# Latvian Higher League

Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, also known as TonyBet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Latvia 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 (Latvian: Latvijas čempionāts futbolā) 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, between 1945 and 1991 the championship of Soviet Latvia was the main footballing competition in the Latvian SSR.
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 and became a member of UEFA.

### Format

Latvian Higher League is being played usually 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, total of 10 teams are participating in the Virslīga. Each side are playing 36 games during the season, with 18 games being played at home and 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 first qualification round, while runners-up and 3rd place teams qualify for the UEFA Conference League 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 (Latvian: Virslīgas kausa izcīņa). 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)

| Club | Position in 2023 |
| RFS | 1st |
| Riga FC | 2nd |
| FK Auda | 3rd |
| Valmiera FC | 4th |
| FK Liepaja | 5th |
| FS Jelgava | 6th |
| BFC Daugavpils | 7th |
| FK Tukums 2000 | 8th |
| Metta/LU | 9th |
| Grobiņas SC | 1st in 2023 Nākotnes Līga |

## Titles by year

Source:

### Since independence in 1991
## Topscorers (1992–present)

| Year | Top scorers | Club | Goals |
| 1992 | Vjačeslavs Ževnerovičs | FK VEF Rīga | 19 |
| 1993 | Aleksandrs Jeļisejevs | Skonto FC | 20 |
| 1994 | Vladimirs Babičevs | Skonto FC | 14 |
| 1995 | Vitālijs Astafjevs | Skonto FC | 19 |
| 1996 | Mihails Miholaps | Daugava Riga | 33 |
| 1997 | David Chaladze | Skonto FC | 25 |
| 1998 | Viktors Dobrecovs | FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 23 |
| 1999 | Viktors Dobrecovs | FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 22 |
| 2000 | Vladimirs Koļesņičenko | Skonto FC | 17 |
| 2001 | Mihails Miholaps | Skonto FC | 24 |
| 2002 | Mihails Miholaps | Skonto FC | 23 |
| 2003 | Viktors Dobrecovs | FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 36 |
| 2004 | Aleksandr Katasonov | FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 21 |
| 2005 | Viktors Dobrecovs Igors Sļesarčuks | FK Liepājas Metalurgs FK Venta/FK Ventspils | 18 |
| 2006 | Mihails Miholaps | Skonto FC | 15 |
| 2007 | Vīts Rimkus | FK Ventspils | 20 |
| 2008 | Vīts Rimkus | FK Ventspils | 14 |
| 2009 | Kristaps Grebis | FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 30 |
| 2010 | Deniss Rakels Nathan Júnior | FK Liepājas Metalurgs Skonto FC | 18 |
| 2011 | Nathan Júnior | Skonto FC | 22 |
| 2012 | Mamuka Ghonghadze | FC Daugava | 18 |
| 2013 | Artūrs Karašausks Andrejs Kovaļovs | Skonto FC FC Daugava | 16 |
| 2014 | Vladislavs Gutkovskis | Skonto FC | 28 |
| 2015 | Dāvis Ikaunieks | FK Liepāja | 15 |
| 2016 | Ģirts Karlsons | FK Ventspils | 17 |
| 2017 | Yevgeni Kozlov Artūrs Karašausks Adeleke Akinjemi | FK Spartaks Jūrmala FK Liepāja FK Ventspils | 10 |
| 2018 | Darko Lemajić | Riga FC | 15 |
| 2019 | Darko Lemajić | Riga FC/RFS | 15 |
| 2020 | Dodô | FK Liepāja | 18 |
| 2021 | Leonel Wamba | FK Spartaks Jūrmala | 14 |
| 2022 | Raimonds Krollis | Valmiera FC | 24 |
| 2023 | Marko Regža | Riga FC | 19 |

## Notable managers and players

* Aleksandrs Starkovs has won 12 league titles since independence with Skonto as a manager.
* Three times winner with Ventspils Ukrainian Roman Hryhorchuk is the first manager who reached Europa League group stage in Virslīga history.
* First-ever Latvian who scored in Euros Māris Verpakovskis has won league titles with both Skonto and Liepāja.
* Ukrainian born Marians Pahars has won 5 league titles before moving to Southampton.
* Bundesliga winner Ukrainian Viktor Skrypnyk has won league title with Riga as a manager.
* 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.

### By club

| Club | No. of Titles | Years won |
| Skonto Riga | 15 | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010 |
| RFK Riga | 8 | 1924, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1940 |
| Olimpija Liepāja | 7 | 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1939 |
| Ventspils | 6 | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014 |
| ASK Riga | 3 | 1932, 1942, 1944 |
| Riga FC | 3 | 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Liepājas Metalurgs | 2 | 2005, 2009 |
| Kaiserwald Riga | 2 | 1922, 1923 |
| JPFS/Spartaks Jūrmala | 2 | 2016, 2017 |
| RFS | 3 | 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Valmiera | 1 | 2022 |
| FK Liepāja | 1 | 2015 |
| Daugava Daugavpils | 1 | 2012 |
* Skonto Riga – 15 28.3 (27.7%)
* RFK Riga - 8 15.1 (14.8%)
* Olimpia Liepaja - 7 13.2 (12.9%)
* Ventspils - 6 11.3 (11.1%)
* FK ASK - 3 5.7 (5.58%)
* Riga FC - 3 5.7 (5.58%)
* FK Liepājas Metalurgs - 2 3.8 (3.72%)
* Kaiserwald Riga - 2 3.8 (3.72%)
* FK Spartaks Jūrmala - 2 3.8 (3.72%)
* FK RFS - 3 5.7 (5.58%)
* Valmiera FC - 1 1.9 (1.86%)
* FK Liepāja - 1 1.9 (1.86%)
* FC Daugava Daugavpils - 1 1.9 (1.86%)

## Transfers Virslīga
### Transfers from Virslīga

| # | Player | From | To | Season | Fee |
| 1 | Tolu Arokodare | Valmiera FC | Amiens SC | 2022/2023 | 2,50 mln € |
| 2 | Māris Verpakovskis | Skonto FC | FC Dynamo Kyiv | 2003/2004 | 2,00 mln € |
| 3 | Andrej Ilić | RFS | Vålerenga Fotball | 2023/2024 | 1,60 mln € |
| 4 | Raimonds Krollis | Valmiera FC | Spezia Calcio | 2022/2023 | 1,52 mln € |
| 5 | Gabriel Charpentier | FK Spartaks Jūrmala | Genoa CFC | 2020/2021 | 1,50 mln € |
| 5 | Patrick Twumasi | FK Spartaks Jūrmala | FC Astana | 2014/2015 | 1,50 mln € |
| 7 | Borys Tashchy | JFK Olimps | Dynamo Moscow | 2011/2012 | 1,00 mln € |
| 8 | Darko Lemajić | RFS | K.A.A. Gent | 2021/2022 | 900 tys. € |
| 9 | Chinonso Offor | RFS | Chicago Fire FC | 2020/2021 | 760 tys. € |
| 10 | Aleksandrs Koliņko | Skonto FC | Crystal Palace F.C. | 2000/2001 | 750 tys. € |

### Transfers to Virslīga

| # | Player | From | To | Season | Fee |
| 1 | Hrvoje Babec | NK Vihor Jelisavac | Riga FC | 2022/2023 | 1,60 mln € |
| 2 | Gustavo Dulanto | FC Sheriff Tiraspol | Riga FC | 2022/2023 | 1,00 mln € |
| 2 | Anthony Contreras | C.S. Herediano | Riga FC | 2022/2023 | 1,00 mln € |
| 4 | Luis Iberico | FBC Melgar | Riga FC | 2022/2023 | 900 tys. € |
| 5 | Borys Tashchy | FC Chornomorets Odesa | JFK Olimps | 2011/2012 | 600 tys. € |
| 6 | Rifet Kapić | FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Valmiera FC | 2023/2024 | 500 tys. € |
| 7 | Cédric Gogoua | FK Partizan | Riga FC | 2016/2017 | 350 tys. € |
| 7 | Lasha Odisharia | FC Dinamo Tbilisi | RFS | 2023/2024 | 350 tys. € |
| 9 | Douglas Aurélio | Pafos FC | Riga FC | 2022/2023 | 300 tys. € |
| 9 | Audrius Kšanavičius | FBK Kaunas | Skonto FC | 2001/2002 | 300 tys. € |

## Rivalries

The most well-known rivalry is the Kurzeme derby (Kurzemes derbijs) between Ventspils and Liepāja. 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
Ventspils was the Latvian first club who qualified for the group stage of a UEFA club competition, reaching the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Skonto reached the UEFA Champions League last qualifying stage for a number of times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but lost to teams like Barcelona in 1997, Inter Milan 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, 2003, 2004.
* Ventspils
** Runners-up (1): 2007.
Baltic League
* Metalurgs
** Champions (1): 2007.
* Ventspils
** Champions (1): 2010.
** Runners-up (2): 2007, 2011.
* Skonto
** Champions (1): 2011.
** Runners-up (1): 2008.