The Sunday Football League, SFL (lith: Sekmadienio Futbolo Lyga) is an amateur association football level 5 league in

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 league was established in 2005. It is managed by an organization VšĮ "Sekmadienio futbolo lyga“, run by Vilnius District Football Union (VRFS), independently from the Lithuanian Football Federation. Players from all other leagues except the top Lithuanian division A Lyga are allowed to play in the SFL as well as their respective league clubs. All games take place on Sundays, unlimited substitutions are allowed. The SFL also organizes an annual Sunday Football League Cup competition.

History

The league was established in 2005 in Vilnius. In the first season 19 teams participated in the SFL (A division - 9 teams, B division - 6, C division 4). 2006 SFL season consisted of 24 teams (A division - 8, B division - 8, C division - 8) In 2007 SFL expanded to 37 teams, divided into 4 divisions (A division - 10, B division - 10, C division - 10, D1 division 7 (spring), and 9 (autumn). 2008 SFL season saw 48 teams participating in Vilnius region (A division - 10, B division - 10, C division - 10, D 1 division - 9, D 2 division - 9), and 5 teams in Klaipėda County. 2009 SFL season got the hype of SFL with 60 teams and 2500 players participating in Vilnius SFL alone. The SFL league has also spread beyond Vilnius region to Klaipėda,

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 ...

and

Šakiai Šakiai (, pl, Szaki) is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village. By 1719 a church in Šakiai was built. By the 19th century Šakiai al ...

. Among the SFL participants were former professional footballers

Raimondas Žutautas Raimondas Žutautas (born 4 September 1972) is a former Lithuanian footballer and current head coach. Zutautas played as a defensive midfielder. In 1999 Zutautas signed in Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. and played there in the years 1999–20 ...

Vaidas Žutautas Vaidas Žutautas (born 12 May 1973) is a Lithuanian football manager and a former international player, who played as a goalkeeper. Žutautas has made nine appearances for the Lithuania national football team between 1996 and 2006. Honours Na ...

, Eimantas Poderis,

Ričardas Zdančius Ričardas Zdančius (born 17 January 1967 in Gargždai) is a former Lithuanian professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are a ...

Aidas Preikšaitis Aidas Preikšaitis (born 15 July 1970) is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Preikšaitis was born in Akmenė. He represented FK Žalgiris Vilnius from 1989 to 1997. His former teams include 1. ...

and some celebrities such as former professional basketball player

Rolandas Skaisgirys Rolandas is a masculine Lithuanian given name and may refer to: *Rolandas Alijevas (born 1985), Lithuanian basketball player *Rolandas Baravykas (born 1995), Lithuanian footballer *Rolandas Bernatonis (born 1987), Lithuanian handball player *Rolan ...

, singers Gabrielius Liaudanskas-Svaras and Linas Zareckas-Choras, actor Andrius Bialobžeskis, politician Juozas Olekas. Fifteen SFL teams participated in 2009/2010

LFF Cup The Lithuanian Football Federation Cup ( lt, Lietuvos futbolo federacijos taurė), also known as Hegelmann LFF Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian football cup competition contested in a knockout tournament format. The winner of the cup ...

competition. In 2010

division dissolved, however in 2011 Sūduva and Aukštaitija divisions have joined in. In 2012 the SFL was restructured, the divisions were matched to County Football Federation boundaries. SFL competitions took place in Vilnius,

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Marijampolė and

counties until 2015. In 2016 all SFL leagues have dissolved except for Vilnius region. In Vilnius, depending on number of participants, competition takes place in 3 or 4 divisions.

Teams

44 teams have signed up to participate in the 2020 SFL competition. On 12 March 2020 the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

External links

Official SFL website
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