The Algarve’s only American Football team, the Algarve Pirates, travelled to Lisbon last weekend to play the current league champion ‘Lisbon Navigators’ in the 4th match of the season, at the University Sports ground.

With the Pirate’s recent victory against the St Iria Wolves still fresh in the memory confidence was high, if expectations remained realistic.

AGF Aarhus football club from Denmark currently plays in the top tier of the Danish football league system, the Danish Superliga, and finished 5th in the 2011-12 season. The squad travelled to Portugal to compete in the Altantic Trophy 2013 against IF Elfsborg, FC Mitdjlland, Helsingborg IF, SC Farense & Aalborg. Manager Peter Sørensen brought the team to the Amendoeira Golf Resort from 9th to 20th February where they stayed and combined intensive training session on the full sized, natural grass pitch at the resort's Amendoeira Sports Club with the Altantic Trophy fixtures.

A crowd of around 150 spectators saw The Algarve Pirates American Football team win their first game on Saturday in the brilliant sunshine at Mexilhoeira Grande.  In an exciting and hard fought contest with the Sta. Iria de Azoia Wolves the Pirates were victorious by 33 points to 15, an astonishing achievement for a team in only its third game as a league team.
Not only did they win convincingly, but the Pirates now have a real opportunity at being involved in the end of season Playoffs, which would make them the first team in league history to reach the Playoffs in their first season.