A Lyga
 | |
| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Country | Lithuania |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 10 (2021) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | I Lyga |
| Domestic cup(s) | Lithuanian Football Cup Lithuanian Supercup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa Conference League |
| Current champions | FK Žalgiris (9th title) (2021) |
| Most championships | FK Žalgiris (9 titles) |
| TV partners | TV3 Lithuania |
| Website | Alyga.lt |
| Current: 2021 A Lyga | |
The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. The A Lyga is an abbreviation of Aukščiausia lyga meaning Highest League. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation LFF (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija). The Aukščiausia lyga also existed during the Soviet period of Lithuania, but was not considered to be a professional league until dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The league size has varied between 8 and 12 teams in the recent seasons, however 2020 A Lyga the league featured record low of only 6 teams. But in the latest 2021 A Lyga season there were 10 teams. The final list of participants often does not correlate to the final results of the previous season, as the participation is finalized through the Lithuanian Football Federation league licensing process. The season usually kicks off in late February or early March and ends in November. Because of the harsh climate, there are no games in the winter.
Due to political reasons, in 1991 Lithuania was banned by UEFA from continental competitions refusing licensing of Žalgiris to compete as a Lithuanian club rather than a Soviet club. Lithuania became affiliated with UEFA in 1992. The A Lyga champion secures the right to play in UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runner up and the 3rd-place winner secure right to play in UEFA Europa Conference League starting in first qualifying round. A lyga team is yet to play in the group stage of either competition. At the end of 2021, the best performing club in Europe is FK Sūduva, taking #124[1] in UEFA Club Coefficients table.
Clubs[]
Ten clubs are competing in the 2021 season. The bottom placed team will be relegated, 9th placed team will contest in a play-off with the 2nd placed team from I lyga.
| Club | Location | Position in 2020 | First season in A Lyga |
Seasons in top division |
First season of current spell |
Top division titles |
Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FK Banga | Gargždai | 4th | 1994 | 18 | 2020 | — | |
| DFK Dainava | Alytus | 6th in I Lyga | 2021 | 1c | 2021 | — | |
| FC Džiugas | Telšiai | 4th in I Lyga | 2021 | 1 | 2021 | — | |
| FC Hegelmann Litauen | Kaunas | 2nd in I Lyga | 2021 | 1 | 2021 | — | |
| FK Kauno Žalgirisb | Kaunas | 3rd | 2015 | 7 | 2015 | — | |
| FK Nevėžis | Kėdainiai | 1st in I Lyga | 2021 | 6 | 2021 | — | |
| FK Panevėžysb | Panevėžys | 5th | 2019 | 3 | 2019 | — | |
| FK Riteriaib | Vilnius | 6th | 2014 | 8 | 2014 | — | |
| FK Sūduvaa | Marijampolė | 2nd | 1990 | 22 | 2002 | 3 | 2019 |
| FC Žalgirisa | Vilnius | 1st | 1990 | 32 | 2010 | 9 | 2021 |
a Founding member of the A Lyga
b Never been relegated from the A Lyga
c Two former clubs, named FK Dainava have participated in A lyga in 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Format[]
The season kicks off in early spring, and finishes in late autumn. Due to harsh weather, no games are played in winter. The teams play 4 rounds in regular season. In some of the past seasons top teams would have played one more championship round after that. The last placed team is relegated, and the team immediately above them contests a play-off match with the 2nd placed team in I Lyga for a spot in the next year's A lyga.
In recent years, the list of participants often did not correlate to the final results of the previous season due to failures to meet A lyga licensing criteria. Participation is finalised through the Lithuanian Football Federation league licensing process.
Sponsorship[]
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1991–1999 | No sponsor | Lietuvos Lyga |
| 1999–2000 | LFF Lyga | |
| 2001–2003 | LFF A Lyga | |
| 2004–2008 | NFKA A Lyga | |
| 2009–2011 | LFF A Lyga | |
| 2012 | General Financing | LFF General Financing A Lyga[2] |
| 2013–2016 | Credit Service | SMScredit.lt A Lyga[3] |
| 2017–2020 | No sponsor | LFF A Lyga |
| 2021 | Optibet | Optibet A Lyga[4] |
As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the A Lyga has a number of official partners and suppliers.[5] The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2013 season when they took over from Adidas.[3]
History[]
Interbellum and WWII[]
After Lithuania gained independence in 1918, the first ever football tournament was held in 1922.
Seasons[]
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interbellum (Independent Lithuania) | |||
| 1922 | LFLS Kaunas | LFLS Šančiai | LFLS-2 Kaunas |
| 1923 | LFLS Kaunas | Kovas Kaunas | |
| 1924 | Kovas Kaunas | LFLS Kaunas / | |
| 1925 | Kovas Kaunas | ||
| 1926 | Kovas Kaunas | KSS Klaipėda | |
| 1927 | LFLS Kaunas | Sportverein Pagėgiai | |
| 1928 | KSS Klaipėda | LFLS Kaunas | |
| 1929 | KSS Klaipėda | LFLS Kaunas | / |
| 1930 | KSS Klaipėda | LFLS Kaunas | Sveikata Kybartai / |
| 1931 | KSS Klaipėda | Kovas Kaunas | |
| 1932 | LFLS Kaunas | KSS Klaipėda | LGSF Kaunas |
| 1933 | Kovas Kaunas | LFLS Kaunas | LGSF Kaunas |
| 1934 | LFLS Kaunas | LGSF Kaunas | |
| 1935 | Kovas Kaunas | KSS Klaipėda | Sakalas Šiauliai / |
| 1936 | Kovas Kaunas | LFLS Kaunas | LGSF Kaunas |
| 1937 | KSS Klaipėda | Kovas Kaunas | LFLS Kaunas |
| 1937–38 | KSS Klaipėda | LGSF Kaunas | |
| 1938–39 | LGSF Kaunas | Kovas Kaunas | KSS Telšiai |
| 1939–40 | Competition abandoned | ||
| World War II (1st Soviet and German Occupations) | |||
| 1941 | Competition not finished due to World War II ( had the best record) | ||
| 1942 | LFLS Kaunas | MSK Panevėžys | / |
| 1942–43 | MSK Panevėžys | / | |
| 1943–44 | Competition not finished due to World War II ( had the best record) | ||
Note: In 1924–1930, 1935, 1942, 1942–1943 and 1945 seasons there was no unified league and winners were decided using either a play–off format or a single game between winners of separate divisions.
Performance by club[]
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kovas Kaunas | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1924, 1925, 1926, 1933, 1935, 1936 |
| KSS Klaipėda | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1937, 1937–38 |
| LFLS Kaunas | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1922, 1923, 1927, 1932, 1942 |
| LGSF Kaunas | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1938–39 |
| 1 | – | – | 1934 | |
| 1 | – | – | 1942–43 |
All champions from this period are defunct.
Post-War period and the Lithuanian SSR Championship[]
During the Lithuania's Soviet occupation, each soviet republic ran their separate football championship. The clubs could either participate in the competition of the soviet republic, or in the Soviet Union football league system.
Seasons[]
Note: The biggest and most notable clubs, such as Žalgiris Vilnius played in Soviet Union's Football Premier League instead of Lithuanian SSR Divisions.
Performance by club[]
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elnias Šiauliai† | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1948, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959–60, 1960–61 |
| Inkaras Kaunas† | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1950, 1951, 1954, 1964, 1965 |
| Atlantas Klaipėda | 4 | 7 | - | 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984 |
| Karininkų Namai / Raudonoji Žvaigždė / Saliutas Vilnius† | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1952, 1958–59, 1967 |
| Nevėžis Kėdainiai | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1966, 1972, 1973 |
| † | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1971, 1982, 1983 |
| Statybininkas Šiauliai† | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1969, 1977 |
| Statyba Panevėžys† | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1962–63, 1968 |
| FK Atletas Kaunas† | 2 | 1 | - | 1961–62, 1970 |
| Atmosfera Mažeikiai† | 2 | - | 2 | 1976, 1979 |
| Banga Kaunas† | 2 | - | 1 | 1986, 1989 |
| Ekranas Panevėžys† | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1985 |
| Tauras Šiauliai† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1974 |
| † | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1988 |
| † | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1955 |
| † | 1 | 1 | - | 1945 |
| Tauras Tauragė† | 1 | 1 | - | 1987 |
| Linų Audiniai Plungė | 1 | - | 2 | 1956 |
| Dainava Alytus | 1 | - | 2 | 1975 |
| † | 1 | - | - | 1946 |
| † | 1 | - | - | 1947 |
Clubs currently playing in A Lyga are written in Bold.
† - Defunct clubs.
Regained Independence and the A Lyga - present[]
As Lithuania regained the independence in 1991,[6] the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) was re-established, and A Lyga was shaped same year. The Soviet football divisions dissolved, and the teams that participated in them returned to the Lithuania's national championship.
List of champions (1991–)[]
Seasons[]
Performance by club[]
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Žalgiris Vilnius | 9 | 11 | 4 | 1991, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021 |
| FBK Kaunas† | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
| Ekranas Panevėžys† | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1992–93, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Sūduva Marijampolė | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Kareda Šiauliai† | 2 | 2 | - | 1996–97, 1997–98 |
| Inkaras Kaunas† | 2 | - | 1 | 1994–95, 1995–96 |
| Sirijus Klaipėda† | 1 | - | 1 | 1990 |
| ROMAR Mažeikiai† | 1 | - | 1 | 1993–94 |
Clubs currently playing in A Lyga are highlighted in Bold.
† - Defunct clubs.
Spectators[]
The average number of spectators per match remains very low in recent years. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
References[]
- ^ "Club coefficients | UEFA Coefficients".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ ""General Financing" - LFF A lygos pagrindinis rėmėjas" (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ a b "2013 metų A lygos startas - su naujais partneriais ir didesnėmis ambicijomis" (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Generaliniu a lygos rėmėju tampa "Optibet", pradedama partnerystė su TV3 žiniasklaidos grupe".
- ^ "Oficialūs partneriai". A Lyga. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ A lyga. lfe.lt.
- ^ "Nauji futbolo vėjai". Vakarų Ekspresas (in Lithuanian). 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ "LFF klubų licencijavimas. Pagrindiniai skaičiai – 2020 m." (PDF). LFF.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ "Lietuvos Futbolo Federacijos veiklos ataskaita, 2019 metai" (PDF). LFF.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ "A lygos lankomumas augo nepaisant apribojimų". Alyga.lt (in Lithuanian). 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ "Statistika". Alyga.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2021-11-30.
External links[]
- Official website (in Lithuanian)
- Futbolo.TV - A lyga streaming and video center (in Lithuanian)
- RSSSF.com - List of Champions
- Lithuanian Football: History & Statistics by Almis - Championship statistics
Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) | |||||
| National teams | |||||
| League system |
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| Domestic cups | |||||
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- A Lyga
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- Football leagues in Lithuania
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