AMSTERDAM, 16.06.2026 — Estrella Football Group today announces an investment in Carvoeiro United FC, a Portuguese football club based in the Algarve. The partnership marks Estrella's second club within Portugal and strengthens the group's growing multi-club ecosystem across Europe.

Carvoeiro United's recent promotion to the A.F. Algarve 1ª Divisão reflects the momentum behind the club and the broader opportunity Estrella Football Group sees in Portuguese grassroots football. The club enters this next chapter with a new commercial and operational partner committed to building something lasting.

Estrella Football Group's investment will focus on strengthening the operational foundations that underpin sustainable growth: training infrastructure, squad development, youth pathways, and the commercial partnerships that allow ambitious clubs to compete on their own terms. The Carvoeiro model will follow the same framework that delivered a championship season and promotion at Cascais, foundation-first, community-rooted, and ecosystem-connected.

The Algarve presents a distinctive opportunity. Founded in 2014, Carvoeiro United have already been promoted three times, including this season, and reached the semi-finals of the Taça do Algarve, the region's most prestigious cup competition. They currently play at the Estádio Municipal de Estômbar, with a potential future move to the Estádio da Bela Vista.

What sets Carvoeiro United apart is a fanbase that extends far beyond the Algarve. Through kit partnerships with Secret Shirt and Mystery Shirt, the club has built an international following, with supporters from across Europe regularly engaging on social media in multiple languages. This season alone, a group of Scottish fans made the trip to follow the club, bringing flags bearing the Carvoeiro crest and singing from the terraces. It is the kind of organic, cross-border connection that cannot be manufactured.

Estrella's wider network of performance technology, kit partnerships, content infrastructure, and board-level expertise will now be available to the club as it prepares for life in a higher division. The ambition is clear: to establish Carvoeiro United in the third tier of Portuguese football, develop competitive youth teams, and over time build toward professional status.

David Dwinger, Co-Founder & CEO, ve2ventures / Estrella Football Group Co-Founder

"Carvoeiro United is exactly the kind of club that embodies what Estrella Football Group is building towards. A passionate supporter base that stretches across borders, a management team with real ambition, and a community that has been the foundation of the club since day one. This is not just another investment — it is another proof point that sustainable, community-driven football clubs can thrive when they are given the right support and the right network around them."

Xander Czaikowski, Co-Founder & CEO, Estrella Football Group

"When we first spoke with Yannick and the team at Carvoeiro United, what struck us immediately was the culture they had built. A club founded just over a decade ago that already has fans flying in from Scotland, shirts being worn across Europe, and three promotions to their name, that is not a coincidence. That is identity. Our job now is to give that identity the infrastructure and resources it deserves, and to help Carvoeiro compete at the level their ambition demands."

Yannick Nicklaus, Owner, Carvoeiro United FC

"Carvoeiro United is more than a club. It's something you can't explain, you have to feel it."

About Estrella Football Group

Estrella Football Group is a next-generation football investment company building the first horizontal multi-club ecosystem across Europe. By combining sporting expertise, digital innovation, and fan participation, Estrella aims to turn ambitious clubs into sustainable, community-driven football institutions.

About Carvoeiro United FC

Carvoeiro United FC was founded in 2014 and is based in the Algarve, Portugal. The club currently competes in the 1ª Distrital do Algarve, the fifth tier of Portuguese football, following three promotions, including their most recent this season. Carvoeiro United play their home fixtures at the Estádio Municipal de Estômbar and have reached the semi-finals of the Taça do Algarve. Known for their distinctive modern kits distributed internationally through Secret Shirt and Mystery Shirt, the club has cultivated one of the most internationally connected supporter bases in regional Portuguese football.