Latvian First League
Encyclopedia
The Latvian First League is the second tier of football in Latvia
and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation
. From the 2007 season, the tournament has been known as the Traffic 1. līga, due to its sponsorship by the "Traffic auto advert" advertising company.
. The second lowest placed club in the Virslīga and the second placed club in the First League compete in a Play-off over two matches for the remaining place in the following season's Virslīga. However, for the 2009 season, the Virslīga was expanded to 9 clubs. Therefore there was no relegation and the top two clubs in the First League, FK Daugava (champions) and FC Tranzīts (runners-up) were promoted to the Virslīga. The two clubs finishing at the bottom of the First League are relegated to the Second League.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation
Latvian Football Federation
The Latvian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Latvia based in the capital, Riga. It organises the Latvian football championship , Latvian Football Cup and the Latvia national football team. LFF became a member of FIFA in 1922, but following Latvia's annexation by the Soviet...
. From the 2007 season, the tournament has been known as the Traffic 1. līga, due to its sponsorship by the "Traffic auto advert" advertising company.
Format
There are 14 clubs in the First League. During the course of the season each club plays the every other club twice, once at home and once away, with a total of 26 games. At the end of the season, the highest placed club is automatically promoted to the VirslīgaVirsliga
-Past Virslīga winners:-Top scorers:-Riga football league winners:* 1910 Union Riga* 1911 British FC Riga* 1912 Union Riga* 1913 British FC Riga* 1914 British FC Riga* 1915 British FC Riga-Champions of Latvia before Virslīga:* 1922 Ķeizarmežs...
. The second lowest placed club in the Virslīga and the second placed club in the First League compete in a Play-off over two matches for the remaining place in the following season's Virslīga. However, for the 2009 season, the Virslīga was expanded to 9 clubs. Therefore there was no relegation and the top two clubs in the First League, FK Daugava (champions) and FC Tranzīts (runners-up) were promoted to the Virslīga. The two clubs finishing at the bottom of the First League are relegated to the Second League.
First League clubs (2010)
In March 2010 the Latvian Football Federation announced the 12 clubs who will compete in the 2010 First League season.- Daugava (DaugavpilsDaugavpilsDaugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
) - RīgaRFSRFS can mean:* Review of Financial Studies an academic journal published by the Society of Financial Studies* Russian Federation Ship, in the Russian Navy...
(RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
) - FK Auda (RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
) - FK Tukums-2000FK Tukums 2000FK Tukums 2000 is Latvian football club located in Tukums. Since its foundation, the club has been training young boys and girls. In 2007 the club formed a men team, that could play in the second-highest division of Latvian football ....
(TukumsTukumsTukums is a town in Latvia. Three regions of Latvia meet in the vicinity of Tukums – Vidzeme, Zemgale and Courland. The city was host to the Cold War facility Tukums air base.- History :...
) - FS Metta/LUFS Metta-Latvijas Universitate RigaFS Metta is a Latvian football club located in Rīga, Ķekava and Mārupe. It will play in the 1.līga in 2011. It is formed from Futbola Skola "METTA" and Latvijas Universitāte . It will play their home games in stadions Arkādija, Riga.-History:Football school "METTA" was officially founded on May...
(RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
) - VaravīksneSFK VaravīksneSFK Varavīksne is a Latvian football club, playing in the second-highest division of Latvian football . They are from Liepāja.-History:...
(LiepājaLiepajaLiepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
) - Jelgava-2 (JelgavaJelgava-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
) - Rēzekne (RēzekneRezekneIn the 19th century, the population of Rēzekne was 2/3 Jewish. As a result of the Pale of Settlement many Jews settled in Latgalia and were confined to the cities. The remainder of the population included Poles, Germans, Russians, and an extreme minority of native Latgalians...
) - Ventspils (VentspilsVentspilsVentspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
) - Liepājas Metalurgs-2FK Liepajas Metalurgs-2Liepājas Metalurgs-2 is a Latvian football team from Liepāja city. It is a farm-team of FHK Liepājas Metalurgs.-FHK Liepājas Metalurgs reserves team squad:...
(LiepājaLiepajaLiepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
) - Spartaks (JūrmalaJurmalaJūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
) - ValmieraFK ValmieraFutbola klubs Valmiera is a Latvian football club, playing in the second-highest division of Latvian football. They are from the city of Valmiera.-History:...
(ValmieraValmieraValmiera is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of 18.1 km². It is the center of the Valmiera District. As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2008 – 27,569....
) - Ogre (OgreOgre, LatviaOgre is the principal town of Ogre District in Central Latvia, 36 km east of the capital Riga, situated at the confluence of the Daugava and Ogre rivers...
)
Past First League winners
| Season | Winner | Total wins* | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Decemviri Rīga | 1 (1) | "Zenta Rīga" |
| 1993 | Gemma-RFS | 1 (1) | Baltnet Daugavpils |
| 1994 | FK Kvadrāts | 1 (1) | Starts Brocēni Starts Broceni Starts Brocēni is a Latvian football club. Currently it plays in the 2nd Latvian league under the name Saldus FK/Brocēni . It was one of the leading Latvian clubs in 1960s-1970s.-CSK Brocēni:... |
| 1995 | FK Jūrnieks FK Jurnieks FK Jūrnieks was a Latvian football club based in Riga. It became defunct in 1997.-History:Most of football clubs in the Soviet Union were attached to factories and the footballers were officially factory workers... |
1 (1) | FK Lokomotīve Daugavpils |
| 1996 | Vecrīga Rīga | 1 (1) | FK Valmiera FK Valmiera Futbola klubs Valmiera is a Latvian football club, playing in the second-highest division of Latvian football. They are from the city of Valmiera.-History:... |
| 1997 | Ranto/AVV | 1 (1) | FK Jūrnieks FK Jurnieks FK Jūrnieks was a Latvian football club based in Riga. It became defunct in 1997.-History:Most of football clubs in the Soviet Union were attached to factories and the footballers were officially factory workers... |
| 1998 | PFK Rīga Policijas FK Policijas FK was a Latvian football club based in Riga that played in Virslīga from 1999 to 2002.-History:The football club of the Latvian police forces was founded in 1994. Until 1998 it played in the lower divisions of Latvian football as a completely amateur team. In 1998 Policijas FK for the... |
1 (1) | Jaunība Daugavpils |
| 1999 | LU-Daugava Torpedo Riga Torpedo Rīga was a football club that played in Riga. The club played in the Latvian league with good success from 1979 to 2000 when it merged with Policijas FK.-As Torpedo Rīga:... |
1 (1) | LBB-Mido |
| 2000 | Zibens-Zemessardze Daugavpils | 1 (1) | Skonto/Metāls Rīga |
| 2001 | Auda Rīga | 1 (1) | RKB-Arma Rīga |
| 2002 | RKB-Arma Rīga | 1 (1) | Ditton Daugavpils |
| 2003 | FK Jūrmala FK Jurmala FK Jūrmala-VV is a Latvian football club, playing in the top division of Latvian football. They are from the city of Jūrmala.-History:FK Jūrmala was founded in 2003 and its goals included creating a club infrastructure, building a modern stadium in Sloka and popularization of sports among children... |
1 (1) | Multibanka Rīga |
| 2004 | FK Ventspils-2 | 1 (1) | Ditton-2 Daugavpils |
| 2005 | Skonto-2 Rīga Skonto-2 Riga Skonto-2 is a Latvian football team from Riga city. It is a farm-team of Skonto FC.They hold the world record for the most successive back-to-back domestic titles in world football with 14.-First-team squad:... |
1 (1) | Skonto-2 Rīga Skonto-2 Riga Skonto-2 is a Latvian football team from Riga city. It is a farm-team of Skonto FC.They hold the world record for the most successive back-to-back domestic titles in world football with 14.-First-team squad:... |
| 2006 | JFK Olimps Rīga JFK Olimps Riga Olimps/RFS, founded as JFK Olimps is a Latvian football club, playing in the top division of Latvian football. The club is from the city of Riga... |
1 (1) | Ditton-2 Daugavpils |
| 2007 | FK Vindava Ventspils FK Vindava Ventspils FK Vindava is a Latvian football club located in Ventspils. It was founded in 2007. Actually FK Vindava isn't a new team in Latvian football. It's based on FK Honda, which got 4th place in 2006 in Latvian 2. līga, Kurzemes zona.- History :... |
1 (1) | FK Blāzma Rēzekne FK Blazma Rezekne SK Blāzma is a Latvian football club located in Rēzekne. The club is a continuation of the city's main football club, Dižvanagi. The club competed in Virslīga in the 2008 season following promotion from the 1. Liga in 2007.- History :... |
| 2008 | FK Daugava | 1 (1) | FC Tranzīts |
| 2009 | FK Jelgava FK Jelgava FK Jelgava is a Latvian football club that is based in Jelgava. Its best results came when the team was named RAF Jelgava.-Automobīlists Jelgava:... |
1 (1) | FK Jaunība Rīga FK Jauniba Riga FK Jaunība is Latvian football club located in Riga. The club currently plays in Virsliga - the top tier of Latvian football. Previously they played in Latvian First League , but after finishing the 2009/2010 season in the 2nd place and winning the relegation/promotion play-off matches against FK... |
| 2010 2010 Latvian First League 2010 Latvian First League is the 19th season of top-tier football in Latvia. It began on 1 May 2010 and will end with the last games on 6 November 2010.-League table:-Results:... |
FB Gulbene 2005 FB Gulbene 2005 FB Gulbene is a Latvian football club that is based in Gulbene. In 2010 the club became champions of the 1. līga and were automatically promoted to the Virsliga championship, where they are currently playing.- Current squad :... |
1 (1) | FC Jūrmala FC Jūrmala FC Jūrmala is a Latvian football club that is based in Jūrmala. The club was founded in 2008. Club plays its home matches in Slokas stadions with a capacity of 2500 seats. Until 2010 the team had only participated in the 1. līga championship - the second tier of Latvian football league system... |