Latvian Higher League

The Latvian Higher League ( _lv. Virslīga) is the top tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation. The new season kicks off in April of every year, and runs until early November. There are no games in winter because of the harsh climate. Since 2006 the Latvian Higher League is sponsored by Latvijas Mobilais Telefons and officially called LMT Virslīga. Some of the matches of the Virslīga are transmitted by the Latvian TV channel LTV7.

League format

Up to and including the 2007 season, there were eight clubs in the Virslīga. During the course of the season each club played all the other clubs four times, twice at their home stadium and twice at that of their opponents, completing a total of 28 games.

However, for the 2008 season the league has expanded to ten clubs, and the fixture format has changed. To expand to ten clubs there was no relegation at the end of the 2007 season, and the top two clubs from the 1. līga 2007 season, champions FK Vindava from Ventspils, and second placed SK Blāzma from Rēzekne were both promoted. From the 2008 season, the league will be in two rounds. In the first round each club will play all the other nine clubs twice, home and away starting with "Matchday 1" on 5 April and finishing with "Matchday 18" on 10 August. In the second round there will be two "mini leagues", with the top six clubs playing each other twice and the clubs in 7th to 10th place playing each other twice.cite news |last=Hartmanis |first=Martins |title=LMT Virsliga new season calendar published |publisher=Latvian Football Federation |date=2007-12-01 |url=http://www.lff.lv/en/news/2008/02/03/ |accessdate=2008-02-20 ]

At the end of the season, the club finishing bottom of the Virslīga is automatically relegated to the 1. līga, and the champions of the 1. līga are automatically promoted, taking the place of the relegated club. The club that finishes next to bottom in the Virslīga play a two-legged playoff for the final place in the Virslīga for the next season with the club that finishes second in the 1. līga.

Virslīga clubs (2008)

* FK Blāzma Rēzekne
* FK Daugava Daugavpils
* Dinaburg FC
* FK Jūrmala
* FK Liepājas Metalurgs
* JFK Olimps Rīga
* FK Rīga
* Skonto FC
* FK Ventspils
* FK Vindava Ventspils

Past Virslīga winners

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
* 1923 Ķeizarmežs
* 1924 Rīgas FK
* 1925 Rīgas FK
* 1926 Rīgas FK

Latvian SSR champions

* 1945 FK Dinamo Rīga
* 1946 Daugava Liepāja
* 1947 Daugava Liepāja
* 1948 Žmiļova komanda
* 1949 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1950 AVN Rīga
* 1951 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1952 AVN Rīga
* 1953 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1954 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1955 Darba Rezerves
* 1956 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1957 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1958 Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
* 1959 RER Rīga
* 1960 ASK Rīga
* 1961 ASK Rīga
* 1962 ASK Rīga
* 1963 ASK Rīga
* 1964 ASK Rīga
* 1965 ASK Rīga
* 1966 ESR Rīga
* 1967 ESR Rīga
* 1968 Starts Brocēni
* 1969 FK Venta Ventspils
* 1970 VEF Rīga
* 1971 VEF Rīga
* 1972 FK Jūrnieks
* 1973 VEF Rīga
* 1974 VEF Rīga
* 1975 VEF Rīga
* 1976 Enerģija Rīga
* 1977 Enerģija Rīga
* 1978 Ķīmiķis Daugavpils
* 1979 Elektrons Rīga
* 1980 Ķīmiķis Daugavpils
* 1981 Elektrons Rīga
* 1982 Elektrons Rīga
* 1983 VEF Rīga
* 1984 Torpedo Rīga
* 1985 FK Alfa
* 1986 Torpedo Rīga
* 1987 Torpedo Rīga
* 1988 RAF Jelgava
* 1989 RAF Jelgava
* 1990 Gauja Valmiera
* 1991 Forums-Skonto

References

External links

* [http://www.lff.lv Latvian Football Federation]
* [http://www.lff.lv/en/news Latvian Football Federation news in English]
* [http://virsliga.delfi.lv Virslīga news] Lv icon
* [http://www.virsliga.com Unofficial Website of Virsliga]