Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, also known as TonyBet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league in

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 ...

and the highest level of the Latvian football league system. Organised by the Latvian Football Federation, the league is contested by ten clubs.

History and league format

History

The first all-national Latvian championship - the Virslīga - which succeeded the Riga Football League and other, parallel regional leagues, was organized in 1927. It succeeded the previous Latvian Championship () that was held from 1922 to 1926 in similar fashion. The Virslīga lasted until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, between 1945 and 1991 the championship of Soviet Latvia was the main footballing competition in the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

. With Latvia regaining full independence in August 1991, the newly established Latvian Football Federation (LFF) decided to reorganise its competitions within the Virslīga from 1992. The same year Latvia returned to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and became a member of

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Format

Latvian Higher League is usually played from early March till November. Although the team count in the league has changed multiple times (10 in 2007 and 2020, 9 in 2019 and 2021, and 8 in 2015-2018), since 2022, a total of 10 teams participate in the Virslīga. Each side plays 36 games during the season, with 18 games being played at home and the other 18 away. At the end of each season, the lowest placed team in the league gets automatically relegated to the Optibet Nākotnes Līga, with Nākotnes Līga winner replacing them, while the second lowest placed team gets to play in a 2 leg relegation playoff (''Pārspēles'') against the runner-up of the Nākotnes Līga, for the last spot in the league. The winner of Virslīga qualifies for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

first qualification round, while runners-up and 3rd place teams qualify for the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

first qualification round. A winter off-season league cup, the Virslīga Winter Cup, was played in January of each year from 2013 to 2017, which was replaced in 2018 by the Virslīga Cup (). However, since 2024, a revamped off-season tournament, Livonia Cup, is being played from January till February, with teams from Latvia's and Estonia's leagues taking part.

Sponsorships and name changes

The League has changed sponsors for several times. From 2006 until 2010 it was known as the LMT Virslīga. No sponsorships were established for the 2011 season. Starting from the 2012 season, the league was reorganised in partnership with an NGO as "Latvijas Futbola virslīga", adopting the NGO's name in the 2012 season. From 2013 to 2015, the league was known as the SMScredit.lv Virslīga due to a contract with the online microfinance company ''SMScredit''. In March 2016, it was announced that the Virslīga would be sponsored by SynotTip Sports Bar on a three-year contract. They were succeeded by betting firm Optibet on a two-year contract, beginning with the Optibet Virslīga 2019 season, which lasted until 2024. In 2024 Optibet was replaced by TonyBet.

Clubs (2024)

Titles by year

Source:

Riga Football League

* 1908 British FC * 1909 RV Union * 1910 RV Union * 1911 Britannia FC * 1912 RV Union * 1913 SV Kaiserwald * 1914 Britannia FC * 1915 Britannia FC

Latvian Championship 1922–1940 (independent)

* 1922 Kaiserwald Riga * 1923 Kaiserwald Riga * 1924 RFK Riga * 1925 RFK Riga * 1926 RFK Riga * 1927 Olimpija Liepāja * 1928 Olimpija Liepāja * 1929 Olimpija Liepāja * 1930 RFK Riga * 1931 RFK Riga * 1932 ASK Riga * 1933 Olimpija Liepāja * 1934 RFK Riga * 1935 RFK Riga * 1936 Olimpija Liepāja * 1937 ''Not played'' * 1938 Olimpija Liepāja * 1939 Olimpija Liepāja * 1940 RFK Riga

Football Championship of Latvian SSR 1942–1990

* 1942 ASK Riga * 1944 ASK Riga * 1945 Dinamo Riga * 1946 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1947 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1948 SA Riga * 1949 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1950 AVN Riga * 1951 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1952 AVN Riga * 1953 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1954 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja * 1955 Darba rezerves (local Trudovye Rezervy section) * 1956 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepaja * 1957 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepaja * 1958 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepaja * 1959 RER Riga * 1960 SKA Riga * 1961 SKA Riga * 1962 SKA Riga * 1963 SKA Riga * 1964 SKA Riga * 1965 SKA Riga * 1966 ESR-Enerģija Riga * 1967 ESR-Enerģija Riga * 1968 Starts Brocēni * 1969 Venta Ventspils * 1970 VEF Riga * 1971 VEF Riga * 1972 Jūrnieks Riga * 1973 VEF Riga * 1974 VEF Riga * 1975 VEF Riga * 1976 Enerģija Riga * 1977 Enerģija Riga * 1978 Ķīmiķis Daugavpils * 1979 Elektrons Riga * 1980 Ķīmiķis Daugavpils * 1981 Elektrons Riga * 1982 Elektrons Riga * 1983 VEF Riga * 1984 Torpedo Riga * 1985 Alfa Riga * 1986 Torpedo Riga * 1987 Torpedo Riga * 1988 RAF Jelgava * 1989 RAF Jelgava * 1990 Gauja Valmiera

Since independence in 1991

*1991 Skonto Riga *1992 Skonto Riga *1993 Skonto Riga *1994 Skonto Riga *1995 Skonto Riga *1996 Skonto Riga *1997 Skonto Riga *1998 Skonto Riga *1999 Skonto Riga *2000 Skonto Riga *2001 Skonto Riga *2002 Skonto Riga *2003 Skonto Riga *2004 Skonto Riga *2005 Liepajas Metalurgs *2006 FK Ventspils *2007 FK Ventspils *2008 FK Ventspils *2009 Liepajas Metalurgs *2010 Skonto Riga *2011 FK Ventspils *2012 Daugava Daugavpils *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

FK Ventspils *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

FK Ventspils *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

FK Liepaja * 2016 JPFS/FK Spartaks Jurmala * 2017 JPFS/FK Spartaks Jurmala *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Riga FC * 2019 Riga FC *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Riga FC * 2021 RFS *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Valmiera * 2023 RFS * 2024 RFS *

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Topscorers (1992–present)

Notable managers and players

File:Aleksandrs_Starkovs.jpg, Aleksandrs Starkovs has won 12 league titles since independence with Skonto as a manager. File:Roman_Hryhorchuk_11.08.2013.1.jpg, Three times winner with

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

Ukrainian Roman Hryhorchuk is the first manager who reached Europa League group stage in Virslīga history. File:Māris_Verpakovskis.jpg, First-ever Latvian who scored in

Euros The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

Māris Verpakovskis has won league titles with both Skonto 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 ...

. File:Marians_Pahars.jpg, Ukrainian born Marians Pahars has won 5 league titles before moving to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. File:Viktor_Skripnik.jpg,

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

winner Ukrainian Viktor Skrypnyk has won league title with

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 ...

as a manager. File:Aleksandrs Koliņko.jpg, Aleksandrs Koliņko, best known for playing for Crystal Palace has won 6 league titles totally with Skonto as a player and Spartaks as an assistant manager.

Most titles

This is a list of clubs, in order of most titles won in championships in independent Latvia (1922–1940 and 1991 to date). Teams in bold are part of 2020 Virslīga. Virsliga 2008 Ventspils

By club

Transfers Virslīga

Transfers from Virslīga

Transfers to Virslīga

Rivalries

The most well-known rivalry is the '' Kurzeme derby'' (Kurzemes derbijs) between

and

. The two biggest clubs in Kurzeme have played 86 matches between themselves with a record of 31–28–27 (including Metalurgs) in favor of Liepāja prior to the 2019 Virslīga. Since 2016, the ''Riga Derby'' (Rīgas derbijs) was started between Riga FC and Rīgas FS as two clubs were promoted at the same time. A 2019 match in Skonto Stadium between the two sides broke a ten-year attendance record.

Virslīga clubs in international competitions

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

was the Latvian first club who qualified for the group stage of a

club competition, reaching the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage. Skonto reached the

last qualifying stage for a number of times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but lost to teams like

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in 1998 and Chelsea in 1999. RFS qualified for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, finishing in fourth place with 2 points. Most recently, FK RFS qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League Commonwealth of Independent States Cup * Skonto **''Runners-up'' (3):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 2003,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. *

**''Runners-up'' (1): 2007. Baltic League * Metalurgs **Champions (1): 2007. *

**Champions (1): 2010. **''Runners-up'' (2): 2007, 2011. * Skonto **Champions (1): 2011. **''Runners-up'' (1): 2008.

References

External links

https://www.futbolavirsliga.tv
Association Virsliga in Latvia

Virsliga fixtures, including kick off times, at worldfootball.net
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Summer association football leagues it:Campionato lettone di calcio