Viborg Fodsports Forening (lit.'Viborg Footsport Association'), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional football club based in the Central Jutland city of Viborg. They compete in the Danish Superliga, the top tier of Danish football. Nicknamed De Grønne[1] (The Greens), the club was originally founded on 1 April 1896.[2] After more than 100 years of existence, the club won their first and only major trophy in 2000, lifting the Danish Cup.
Viborg lines up against Randers FC prior to a match in July 2024
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.
During the 1970s, Viborg FF was again relegated to the lower divisions of Danish football before returning to the 4th division. 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. 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.[3] By 2002, Viborg FF had fully established a youth academy of their own in FK Viborg.[4]
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[3] and Faroese-side B36 Tórshavn,[5] before losing 6–1 on aggregate to eventual-tournament winner West Ham United.[6] As of the 2024–25 season, the club remains in the top-flight.
Viborg plays its home matches at Viborg Stadium, known as Energi Viborg Arena since 2011 due to sponsorship.[7] Originally built in 1931, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt in 2001[8] at a cost of 62.1 million Danish kroner (93.8 million DKK in 2023)[9]. 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.[10]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.[11]
Viborg Stadium itself is part of the Viborg Stadion Center and is owned by the Viborg Municipality.[8]
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, when a group of young adults established Fanatikos. In 2004 a new group, Shamrock Ultras, was born.
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).
The derby can also be seen as a battle between traditional football and modern football.
^ abMøller, Dan Ersted (5 July 2005). "Viborgs historie - Historier - Sportens by". www.viborghistorie.dk (in Danish). Lokalhistorisk Arkiv for Viborg Kommune, Viborg Centralbibliotek, Viborg Stiftsmuseum. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
Søren Frederiksen, Forward, (1989–94, 1995–96, 1998, 2001–05)
CSKA Moscow
Rayo Vallecano
Sūduva
B36 Tórshavn
West Ham United
