A works team is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company.

Africa

A number of works teams were founded in the former Portuguese territory of Mozambique that still are currently major teams in that Portuguese-speaking African country

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 (independent since 1975). Grupo Desportivo da Companhia Têxtil do Punguè

Grupo Desportivo da Companhia Têxtil do Punguè

Grupo Desportivo da Companha Têxtil do Punguè is a Mozambican football club based in Beira. They play in the top division in Mozambican football, Moçambola...

 and Textáfrica do Chimoio

Textáfrica do Chimoio

Textáfrica do Chimoio, usually known simply as Textáfrica, is a traditional football club based in Chimoio, central of Mozambique, Textáfrica do Chimoio won title, the Mozambican League, in 1976.-Stadium:...

 are examples of two works teams which were the teams of two textile companies. In addition, two major teams of the railway network achieved also notoriety - the Clube Ferroviário de Maputo

Clube Ferroviário de Maputo

Ferroviário de Maputo, or simply Ferroviário, is a Mozambique football club from Maputo.-History:The club was founded in 1924, as Clube Ferroviário de Lourenço-Marques. In 1976, the club was renamed to Clube Ferroviário de Maputo. In 1982, the club won its first two titles, the Cup of Mozambique,...

 and the Clube Ferroviário da Beira

Clube Ferroviario da Beira

Clube Ferroviário da Beira is a Mozambican football club based in Beira. They play in the top division in Mozambican football, Moçambola. Their home stadium is Estádio do Ferroviário. They were Moçambique Colonial Champions in 1974....

.

Asia

Works teams are common in Japan, with several J-League clubs starting life as such (e.g., Yokohama F. Marinos

Yokohama F. Marinos

is a Japanese association football team that participates in the fully professional J. League Division 1; the top Japanese professional football league. Having won the J-League title three times and finished second twice, they are one of the most successful J-League clubs. The team are based in...

, who were originally Nissan F.C.

Nissan Motors

, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....

). Modern examples include Honda F.C.

Honda F.C.

are a Japanese football club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League.-History:The club was founded as in 1971. They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1975 and to the JSL Division 1 in 1981; the closest they came to the title was in...

, Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima

Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima F.C.

are a football club based in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. They play in the Okayama Prefectural League Division 1.-History:The club was founded in 1946 to provide recreational activities in the war-torn Mizushima area of Kurashiki city...

 and Sagawa Printing

Sagawa Printing S.C.

are an association football club based in Muko, Kyoto, Japan. They play in the Japan Football League.-History:The club was founded in 1986 and started to compete in the Kyoto Prefecture Division 4. They were promoted to Division 1 in 1999 and again to the Kansai Regional League in 2000...

. The maximum league Japanese works teams can compete in is the Japan Football League

Japan Football League

The is the 3rd tier of the Japanese association football league system, following J. League Division 1 and J. League Division 2. Also known as the JFL, it is generally considered as the top amateur league in Japan although in reality it is a semi-professional league as many full-time footballers...

, the de facto national third division; the J. League specifically bars works teams from its ranks unless they professionalize and adopt the community they play in as a source of fan support.

Europe

European former works teams include those of PSV Eindhoven (Philips

Philips

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....

), FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Sochaux plays its home matches at the Stade Auguste Bonal located within the city...

 (Peugeot

Peugeot

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...

), Bayer Leverkusen (Bayer

Bayer

Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...

), VFL Wolfsburg

VfL Wolfsburg

VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...

 (Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

) and FC Carl Zeiss Jena

FC Carl Zeiss Jena

FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss...

 (Zeiss).

The Portuguese conglomerate Companhia União Fabril

Companhia União Fabril

The Companhia União Fabril is a Portuguese chemical corporation and a part of Grupo José de Mello.-History:The company was founded by Alfredo da Silva in 1871 and managed by his descendents, including José Manuel de Mello as a family-run business conglomerate. CUF was one of the largest and most...

 (CUF) had also its own sports club

Sports club

A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...

, founded as a truly works team in 1937. It was located in the Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

's industrial suburb

Industrial suburb

An Industrial Suburb is an incorporated community, created near a large city, that is zoned for primarily industrial sources...

 of Barreiro

Barreiro

Barreiro is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of and a total population of 79,047 inhabitants. It contains the town of Barreiro.The municipality is composed of 8 parishes , and is located in Setúbal District....

, and was called Grupo Desportivo da CUF. The club, which was a major contender in the main Portuguese Football Championship, was disbanded and replaced by G.D. Fabril due to a military coup in 1974

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

.

Several professional football clubs in the United Kingdom were also formed as works teams, including Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 (the team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...

 depot at Newton Heath

Newton Heath

Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....

) and Livingston

Livingston F.C.

Livingston Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Livingston, West Lothian. The club currently plays in the Scottish Football League First Division.The club was founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a works team...

 (formerly Ferranti Thistle). A few (semi-professional) retain their companies' names, including Airbus UK, Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird F.C.

Cammell Laird Football Club is an English Semi Professional football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside. The club are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One North, The 8th Tier of English Football, and play at the Kirklands Stadium....

 and Vauxhall Motors

Vauxhall Motors F.C.

Vauxhall Motors Football Club is an English football club based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, who play in the Conference North. It was originally the works team of the car manufacturer Vauxhall...

.

South America

Several Argentinan clubs began life as the works teams of British-owned railway companies, including Rosario Central

Rosario Central

Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....

, Talleres de Córdoba

Talleres de Córdoba

Club Atlético Talleres is a sports club from the city of Córdoba, Argentina, mostly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the regionalised third division, the Torneo Argentino A...

, Ferro Carril Oeste

Ferro Carril Oeste

Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or Ferro, is a sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The club was founded on July 28, 1904 by 95 railway workers from the Buenos Aires Western Railway...

, Club Ferrocarril Midland

Club Ferrocarril Midland

Club Atlético Ferrocarril Midland is an Argentine Football club, from Merlo in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The team currently plays in the regionalised 4th level of Argentine football Primera C Metropolitana....

 and Club Atlético Central Córdoba

Club Atlético Central Córdoba

Central Córdoba is a football club in Rosario in Santa Fe Province, Argentina which currently plays in Primera C Metropolitana, the regionalised fourth level of the Argentine Football Association....

.

Motorsports

In motorsports, works teams are factory-backed

Factory-backed

Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...

, and drivers are called works drivers.

Rugby union

In rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, works teams are usually found in Asia. The Top League

Top League

The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...

 in Japan features teams such as Suntory Sungoliath

Suntory Sungoliath

Suntory Sungoliath is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus...

, Toyota Verblitz

Toyota Verblitz

Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. Verblitz is a conflation of verde and blitz . The team is owned by Toyota Jidosha and is separate from, and not to be confused with, the Toyota Industries Shuttles rugby team, owned by Toyota Industries...

 and IBM Big Blue

IBM Big Blue

IBM Big Blue is a Japanese semi-professional rugby union team in the Top League, founded in 1976 by IBM. The company decided to make rugby, along with baseball and American football, one of the official company sports in 1989, which allowed the rugby club to gain support and momentum.Big Blue won...

. Samsung

Samsung Group

The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

has a team in the Korean league.