The 2020 A Lyga was the 31st season of the
A Lyga
The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. The A Lyga is an abbreviation of Aukščiausia lyga meaning Highest League. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation LFF ( lt, Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija). The Aukš ...
, the top-tier
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
league of
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
. The season began on 6 March and was planned to end on 7 November 2020. On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Teams
FK Sūduva Marijampolė FK or fk may refer to:
In arts and entertainment:
* Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise.
* Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block.
* Funky Kong, a video game character.
Place: ...
begin the season as defending champions having won their third consecutive league title last year.
Three clubs dropped out of A Lyga last season -
Stumbras
AB Stumbras is the oldest and largest producer of strong alcoholic drinks in Kaunas, Lithuania. The company began operations in 1906. It is also the largest exporter of strong alcoholic beverages and one of the biggest taxpayers in Lithuania. T ...
folded in the summer, while
Atlantas and
Palanga
Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...
were disqualified after the end of the season after investigation revealed numerous match-fixing incidents.
Licensing process
The top 5 previous season's teams -
FK Sūduva Marijampolė FK or fk may refer to:
In arts and entertainment:
* Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise.
* Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block.
* Funky Kong, a video game character.
Place: ...
,
FK Žalgiris
Futbolo klubas Žalgiris, commonly known as FK Žalgiris, Žalgiris Vilnius or simply Žalgiris, is a Lithuanian professional football club based in Vilnius. The club competes in the A Lyga, the top flight of Lithuanian football. The club wa ...
,
FK Riteriai
Futbolo Klubas Riteriai, also known as FK Riteriai or as Riteriai, is a Lithuanian professional association football, football club based in Vilnius. The team has been playing in the top level of Lithuanian football, the A Lyga, since 2014. Until ...
,
FK Kauno Žalgiris
Futbolo klubas Kauno Žalgiris (''Football club Kauno Žalgiris'') is a professional Association football, football club based in Kaunas, Lithuania, that competes in the A lyga, the top tier of Lithuania. The club was founded as FM Spyris Kaun ...
and
FK Panevėžys
Futbolo klubas Panevėžys, commonly known as Panevėžys is a Lithuanian football team from the city of Panevėžys. The team was promoted to the Lithuanian A Lyga after the 2018 season, when became winners of 1 Lyga.
History
The city of Panev ...
met licensing criteria and received a straight pass to their licenses. Disqualified
FK Palanga
FK Palanga was a professional Association football, football club based in Palanga, Lithuania. The team competes in the A Lyga, the top division of Football in Lithuania, Lithuanian football in 2018 and 2019 seasons.
History
FK Palanga was found ...
and
FK Atlantas
FK Atlantas was a Lithuanian football team from the port city of Klaipėda.
The club's name has changed several times. It was established in 1962 as ''Granitas'', and became ''PSK Aras'' in 1993. Since 1996, when FK Sirijus Klaipėda was abso ...
appealed the disqualification decision and expressed interest in playing in A Lyga. Their appeals were rejected.
Five of the
I Lyga
The I Lyga, LFF I Lyga, Pirma Lyga, is the second tier of professional Lithuanian football championship.
Format
Organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), I Lyga is contested by 14-16 teams, with the top team gaining promotion to ...
teams applied for A Lyga licenses -
FK Banga Gargždai
FK Banga Gargždai is a Lithuanian football club from the city of Gargždai.
History
FK Banga was founded in 1966. During the period from 1966 to 1990, the club was in the Soviet Lithuanian football championship. From 1990, they played in th ...
,
FC Džiugas,
Vilniaus Vytis
FC Vilniaus Vytis was a Lithuanian football team from the city of Vilnius.
History
Founded as FK TAIP in 2012. Played in amateur leagues. Was promoted to I Lyga. In 2016 changed name to Vilniaus Vytis. Few seasons was one of the strongest te ...
,
DFK Dainava
Dainavos Futbolo Klubas Dainava, in short, DFK Dainava, is a Lithuanian football club from Alytus. The club was established in 2016 as a phoenix club after FK Dainava Alytus was dissolved in 2014.
History
Modern DFK Dainava was established after ...
and
FC Hegelmann Litauen
Futbolo klubas Hegelmann, commonly known as Hegelmann, is a Lithuanian football club located in Kaunas. They play in the A Lyga, the first tier of Lithuanian football.
History
The club was founded at the beginning of 2009 by Hegelmann Transpor ...
. The previous year's I Lyga winners
FC Džiugas failed to meet A Lyga licensing criteria, and their application was rejected.
FC Džiugas will continue playing in I Lyga this season.
FK Banga Gargždai
FK Banga Gargždai is a Lithuanian football club from the city of Gargždai.
History
FK Banga was founded in 1966. During the period from 1966 to 1990, the club was in the Soviet Lithuanian football championship. From 1990, they played in th ...
won the play-off match against
FK Palanga
FK Palanga was a professional Association football, football club based in Palanga, Lithuania. The team competes in the A Lyga, the top division of Football in Lithuania, Lithuanian football in 2018 and 2019 seasons.
History
FK Palanga was found ...
and earned the right to play in A Lyga. Their A Lyga license was granted upon appeal.
Vilniaus Vytis
FC Vilniaus Vytis was a Lithuanian football team from the city of Vilnius.
History
Founded as FK TAIP in 2012. Played in amateur leagues. Was promoted to I Lyga. In 2016 changed name to Vilniaus Vytis. Few seasons was one of the strongest te ...
and
DFK Dainava
Dainavos Futbolo Klubas Dainava, in short, DFK Dainava, is a Lithuanian football club from Alytus. The club was established in 2016 as a phoenix club after FK Dainava Alytus was dissolved in 2014.
History
Modern DFK Dainava was established after ...
did not earn promotion to A Lyga, however they were hoping for exceptions which are common in Lithuanian football. In this instance their applications were rejected on the grounds of failing to meet several critical criteria.
FC Hegelmann Litauen
Futbolo klubas Hegelmann, commonly known as Hegelmann, is a Lithuanian football club located in Kaunas. They play in the A Lyga, the first tier of Lithuanian football.
History
The club was founded at the beginning of 2009 by Hegelmann Transpor ...
withdrew their application prior to the licensing committee's meeting. This meant that only six teams will play in the 2020 A Lyga championship. The
LFF announced that four
I Lyga
The I Lyga, LFF I Lyga, Pirma Lyga, is the second tier of professional Lithuanian football championship.
Format
Organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), I Lyga is contested by 14-16 teams, with the top team gaining promotion to ...
teams will qualify for promotion to A Lyga next season.
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Regular season
On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
League Table
Fixtures and results
Rounds 1–10
Rounds 11–20
Season statistics
Top scorers
See also
*
2020 LFF I Lyga
The 2020 LFF I Lyga is the 31st season of the I Lyga, the second tier football league of Lithuania. The season was planned to begin in March, but was delayed to June because of COVID-19 pandemic. The season finished on time on 31 October.
Teams T ...
*
Football in Lithuania
Football is one of the top two most popular sports in Lithuania by the quantity of active sportsmen.
However, with only 52,000 match spectators a year (2019) in all top league matches, it falls far behind country's most popular sport, basketbal ...
*
2020 Lithuanian Football Cup
2020 Lithuanian Football Cup - 32nd edition of the Independent Lithuania Football Cup. The official name of this year's competition for sponsorship reasons is Hegelmann LFF Cup .
This year's tournament was scheduled to start in April 2020. How ...
References
External links
*
{{2020–21 in European football (UEFA)
LFF Lyga seasons
2020 in Lithuanian football
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
A Lyga
The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. The A Lyga is an abbreviation of Aukščiausia lyga meaning Highest League. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation LFF ( lt, Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija). The Aukš ...