Riga FK (''Rīgas futbola klubs'', short – RFK) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

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 Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

which was founded December 14, 1923. It was the strongest and most popular Latvian football club in 1920s and 1930s, it was also the base team for

Latvia national football team The Latvia national football team ( lv, Latvijas futbola izlase) represents Latvia in international football and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FIF ...

in its early years. It was closed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The idea for its creation came about in 1922 with the goal of uniting Latvian players on a team which could beat the mostly-German Ķeizarmežs. The founder and manager was Juris Rēdlihs, one of the most active football organizers in Latvia. In 1923, most of the best Latvian footballers from JKS moved to Riga FK. Those included

Hermanis Saltups Hermanis Saltups (1901–1968) was a Latvian football goalkeeper. While playing with JKS Riga, Saltups became one of the footballers who participated in the first ever international game for Latvia national football team (against Estonia on 24 S ...

, Ašmanis, Eihmanis, Roga, Bone, Sokolovs, Zemīts and brothers

Edvīns Edvīns is a Latvian masculine given name which may refer to: *Edvīns Bārda (1900–1947), Latvian footballer and manager *Edvīns Bietags (1908–1983), Latvian wrestler *Edvīns Ķeņģis (born 1959), Latvian chess Grandmaster * Edv� ...

, Rūdolfs and

Arvīds Bārda Arvīds Bārda (24 November 1901 – 11 November 1940) was a Latvian footballer, brother of Edvīns Bārda, Rūdolfs Bārda and Oskars Bārda. He was born and died in Riga. Biography Bārda started his football career in 1921 when he along with ...

. In its first season in the Riga championship Riga FK finished second – one point behind Ķeizarmežs. In 1924 Riga FK had a new manager who also managed the

– V.Malošek from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Because it was prohibited to have foreign citizens playing in the Latvian league for that season, Ķeizarmežs didn't play in 1924. Riga FC easily bet its closest rivals –

ASK Riga ASK Rīga is a former professional basketball club that was based in Riga, Latvia. "ASK" stood for "Armijas Sporta Klubs" (in English: Army Sports Club). History BK Rīga was then founded in 2004, and it got back the original name of ASK R ...

in the Riga championship and beat the province champions from

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Upland, Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja, Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges ...

5–1, winning its first Latvian championship. In

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

and

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

Riga FK won its second and third titles. In 1927,

Olimpija Liepāja Olimpija Liepāja was a Latvian football club. It was based in Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Plannin ...

took gold, leaving RFC with second place. Several players (including

Arvīds Jurgens Karlis Arvīds Jurgens (27 May 1905 in Riga, Russian Empire – 17 December 1955 in Montreal, Quebec) was a Latvian footballer, ice hockey, basketball and bandy player who play played for Latvia national teams in all four of these sports. He ...

Voldemārs Plade Voldemārs Plade (sometimes also called Valdis Plade; 24 December 1900 – 27 January 1961) was a Latvian football forward and manager, the most notable of four Plade brothers who played for Latvia national football team. He was born in Riga ...

Česlavs Stančiks Česlavs Stančiks (27 September 1898 – 15 December 1940)

and

Aleksandrs Ābrams Aleksandrs Ābrams (30 January 1904 – 3 February 1958) was a Latvian football forward who used to play with Rīgas FK, the most successful Latvian football club of the 1920s and 1930s. Club playing career The first club that Ābrams played wi ...

) left Riga FK during this season in order to found a new team –

Riga Vanderers Riga Vanderer (sometimes written as Wanderer, in later years – Rīgas Vilki, also – RV) was a Latvian football club that was founded in 1927, disbanded in 1940, restored a year later and disbanded again in 1944. History Founding The decisi ...

. Olimpija also beat RFK in the battle for title in 1928 and 1929. In the 1930s, the emergence of the best pre-war Latvian footballer,

Ēriks Pētersons Ēriks Pētersons (1909 in Riga – 1987 in United States) was Latvian footballer and hockey player. Between 1929 and 1939 he played 63 international matches and scored 21 goals for Latvia national team. He also played in Latvian national i ...

, once again brought good results for Riga FK – with titles in 1930 and 1931. In 1932, however, the team finished in its worst position so far – 3rd behind ASK and Riga Vanderers. The next titles for RK came in 1934 and 1935, when the team beat its competition by a large margin. The last time that RFK won the Latvian title was in 1940, just months before Soviet occupation of Latvia. RFK was then disbanded with its best players joining

FK Dinamo Rīga 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 ...

. In 1941, with the German occupation of Latvia, Riga FK and other Latvian football teams were restored and participated in the 1942–1944 championships. The fate of former RFK was different, with some continuing to play football in Soviet Latvia, others emigrating and some being killed in the war. In 1992, the former

FK Auda Futbola klubs Auda is a Latvian football club, playing in the highest division of Latvian football (Latvian Higher League). They are based in Ķekava, near the capital, Riga. Auda won their first ever major trophy in 2022, beating RFS 1–0 in ...

was renamed Riga FK but, after a couple of seasons without serious results, it was renamed Auda again. In 2014 was found Riga Football Club.

Honours

*Latvia top league: **Winners: 8 (1924–1926,1930–1931,1934–1935,1940) **Runners-up: 6 (1923,1927–1929,1933,1938) *

Latvian Cup The Latvian Football Cup () is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Latvian Football (soccer), football. Since 2021, its full name is Responsible Game Latvian Football Cup (''Atbildīgas spēles Latvijas kauss'') due ...

: **Winners: 2 (1937, 1939) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rigas FK Association football clubs established in 1923 RFK Association football clubs disestablished in 1944 1923 establishments in Latvia 1944 disestablishments in Latvia