Dzūkija Futbolo Klubas Dainava, in short, DFK Dainava, is a

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 ...

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 ...

club from

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The maj ...

. The club was established in 2016 as a

phoenix club The Phoenix Building and Cincinnati Club are two historic buildings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The membership of these two clubs was chiefly Jewish. Located at 812 Race Street, the Phoenix Building was constructed in 1893, desi ...

after

FK Dainava Alytus FK Dainava was a Lithuanian football club from Alytus. The club was established in 1935 as FK Alytis, before being renamed FK Dainava after a merger with ''FK Vidzgiris Alytus'' in December 2010. History The roots of Dainava can be traced back ...

was dissolved in 2014.

History

The modern DFK Dainava was established after "Auska" and "Dzūkų tankai" were merged in 2016. In 2015, FK Auska were playing in the

Pirma Lyga Pirma is a Mexican sports equipment manufacturing company. It began in 1990 in Mexico and expanded in the Americas. The company commercialises men's and women's clothing, urban clothing and apparel (including jackets, t-shirts, and shorts), sport ...

. In 2016 the

Lithuanian Football Federation The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) ( lt, Lietuvos futbolo federacija) is the governing body of football in Lithuania. The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams, including the Lithuania ...

allowed the club to change its name and allowed them to play in the Pirma Lyga (second tier). In 2016, DFK Dainava came in ninth place and in 2017 they came in fourth place in the Pirma Lyga. In the 2018 season, DFK Dainava were runners-up in the Pirma Lyga. In the relegation/promotion play-off match, they lost 0–3 to

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 ...

. On 3 November 2018, they lost the second match in

Gargždai Gargždai () is a city in western Lithuania located in Klaipėda County. The Minija River flows through the city.John S. Jaffer ShtetLinks: Gargzdai (Gorzd), LithuaniaJewishGen, Inc., the Home of Jewish Genealogy. Accessed June 18, 2011. Gargždai ...

0–2.

won 5–0 on aggregate and saved their place in the 2019

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� ...

. DFK Dainava sought promotion to the A Lyga in the 2019 season, but were unable to get sponsorship required for the league from the municipality of

. As a result, the club remained in 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 ...

. They have finished

2019 LFF I Lyga The 2019 LFF I Lyga was the 30th season of the I Lyga, the second tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 22 March 2019 and finished in 27 October 2019. Licensing process The Lithuanian Football Federation initially ...

in fourth position, and attempted to obtain a licence for A Lyga again in the 2020 season. The application was again declined. In March 2021 before the start of the football season in Lithuania, DFK Dainava applied for a licence to play in the highest Lithuanian league tier of A Lyga in the 2021 season. The application was declined by the Lithuanian Football Federation as the club could not find a solution with stable finance and organise a women's football team. At the time, A Lyga had nine qualified teams who got permits and were able to compete in the league. DFK Dainava's application was granted by the Lithuanian Football Federation to play and compete in Lithuania's top-tier league as a 10th team, as DFK Dainava subsequently fixed all of the issues regarding sponsorship and stable finance. For the first time in DFK Dainava club history since re-creation in 2016,

town will yet again have a men's football team competing in Lithuanian top-tier football league A Lyga. DFK Dainava started the season with -3 points as regulations and laws via the Lithuanian Football Federation. The first match for DFK Dainava in A Lyga was played on 6 March in

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mari ...

against also newly promoted team

FK Nevėžis FK Nevėžis is an association football club from the city of Kėdainiai, Lithuania. Achievements *Three times Lithuanian champion (1966, 1972, 1973). *Twice runner-up (1968, 1969). *Three times won Bronze medals (1967, 1970, 1979). Partici ...

, due to the city having a full sized indoor football ground and it is closest to Alytus. In 2022, DFK Dainava were the league winners and were promoted to the 2023 A Lyga.

Recent seasons

Kit evolution

Stadium

DFK Dainava plays in the

Alytus Stadium Alytus Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Alytus, Lithuania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of DFK Dainava Alytus Dainavos Futbolo Klubas Dainava, in short, DFK Dainava, is a Lithuanian football club fr ...

. It is a multi-use

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, Lithuania and holds 3,790 people. The stadium was renovated in 2010.

Current squad

Out on loan

Managers

* Ričardas Grigaliūnas (March, 2016 – June, 2016) *

Darius Gvildys Darius Gvildys (born 26 December 1970) is a Lithuanian football coach and a former defender. He is the manager of Nevėžis. Club career He started career in Banga Kaunas. After that he was a member of FBK Kaunas. Later he removed to Russi ...

(June, 2016 – end of 2017) *

Donatas Vencevičius Donatas Vencevičius (born 28 November 1973 in Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Lithuanian football coach and former midfielder, who currently serves as the assistant coach of Polish club Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała. Vencevičius started his c ...

(January, 2018 – end of 2018) * Kim Rønningstad (2019) * Łukasz Hass (2020) * Fabio Mazzone (August, 2020) *

Tomas Ražanauskas Tomas Ražanauskas (born 7 January 1976) is a Lithuanian professional football coach and a former player. He is an assistant coach with the Lithuania national team. He played in the position of midfielder and was also a member of the Lithuania ...

(April, 2021) * Matthew Silva (February, 2022 – May 2022) * Sergey Kuznetsov (May 2022 –)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dainava, DFK Football clubs in Lithuania Sport in Alytus Association football clubs established in 2016 1935 establishments in Lithuania Phoenix clubs (association football)