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Latvian First League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Latvian First League
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
Country Latvia
Number of teams14
Level on pyramid2
Promotion toTonyBet Virslīga
Relegation toAltero.lv LIIGA
Domestic cup(s)Responsible Game Latvian Cup
Current championsGrobiņas
(2023)
Websitelff.lv/1st-league
Current: 2024 Latvian First League

The Latvian First League (Latvian: Latvijas Pirmā līga, 1. līga) is the second tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation. Since 2021, its full name is Optibet Nākotnes Līga (Optibet Future League) due to the sponsorship by sports betting company Optibet.

History

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The league was founded together with other Latvian football competitions in 1992. From 2007 to 2008, the tournament was known as the Traffic 1. līga, due to its first sponsorship deal concluded with the "Traffic auto advert" advertising company.[1] From 2015 its name was Komanda.lv First League (Komanda.lv 1. līga) for sponsorship reasons, after the Komanda.lv sporting goods store became the league's main sponsor in 2015.[2]

Format

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There are 14 clubs in the First League. During the course of the season each club plays the every other club twice, once at home and once away, with a total of 26 games. At the end of the season, the highest placed club is automatically promoted to the Virslīga. The second lowest placed club in the Virslīga and the second placed club in the First League compete in a two-legged tie for the remaining place in the following season's Virslīga. The two clubs finishing at the bottom of the First League are relegated to the Second League, while the third-from-bottom team competes in a two-legged tie with the third-placed team of the Second League for a place in the First League.[3]

First League clubs (2023)

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14 clubs took part in the Optibet Nākotne līga season:[4]

Past First League winners

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Season Winner Total wins Runner-up
1992 Decemviri Rīga 1 "Zenta Rīga"
1993 Gemma-RFS 1 Baltnet Daugavpils
1994 FK Kvadrāts 1 Starts Brocēni
1995 FK Jūrnieks 1 FK Lokomotīve Daugavpils
1996 Vecrīga Rīga 1 FK Valmiera
1997 Ranto/AVV 1 FK Jūrnieks
1998 PFK Rīga 1 Jaunība Daugavpils
1999 LU-Daugava 1 LBB-Mido
2000 Zibens-Zemessardze Daugavpils 1 Skonto/Metāls Rīga
2001 Auda Rīga 1 RKB-Arma Rīga
2002 RKB-Arma Rīga 2a Ditton Daugavpils
2003 FK Jūrmala 1 Multibanka Rīga
2004 FK Ventspils-2 1 Ditton-2 Daugavpils
2005 Skonto-2 Rīga 1 Skonto-2 Rīga
2006 JFK Olimps Rīga 1 Ditton-2 Daugavpils
2007 FK Vindava Ventspils 1 FK Blāzma Rēzekne
2008 FK Daugava 1 FC Tranzīts
2009 FK Jelgava 1 FK Jaunība Rīga
2010 FB Gulbene 2005 1 FC Jūrmala
2011 FS METTA/LU 1 FK Liepājas Metalurgs-2
2012 FK Liepājas Metalurgs-2 1 Ilūkstes NSS
2013 BFC Daugavpils 1 FB Gulbene 2005
2014 FB Gulbene 2005 2 Rēzeknes BJSS
2015 Riga FC 1 Valmiera Glass FK/BSS
2016 SK Babīte 1 Olaine/Super Nova
2017 FK Valmiera Glass/ViA 1 FK Progress/AFA Olaine
2018 BFC Daugavpils/Progress 2 SK Super Nova
2019 FK Tukums 2000 1 SK Super Nova
2020 FC Lokomotiv Daugavpils 1 FK Auda
2021 FK Auda 2 FK Tukums 2000
2022 FS Jelgava 1 Grobiņas SC
2023 Grobiņas SC 1 Riga FC-2
a Previously won as Ranto/AVV.

References

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  1. ^ "Second division Traffic League kicks-off". Latvian Football Federation. 2007-04-04. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  2. ^ ""komanda.lv" kļūst par 1. līgas futbola čempionāta titulsponsoru". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  3. ^ "Latvijas Futbola federācija". lff.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  4. ^ "Optibet Nākotnes līga". LFF.lv. LFF. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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