The 2023 Latvian Higher League, known as the Optibet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd season of top-tier

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 ...

in Latvia. The season began on 11 March 2023 and ended on 11 November 2023. The winners ( RFS, their second title win) qualified for the 2024–25 Champions League first qualifying round. The second-placed team (

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

) qualified for the 2024–25 Conference League second qualifying round, with the third and fifth-placed teams (

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and

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

) qualifying for the first qualifying round (fourth-placed

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

were refused a UEFA license). The ninth-placed team ( Metta) qualified for the Latvian Higher League play-off, winning and retaining their place in the league. The bottom team ( Super Nova) were relegated to the 2024 Latvian First League.

Teams

Ten teams contested the league; the top nine clubs from the previous season, and one team promoted from 1. līga. FS Jelgava won promotion by winning the First League in 2022. After Spartaks Jūrmala withdrew their application for the necessary license for participation in the league, SK Super Nova (who had been relegated) were given the chance to return to the league. Ninth-placed Metta defeated

Grobiņa Grobiņa (; ) is a town in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, eleven kilometers east of Liepāja. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Some ruins of their Grobina castle are still visible. The ...

from the

Latvian First League The Latvian First League () is the second tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation. Since 2021, its full name is Nākotnes Līga (''Future League''). History The league was founded together with other Latv ...

to retain their status in the top-flight.

entered the season as defending champions.

League table

Results

Latvian Higher League play-off

The ninth-placed club ( Metta) faced the third-placed club from the 2023 Latvian First League (Skanste) for the final place in the following season's Latvian Higher League.

First leg

Second leg

Season statistics

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

* ⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Own goals

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Clean sheets

Discipline

Red cards

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{2023–24 in European football (UEFA) Latvian Higher League seasons 1

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...