The Lithuanian

A Lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...

2009 was the 20th season of top-tier football in Lithuania. The season started on 4 April 2009 and ended on 31 October 2009. Ekranas successfully defended their title.

Promotion and relegation

Šilutė Šilutė (; previously ''Šilokarčiama''; ) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar period, interwar capital of Š ...

were relegated to the

I Lyga The LFF Pirma Lyga, TOPsport Pirma Lyga, or Pirma Lyga, is the second tier of professional Lithuanian football championship. Format Organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), I Lyga is contested by 16 teams, with the top team gain ...

after finishing the 2008 season in last place. They were replaced by I Lyga champions Tauras.

Pre-season controversy

The

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n top

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

division was shaken to its core after

FBK Kaunas Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. History Banga Kaunas (1960–1993) The roots of the club can be traced back to 1960 when Banga Kaunas was founded and they p ...

and Atlantas withdrew their participation on 20 March 2009. Both teams cited serious differences with the

Lithuanian Football Federation The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF; ) is the governing body of football in Lithuania. The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams, including the Lithuania national football team. It is bas ...

over the way the league has been led in the past as a reason. This was the second blow to the league within two weeks after Žalgiris were denied a license for this season because of excessive financial problems on 6 March 2009. As a consequence, the chairman of the National Football Clubs' Association (NFKA), Gintaras Ugianskis, resigned from his post. Further, the organization of the league was put into the hands of the LFF. The 2009 A Lyga consists of eight teams chosen from all teams of both

and I Lyga. Teams with a higher 2008 season rank had a preference to enter. Clubs being interested in a participation could submit their application until 26 March 2009. On 27 March 2009, the LFF announced the three replacement teams. Banga Gargždai, LKKA ir Teledema Kaunas and Kruoja Pakruojis were appointed to the league. Further, the LFF classified FBK Kaunas and Atlantas to play in the third-tier II Lyga because of "unethical conduct and other irregularities" while Žalgiris were granted a license for the second-level I Lyga.

Clubs

League table

Results

Every team will play each other four times, twice at home and twice on the road, for a total of 28 games.

Top goalscorers

''Last updated: 26 October 2009; Source
futbolas.lt
''

References

{{2009–10 in European football (UEFA) LFF Lyga seasons 1 Lith Lith