| Season | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 March – 4 November 2017 |
| Champions | Spartaks Jūrmala |
| Champions League | Spartaks Jūrmala |
| Europa League | Liepāja Riga Ventspils |
| Matches | 84 |
| Goals | 200 (2.38 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Yevgeni Kozlov (13) |
| Biggest home win | Ventspils 4–0Spartaks Riga 4–0METTA/LU |
| Biggest away win | Jelgava 0–3Riga Spartaks 0–3Ventspils METTA/LU 2–5Liepāja |
| Highest scoring | METTA/LU 2–5Liepāja |
←2016 2018 → | |
The2017 Latvian Higher League is the 26th season of top-tierfootball inLatvia.Spartaks Jūrmala are the defending champions, having won their first title in theprevious season.
The bottom-placed team from the2016 season,BFC Daugavpils, were directly relegated to the2017 Latvian First League. They were replaced byBabīte, champions of the2016 Latvian First League.
The seventh-placed team from the 2016 season,FS METTA/LU, retained their top-flight spot for the 2017 season by defeating 2016 First League runners-up,AFA Olaine in theplay-offs.
Babīte was removed from the league on 22 June 2017 after the Latvian Football Federation received a notice fromUEFA's Betting Fraud Detection System for 6 separate games involving Babīte.[1] All the results for Babīte games were invalidated and do not count for the standings.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babīte | Piņķi | Piņķu stadions | 500 |
| Jelgava | Jelgava | Olympic Sports Center of Zemgale | 1,560 |
| Liepāja | Liepāja | Daugava Stadium | 5,008 |
| Metta/LU | Riga | Hanzas vidusskolas laukums | 2,000 |
| RFS | Riga | Stadions Arkādija | 1,000 |
| Riga | Riga | Skonto Stadium | 8,207 |
| Spartaks Jūrmala | Jūrmala | Slokas Stadium | 2,800 |
| Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions | 3,044 |
Source:Scoresway
| Club | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| SK Babīte | Joma | |
| FK Jelgava | Nike | Igate |
| FK Liepāja | Adidas | Mogo |
| FS Metta/LU | Nike | |
| Riga FC | Jako | |
| Rīgas Futbola skola | Nike | LNK Group |
| FK Spartaks Jūrmala | Nike | Hanseatisches Fußball Kontor |
| FK Ventspils | Adidas | VK Tranzīts |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartaks Jūrmala(C) | 24 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 46 | Qualification for theChampions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Liepāja | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 37[a] | Qualification for theEuropa League first qualifying round[b] |
| 3 | Riga | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 37[a] | |
| 4 | Ventspils | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 35[c] | |
| 5 | RFS | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 35[c] | |
| 6 | Jelgava | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 29 | |
| 7 | METTA/LU(O) | 24 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 46 | −25 | 15 | Qualification for therelegation play-offs |
| 8 | Babīte(D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excluded from league[d] |
Each team will play the other seven teams home-and-away twice, for a total of 28 games each.
Updated to match(es) played on 28 October 2017. Source:Virslīga(in Latvian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
The seventh-placed side faced the runners-up of the2017 Latvian First League in a two-legged play-off, with the winner being awarded a spot in the2018 Higher League competition.
| 16 November 20171st leg | Progress/AFA Olaine | 1–1 | METTA/LU | Olaine |
Asgarov 21' | Report | Emsis 7' |
| 20 November 20172nd leg | METTA/LU | 3–1 (4–2agg.) | Progress/AFA Olaine | Riga |
| Emsis 3' Fjodorovs 12',32' | Report | Asgarov 90' | Stadium:Hanzas vidusskolas laukums |
