The Algarve based team, who came 12th in the league last season with 39 points, have begun training at grounds in Portimão before pre season games.


The pre season calendar for Portimonense so far includes matches against Welsh team Wrexham, who play in the fifth tier of the English football league, on 9 July at 7pm. They willl play against Sporting Braga on 13 July, before meeting with Marítimo on 16 July and then finally playing against the French team Lille on 24 July.


The Algarvians are also scheduled to meet Spanish teams of Betis, Getafe and FC Porto when they take part in the Copa Ibérica from 19 July.


The official website for the club has confirmed that Brazilian centre-back Willyan Rocha, who for the past two seasons played for Cova da Piedade, and midfielder Paulo Estrela (formerly FC Porto) were the only reinforcements coming to the team for the new season.


However according to a report by Lusa, Portimonense has also secured the services of midfielder Jorge Vilela (formerly Desportivo das Aves), Luquinha, Rómulo and Felipe Vieira (all ex Londrina from Brazil), Iury Castilho (ex Al Fahya from Saudi Arabia), Stephen Payne (ex-Varzim) and Rodrigo Freitas (former Fluminense, from Brazil) to help boost the squad.


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Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920

Daisy Sampson