A lyga

A lyga
Association	Lietuvos futbolo federacija
First edition	1922
hierarchy	1st League
Teams	6 ( 2020 )
master	Sūduva Marijampolė (2019)
Record champions	FBK Kaunas (8 ×)
Current season	2019
Website	alyga.lt
Qualification for	Champions League Europa League
↓ 1 Lyga (II)

The A lyga is the top division in Lithuanian football . The national champion is played in the competition organized by Lietuvos futbolo federacija , the national association.

history

In 1922 a state championship was played for the first time. The title was won by LFLS Kaunas . After Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 , the championship round was canceled and the independent championship abolished.

A Lithuanian champion was played between 1945 and 1989, but this competition was only a regional championship in the USSR. As the only Lithuanian club, Žalgiris Vilnius managed at least temporarily to rise to the highest Soviet league .

In 1990, after the country gained independence , a regular champion was played again. In addition, the four best Lithuanian teams in the national and Baltic leagues competed in cup mode with a return leg. Master was Sirijus Klaipeda on penalties against Vilnius FK Žalgiris .

In 1991 the national champions were played in a transition season in which the Lithuanian teams from the Baltic league and the best six teams from the former Lithuanian league competed. Each team played once against each other, so that each club had to play 14 games this season. Then the first four played the national champions, Zalgiris Vilnius, in cup mode.

For the 1991/92 season, the number of teams was reduced to 14 and the playoffs abolished. In 1993/94 the championship was reduced to twelve clubs, three years later to eight clubs. These then played against each other four times during the season. In 1997/98 the first and second leagues, each comprising eight teams, were merged. After several clubs did not take part, only 13 teams took part in the championship in 1998/99. In autumn 1999 there was a transition season with ten teams, as the season was adjusted to the calendar year from 2000. In 2003 and 2004 only eight teams were represented in the first division, since 2005 there have been ten again.

Several clubs changed the names they had given during the Soviet era after independence.

Current mode

Eight teams are represented in the A Lyga. They play against each other four times, in two home and two away games, so that each has 31 games this season. The first six clubs play in a single round (six games each) for the championship. The bottom of the table is automatically relegated to the second division , the penultimate competes in relegation games against the runner-up in the second division.

Vilnius (Žalgiris + Riteriai) Klaipeda Palanga Marijampolė Kaunas (Stumbras + Kauno Žalgiris) Panevėžys

Clubs of A Lyga 2018

Participants 2020

Football club	License (A lyga)	License (UEFA)
FK Sūduva (Master)
FK Žalgiris
FK Riteriai
FK Kauno Žalgiris
FK Panevėžys
FK Banga (promoted)

Previous masters

1922-1939

1922: LFLS Kaunas 1923: LFLS Kaunas 1924: Kovas Kaunas 1925: Kovas Kaunas 1926: Kovas Kaunas

1927: LFLS Kaunas 1928: KSS Klaipėda 1929: KSS Klaipeda 1930: KSS Klaipėda 1931: KSS Klaipėda

1932: LFLS Kaunas 1933: Kovas Kaunas 1934: MSK Kaunas 1935: Kovas Kaunas 1936: Kovas Kaunas

1937: KSS Klaipeda 1937–38: KSS Klaipėda 1938-39: LGSF Kaunas

Since 1990

1990: Sirijus Klaipėda 1991 : Vilnius FK Žalgiris 1991/92 : Vilnius FK Žalgiris 1992/93 : Ekranas Panevėžys 1993/94 : ROMAR Mažeikiai 1994/95 : FK Inkaras Kaunas 1995/96 : FK Inkaras Kaunas 1996/97 : Kareda Šiauliai 1997/98 : Kareda Šiauliai 1998/99 : Vilnius FK Žalgiris 1999 : FK Žalgiris Kaunas 2000 : FBK Kaunas

2001 : FBK Kaunas 2002 : FBK Kaunas 2003 : FBK Kaunas 2004 : FBK Kaunas 2005 : Ekranas Panevėžys 2006 : FBK Kaunas 2007 : FBK Kaunas 2008 : Ekranas Panevėžys 2009 : Ekranas Panevėžys 2010 : Ekranas Panevėžys 2011 : Ekranas Panevėžys 2012 : Ekranas Panevėžys

2013 : VMFD Žalgiris Vilnius 2014 : VMFD Žalgiris Vilnius 2015 : FK Žalgiris Vilnius 2016 : FK Žalgiris Vilnius 2017 : Sūduva Marijampolė 2018 : Sūduva Marijampolė 2019 : Sūduva Marijampolė

UEFA five-year ranking

Placement in the UEFA five-year ranking ( previous year's ranking in brackets ). The abbreviations CL and EL after the country coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2019/20 season of the Champions League and the Europa League .

• 39. ( 35 ) Iceland ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 7,250 - CL: 1, EL: 3 
• 40. ( 40 ) Bosnia and Herzegovina ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 7.125 - CL: 1, EL: 3 
• 41. ( 43 ) Lithuania ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 6,750 - CL: 1, EL: 3 
• 42. ( 41 ) Latvia ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 5,625 - CL: 1, EL: 3 
• 43. ( 48 ) Luxembourg ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 5,500 - CL: 1, EL: 3 

Status: end of the European Cup season 2018/19

See also

• List of the highest national soccer divisions

Web links

• Official website of A lyga (Lithuanian)
• Lithuanian football statistics. In: Omnitel.net. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013 ; accessed on November 1, 2017 (English). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://alyga.lt/naujiena/2020-metu-a-lygoje-zais-sesios-komandos/6489
2. ↑ seasonal statistics. In: lietuvosfutbolas.lt. Retrieved March 22, 2018 . 
3. ↑ UEFA rankings for club competitions. In: UEFA. Retrieved July 14, 2019 .