| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
|---|---|
| Country | Lithuania |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 10 (2024) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | I Lyga |
| Domestic cup(s) | Lithuanian Football Cup Lithuanian Supercup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Conference League |
| Current champions | FK Žalgiris (11th title) (2024) |
| Most championships | FK Žalgiris (11 titles) |
| TV partners | TV3 Lithuania |
| Website | www |
| Current:2025 A Lyga | |
TheA Lyga is the top division of professionalfootball in Lithuania. It is organized byLithuanian Football Federation(LFF) (Lithuanian:Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija).
The firstfootball league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. Due to thePolish–Lithuanian War, clubs from Vilnius did not take part in early period of the Lithuanian football competitions.
Later during the period of Soviet occupation, a Lithuanian amateur top division existed, while professional players played in USSR football competitions. The Lithuanian professional top division was restored in 1990. The naming convention changed several times, but since 1999 the league is consistently referred to as A lyga.
The league system and size have also stabilized since 1999. League size varied mostly between 8 and 10 teams, with the exceptions of2011 A Lyga featuring 12 teams, and2020 A Lyga record low of only 6 teams. The teams play 4 rounds in regular season. The bottom placed team is relegated, while 9th placed team contests in a play-off with the 2nd placed team from theI lyga. The final list of participants often did not correlate to the final results of the previous season, as the participation were rather finalized through the Lithuanian Football Federation league licensing process.
The season usually kicks off in Feabuary/March and ends in November. Because of harsh climate, there are no games in winter until early spring (April/March) and it depends on the weather/temperature. Games are played in indoor arenas on artificial grass. The winter transfer window opens in early January through to mid March, summer transfer window lasts for the most part of July.
Lithuania sought to participate in the UEFA club competitions immediately after regaining the independence. However, due to political reasons, in 1991Lithuania was banned by UEFA from continental competitions refusing licensing of Žalgiris to compete as a Lithuanian club rather than a Soviet club. Eventually, Lithuania became affiliated withUEFA in 1992. The A Lyga champion secures the right to play inUEFA Champions League qualification. The runner up and the 3rd-place winner secure right to play inUEFA Europa Conference League qualification.
Best Lithuanian club result in UEFA competitions was achieved in 2022-23 UEFA club competition season byFK Žalgiris. Lithuanian champions reached the group stage in the2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. After the 2022-23 UEFA season,FK Žalgiris was the best performing A lyga club in Europe, taking #130[1] inUEFA Club Coefficients table.
| Club | Location | Position in2023 | First season in A Lyga | Seasons in top division | First season of current spell | Top division titles | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banga | Gargždai | 6th | 1994 | 11 | 2020 | — | |
| DFK Dainava | Alytus | 8th | 2021 | 3c | 2023 | ||
| Džiugasb | Telšiai | 9th | 2021 | 4 | 2021 | ||
| Hegelmannb | Kaunas District | 5th | 2021 | 4 | 2021 | ||
| Kauno Žalgirisb | Kaunas | 4th | 2015 | 10 | 2015 | ||
| Panevėžysb | Panevėžys | 1st | 2019 | 6 | 2019 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sūduvaa | Marijampolė | 7th | 1990 | 23 | 2002 | 3 | 2019 |
| FA Šiauliaib | Šiauliai | 3rd | 2022 | 3 | 2022 | — | |
| TransInvestb | Galinė [lt] | LFF I Lyga, 1st | 2024 | 1 | 2024 | — | |
| Žalgirisa | Vilnius | 2nd | 1990 | 33 | 2010 | 10 | 2022 |
a Founding member of the A Lyga
b Never been relegated from the A Lyga
c Two former clubs, named FK Dainava have participated in A lyga in 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1991–1999 | No sponsor | Lietuvos Lyga |
| 1999–2000 | LFF Lyga | |
| 2001–2003 | LFF A Lyga | |
| 2004–2008 | NFKA A Lyga | |
| 2009–2011 | LFF A Lyga | |
| 2012 | General Financing | LFF General Financing A Lyga[2] |
| 2013–2016 | Credit Service | SMScredit.lt A Lyga[3] |
| 2017–2020 | No sponsor | LFF A Lyga |
| 2021–2023 | Baltic Bet | Optibet A Lyga[4] |
| 2024– | TOPsport | TOPsport A Lyga |
The official ball supplier for the A lyga games in 2023 isAdidas.Nike held this contract between 2013 and 2022, when they took over fromAdidas.[3]
AfterLithuania gained independence in 1918, the first ever football tournament was held in 1922.
Note: In 1924–1930, 1935, 1942, 1942–1943 and 1945 seasons there was no unified league and winners were decided using either a play–off format or a single game between winners of separate divisions.
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kovas Kaunas | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1924,1925,1926,1933,1935,1936 |
| KSS Klaipėda | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1928,1929,1930,1931,1937,1937–38 |
| LFLS Kaunas | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1922,1923,1927,1932,1942 |
| LGSF Kaunas | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1938–39 |
| MSK Kaunas | 1 | – | – | 1934 |
| Tauras Kaunas | 1 | – | – | 1942–43 |
All champions from this period are defunct.
During theLithuania's Soviet occupation, each soviet republic ran their separate football championship. The clubs could either participate in the competition of the soviet republic, or in theSoviet Union football league system.
Note: The biggest and most notable clubs, such asŽalgiris Vilnius played inSoviet Union's FootballPremier League instead of Lithuanian SSR Divisions.
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elnias Šiauliai† | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1948,1949,1953,1957,1958,1959–60,1960–61 |
| Inkaras Kaunas† | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1950,1951,1954,1964,1965 |
| Atlantas Klaipėda | 4 | 7 | - | 1978,1980,1981,1984 |
| Karininkų Namai / Raudonoji Žvaigždė / Saliutas Vilnius† | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1952,1958–59,1967 |
| Nevėžis Kėdainiai | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1966,1972,1973 |
| Pažanga Vilnius† | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1971,1982,1983 |
| Statybininkas Šiauliai† | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1969,1977 |
| Statyba Panevėžys† | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1962–63,1968 |
| FK Atletas Kaunas† | 2 | 1 | - | 1961–62,1970 |
| Atmosfera Mažeikiai† | 2 | - | 2 | 1976,1979 |
| Banga Kaunas† | 2 | - | 1 | 1986,1989 |
| Ekranas Panevėžys† | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1985 |
| Tauras Šiauliai† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1974 |
| SRT Vilnius† | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1988 |
| Lima Kaunas† | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1955 |
| Spartakas Kaunas† | 1 | 1 | - | 1945 |
| Tauras Tauragė† | 1 | 1 | - | 1987 |
| Linų Audiniai Plungė | 1 | - | 2 | 1956 |
| Dainava Alytus | 1 | - | 2 | 1975 |
| Dinamo Kaunas† | 1 | - | - | 1946 |
| Lokomotyvas Kaunas† | 1 | - | - | 1947 |
Clubs currently playing inA Lyga are written inBold.
† - Defunct clubs.
AsLithuania regained the independence in 1991,[5] theLithuanian Football Federation (LFF) was re-established, and A Lyga was shaped same year. The Soviet football divisions dissolved, and the teams that participated in them returned to the Lithuania's national championship.
| Club | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Žalgiris Vilnius | 11 | 13 | 4 | 1991,1991–92,1998–99,2013,2014,2015,2016,2020,2021,2022,2024 |
| FBK Kaunas† | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2006,2007 |
| Ekranas Panevėžys† | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1992–93,2005,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012 |
| Sūduva Marijampolė | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2017,2018,2019 |
| Kareda Šiauliai† | 2 | 2 | - | 1996–97,1997–98 |
| Inkaras Kaunas† | 2 | - | 1 | 1994–95,1995–96 |
| Sirijus Klaipėda† | 1 | - | 1 | 1990 |
| ROMAR Mažeikiai† | 1 | - | 1 | 1993–94 |
| FK Panevėžys | 1 | - | 1 | 2023 |
Clubs currently playing inA Lyga are highlighted inBold.
† - Defunct clubs.
| Player name | Appearances | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Robertas Vėževičius | 412 | FK Vėtra,FC Šiauliai,FK Kruoja,FC Stumbras,FK Atlantas,FK Suduva,FK Banga |
| Vaidas Slavickas | 381 | FK Ekranas,FK Suduva |
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| League system |
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| History | |||||
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