin (1976)
- Erik Bundgaard (1977–79)
- Svend Hugger (1980–81)
- Eduard Bründl (1982–83)
- Erik Bundgaard (1984)
- Jens Tang Olesen (1984–87)
- Hans Ove Andersen (1988–89)
- Peter Rudbæk (1990–93)
- Roald Poulsen (1993–94)
- Ole Skouboe (1994)
- Viggo Jensen (1995)
- Ove Christensen (1995–99)
- Kim Poulsen (1 July 1999 – 23 October 2001)
- Søren Kusk (2001–03)
Benny Lennartsson (2003)- Ove Christensen (1 July 2003 – 30 June 2006)
- Tommy Møller Nielsen (2 February 2006 – 9 November 2006)
- Anders Linderoth (1 December 2006 – 30 November 2007)
- Hans Eklund (26 November 2007 – 8 April 2009)
- Søren Frederiksen (8 April 2009 – 30 June 2009)
- Lars Søndergaard (3 July 2009 – 24 November 2010)
- Steffen Højer & Søren Frederiksen (24 November 2010 – 30 June 2011)
- Ove Christensen (1 July 2011 – 31 January 2014)
Auri Skarbalius (1 February 2014 – 30 June 2015)- Johnny Mølby (1 July 2015 – 2 August 2017)
- Steffen Højer (2 August 2017 – 3 June 2019)
- Jacob Neestrup (20 June 2019 – 22 December 2020)
- Lars Friis (16 January 2021 – 25 January 2022)
- Jacob Friis (3 February 2022 – 8 November 2023)
- Jakob Poulsen (8 November 2023 – 20 June 2025)
- Nickolai Lund (16 July 2025 – present)
Honours
League
Cup
- Danish Cup
- Winners (1): 1999–2000
- Danish Super Cup
- Winners (1): 2000
European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | UEFA Cup | First Round |  CSKA Moscow |
0–0 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
| Second Round |  Rayo Vallecano |
0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 (a) | ||
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Second qualifying round |  Sūduva |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Third qualifying round |  B36 Tórshavn |
3–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | ||
| Play-off round |  West Ham United |
0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 |
Seasons
Some matches is regular seasons were played as knockout matches, as a result these are shown in the regular league columns instead of the cup column and with position replaced with win/loss.
Season Competition Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup 1909–10 Jutland A-Series North Circut Finals L 1 N/A 0 3 N/A N/A 1914–15 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 2 1 3 unk. unk. unk. unk. unk. unk. DNQ Jutland A-Series North Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 1 5 N/A 1915–16 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 3 3 6 2 1 3 unk. unk. 5 1916–17 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 1 4 6 1 1 4 4 25 3 1917–18 1 6 4 1 1 unk. unk. 9 Jutland A-Series South Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 8 0 N/A Jutland A-Series South Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 3 5 N/A 1918–19 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 6 2 6 4 0 2 9 7 8 1919–20 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 1 6 5 0 1 10 7 10 Jutland A-Series Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland A-Series Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 1 5 N/A 1920–21 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 2 6 4 1 1 14 13 9 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 1st place rematch L 1 N/A 2 4 N/A 1921–22 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 2 4 1 0 3 9 4 2 1922–23 Jutland A-Series 3rd Circuit 1 8 unk. 14 Jutland A-Series North Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland A-Series North Circuit Finals 1 N/A 4 3 N/A Jutland A-Series Final 1 N/A 2 0 N/A Jutland Qualification to Championship Series 1 N/A 2 1 N/A 1923–24 Jutland Championship Series 1 10 6 2 2 20 12 14 2nd Round 1924–25 4 10 3 4 3 17 16 10 DNQ 1925–26 3 10 4 3 3 20 25 11 1926–27 Jutland Championship North Circuit 1 10 6 1 3 28 19 13 Jutland Championship Finals L 2 0 0 2 2 14 0 1927–28 Danish Championship Tournament 1st Circuit 4 3 1 2 3 7 2 N/A Jutland Championship North Circuit 10 3 2 5 20 30 8 1928–29 5 10 3 2 5 28 32 8 N/A 1929–30 6 10 1 0 9 11 37 2 N/A Relegation Playoff L 1 N/A 3 7 N/A 1930–31 Jutland Intermediate-Series North Circuit 4 3 10 5 1 4 17 20 11 N/A 1931–32 1 10 8 2 0 39 10 18 N/A Jutland Intermediate-Series North Circuit W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland Intermediate-Series Finals 1 N/A 4 1 N/A Jutland Qualification to Championship Series 1 N/A 1 0 N/A 1932–33 Jutland Championship North Circuit 6 14 4 2 8 26 43 10 N/A 1933–34 14 5 2 7 32 43 12 N/A 1934–35 14 4 3 7 27 28 11 N/A 1935–36 5 14 6 3 5 39 34 15 N/A 1936–37 3 14 8 1 5 36 32 17 N/A 1937–38 4 14 7 2 5 47 36 16 N/A 1938–39 14 5 4 5 34 40 14 N/A 1939–40 8 14 4 0 10 44 56 8 N/A 1940–41 Jutland Championship 3rd Circuit 4 8 4 1 3 22 19 9 N/A 1941–42 Jutland Championship 2nd Circuit 1 10 7 1 2 25 14 15 N/A Jutland Championship Series Finals L 1 N/A 0 3 N/A Qualification to Danish Tournament L 1 N/A 5 6 N/A 1942–43 Jutland Championship 2nd Circuit 2 16 8 3 5 43 27 19 N/A 1943–44 5 10 3 2 5 23 29 8 N/A 1944–45 Jutland Championship Middle Circuit 6 7 2 0 5 15 20 4 N/A 1945–46 Jutland Championship North Circuit 7 14 5 9 31 44 10 N/A 1946–47 8 18 5 4 9 36 42 14 N/A 1947–48 3 18 11 1 6 55 31 23 N/A 1948–49 2 18 10 3 5 55 29 23 N/A 1949–50 3 18 10 3 5 58 38 23 N/A 1950–51 Jutland Series North 2 18 13 2 3 68 33 28 N/A 1951–52 Jutland Series North 1 18 12 5 1 71 22 29 N/A Jutland Series Finals W 2 1 1 0 3 1 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 3 6 3 2 1 14 13 8 1952–53 Jutland Series North 1 18 14 1 3 55 33 29 N/A Jutland Series Finals W 2 1 1 0 5 2 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 6 6 1 2 3 9 14 4 1953–54 Jutland Series North 1 18 14 2 2 52 13 30 N/A Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 1 3 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 4 6 2 3 1 16 15 7 1954–55 Jutland Series North 1 18 12 2 4 63 33 26 quarter-final Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 2 5 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 6 6 2 0 4 11 21 4 1955–56 Jutland Series North 3 22 12 5 5 57 35 29 3rd round 1956–57 3 33 20 3 10 112 46 43 4th round 1958 1 22 17 3 2 63 19 37 Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 3 5 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 4 6 3 1 2 16 10 7 1959 Danish Qualification Tournament 1 22 15 4 3 77 33 34 1st round 1960 Danish 3rd Division 7 22 9 2 11 55 47 20 2nd round 1961 1 22 15 3 4 58 27 33 quarter-final 1962 Danish 2nd Division 4 22 9 5 8 46 40 23 1st round 1963 6 22 9 4 9 49 31 22 3rd round 1964 4 22 9 7 6 53 50 25 1965 7 22 9 2 11 43 45 20 4th round 1966 11 22 6 2 14 35 76 14 2nd round 1967 Danish 3rd Division 3 22 12 2 8 48 41 26 4th round 1968 6 22 10 2 10 46 52 22 3rd round 1969 2 22 12 4 6 47 39 28 1970 7 22 9 3 10 45 44 21 1971 12 22 6 5 11 26 41 17 2nd round 1972 Denmark Series Circuit 4 4 22 8 6 8 28 27 22 DNQ 1973 1 22 14 4 4 58 17 32 2nd round 1974 Danish 3rd Division West 6 22 9 8 5 38 29 26 1st round 1975 Danish 3rd Division 9 30 12 5 13 43 42 29 DNQ 1976 11 30 11 6 13 45 58 28 1st round 1977 10 30 10 7 13 34 49 27 DNQ 1978 3 30 17 7 6 58 33 41 3rd round 1979 Danish 2nd Division 7 30 11 9 10 45 53 31 1st round 1980 1 30 16 8 6 53 35 40 4th round 1981 Danish 1st Division 16 30 5 5 20 33 62 15 2nd round 1982 Danish 2nd Division 9 30 9 9 12 41 45 27 quarter-final 1983 30 11 9 10 44 50 31 semi-final 1984 30 10 9 11 45 45 29 2nd round 1985 7 30 13 8 9 48 35 34 semi-final 1986 30 11 7 12 39 42 29 quarter-final 1987 5 26 11 5 10 40 31 27 1st round 1988 6 26 7 13 6 35 34 27 3rd round 1989 2 26 15 5 6 40 28 35 1st round 1990 Danish 1st Division 14 26 5 4 17 19 52 14 3rd round 1991 5 18 6 6 6 28 26 18 4th round 1991–92 1 18 12 2 4 40 21 26 Danish Qualification League 3 14 8 1 5 29 21 17 1992–93 Danish 1st Division 2 18 11 5 2 37 22 27 5th round Danish Qualification League 4 14 8 2 4 37 22 18+7 1993–94 Danish Superliga 10 18 3 4 11 25 50 10 4th round Danish Qualification League 4 14 6 3 5 23 16 15+7 1994–95 Danish 1st Division 1 18 10 6 2 48 24 26 5th round Danish Qualification League 3 14 6 4 4 22 16 16+8 1995–96 Danish Superliga 8 33 9 11 13 48 67 38 quarter-final 1996–97 11 33 6 11 16 31 58 29 4th round 1997–98 Danish 1st Division 1 30 20 7 3 72 29 67 5th round 1998–99 Danish Superliga 8 33 13 5 15 61 59 44 1999–00 4 33 15 7 11 56 50 52 Winner 2000–01 6 33 13 7 13 52 42 46 semi-final 2001–02 8 33 10 11 12 46 45 41 5th round 2002–03 33 11 10 12 58 55 43 semi-final 2003–04 7 33 11 9 13 47 44 42 quarter-final 2004–05 33 13 9 11 43 45 48 4th round 2005–06 4 33 15 9 9 62 43 54 5th round 2006–07 9 33 8 5 20 34 64 29 semi-final 2007–08 11 33 5 5 23 29 68 20 2nd round 2008–09 Danish 1st Division 4 30 17 3 10 59 40 54 3rd round 2009–10 7 30 10 14 6 30 26 44 4th round 2010–11 11 30 9 6 15 37 43 33 2011–12 4 26 10 10 6 45 34 40 2012–13 1 33 17 11 5 60 30 62 2nd round 2013–14 Danish Superliga 12 33 6 10 17 38 63 28 3rd round 2014–15 Danish 1st Division 1 33 17 14 2 47 20 65 1st round 2015–16 Danish Superliga 8 33 11 7 15 34 42 40 4th round 2016–17 11 32 8 9 15 35 47 33 3rd round 2017–18 Danish 1st Division 4 33 15 9 9 58 42 54 2nd round 2018–19 2 35 17 9 9 61 40 60 2019–20 33 17 8 8 66 44 59 3rd round 2020–21 1 32 23 7 2 71 24 76 2nd round 2021–22 Danish Superliga 7 32 10 14 8 45 43 44 2022–23 4 32 14 9 9 44 35 51 quarter-final 2023–24 8 32 11 7 14 38 48 40 4th round
