A Lyga

The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. The A Lyga is an abbreviation of Auksciausia lyga meaning Highest League. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation LFF (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija). The Auksciausia lyga also existed during the Soviet period of Lithuania, but was not considered to be a professional league until dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The league size has varied between 8 and 12 teams in the recent seasons, however 2020 A Lyga the league featured record low of only 6 teams. But in the latest 2021 A Lyga season there were 10 teams. The final list of participants often does not correlate to the final results of the previous season, as the participation is finalized through the Lithuanian Football Federation league licensing process. The season usually kicks off in late February or early March and ends in November. Because of the harsh climate, there are no games in the winter.

Due to political reasons, in 1991 Lithuania was banned by UEFA from continental competitions refusing licensing of Zalgiris to compete as a Lithuanian club rather than a Soviet club. Lithuania became affiliated with UEFA in 1992. The A Lyga champion secures the right to play in UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runner up and the 3rd-place winner secure right to play in UEFA Europa Conference League starting in first qualifying round. A lyga team is yet to play in the group stage of either competition. At the end of 2021, the best performing club in Europe is FK Suduva, taking #124 in UEFA Club Coefficients table.

This page also has a version in other languages :  A Lyga (russian)