Skonto Stadium ( Latvian : Skonto stadions ) is a football stadium in Riga , Latvia . The stadium was built in 2000 and currently has 8,087 seats in total (open for spectators & VIP guests on matchdays). It is the 2nd-largest stadium in Latvia, behind Daugava Stadium . The stadium design incorporates Skonto Hall .
18-498: Skonto Stadium is located in the heart of Riga at 1a E. Melngaiļa street. It is the second biggest football stadium with 8,087 seats, VIP lounges, offices, a press centre and cafes. Skonto Stadium is mostly used for hosting football matches. Since its opening in 2000, it has been the home stadium for the Latvian Higher League club Skonto Riga and Latvia national football team , as well as Latvia U-21 , while Daugava Stadium
36-563: A record of 31–28–27 (including Metalurgs ) in favor of Liepāja prior to the 2019 Virslīga. Since 2016, the Riga Derby (Rīgas derbijs) was started between Riga FC and Rīgas FS as two clubs were promoted at the same time. A 2019 match in Skonto Stadium between the two sides broke a ten-year attendance record. UEFA competitions Ventspils was the Latvian first club who qualified for
54-453: Is being played from January till February, with teams from Latvia's and Estonia's leagues taking part. The League has changed sponsors for several times. From 2006 until 2010 it was known as the LMT Virslīga . No sponsorships were established for the 2011 season. Starting from the 2012 season , the league was reorganised in partnership with an NGO as " Latvijas Futbola virslīga ", adopting
72-578: The 2024–25 UEFA Europa League Commonwealth of Independent States Cup Baltic League Latvian First League The Latvian First League ( Latvian : Latvijas Pirmā līga, 1. līga ) is the second tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation . Since 2021, its full name is Optibet Nākotnes Līga ( Optibet Future League ) due to the sponsorship by sports betting company Optibet . The league
90-727: The UEFA Champions League first qualification round, while runners-up and 3rd place teams qualify for the UEFA Conference League first qualification round. A winter off-season league cup, the Virslīga Winter Cup , was played in January of each year from 2013 to 2017, which was replaced in 2018 by the Virslīga Cup ( Latvian : Virslīgas kausa izcīņa ). However since 2024, a revamped off-season tournament, Livonia Cup ,
108-606: The First League. During the course of the season each club plays the every other club twice, once at home and once away, with a total of 26 games. At the end of the season, the highest placed club is automatically promoted to the Virslīga . The second lowest placed club in the Virslīga and the second placed club in the First League compete in a two-legged tie for the remaining place in the following season's Virslīga. The two clubs finishing at
126-647: The Grand Dance Concert of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival , and in 2008 a friendly match between Latvian and Georgian football veterans was played at this venue. In 2009 Latvian football club FK Ventspils used this stadium for its home matches in the UEFA Europa League matches, because of technical problems with its own stadium. The largest attendance seen by the Skonto Stadium in a football match
144-619: The NGO's name in the 2012 season. From 2013 to 2015, the league was known as the SMScredit.lv Virslīga due to a contract with the online microfinance company SMScredit . In March 2016, it was announced that the Virslīga would be sponsored by SynotTip Sports Bar on a three-year contract. They were succeeded by betting firm Optibet on a two-year contract, beginning with the Optibet Virslīga 2019 season , which lasted until 2024. In 2024 Optibet
162-408: The Virslīga from 1992. The same year Latvia returned to FIFA and became a member of UEFA . Latvian Higher League is being played usually from early March till November. Although the team count in the league has changed multiple times (10 in 2007 and 2020, 9 in 2019 and 2021, and 8 in 2015-2018), since 2022, total of 10 teams are participating in the Virslīga. Each side are playing 36 games during
180-478: The group stage of a UEFA club competition, reaching the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage . Skonto reached the UEFA Champions League last qualifying stage for a number of times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but lost to teams like Barcelona in 1997 , Inter Milan in 1998 and Chelsea in 1999. RFS qualified for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, finishing in fourth place with 2 points. Most recently, FK RFS qualified for
198-475: The main home of the men's team, with Daugava serving as a backup and the venue for the women's and youth national teams. International artists have performed at this venue, including Aerosmith and Metallica in 2008, both of whom reached the maximum capacity for concerts, with 32,000 and 33,000 fans, respectively. Several other artists have performed there too, for example, Snoop Dogg , Massive Attack , Depeche Mode and Akon . In 2003 Skonto stadium hosted
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#1732881572336216-563: The season, with 18 games being played at home and other 18 - away. At the end of each season, the lowest placed team in the league gets automatically relegated to the Optibet Nākotnes Līga , with Nākotnes Līga winner replacing them, while the second lowest placed team gets to play in a 2 leg relegation playoff ( Pārspēles ) against the runner-up of the Nākotnes Līga, for the last spot in the league. The winner of Virslīga qualifies for
234-523: The top tier of association football in Latvia . Organised by the Latvian Football Federation , the Higher League is contested by 10 clubs. The first all-national Latvian championship - the Virslīga - which succeeded the Riga Football League and other, parallel regional leagues, was organized in 1927. It succeeded the previous Latvian Championship ( Latvian : Latvijas čempionāts futbolā ) that
252-462: Was 9,000 people in 2003 for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying playoff game between Latvia and Turkey . 56°57′40.94″N 24°6′59.07″E / 56.9613722°N 24.1164083°E / 56.9613722; 24.1164083 Latvian Higher League Latvian Higher League or Virslīga , known for sponsorship reasons as TonyBet Virslīga since 2024, is a professional football league and
270-545: Was founded together with other Latvian football competitions in 1992. From 2007 to 2008, the tournament was known as the Traffic 1. līga , due to its first sponsorship deal concluded with the "Traffic auto advert" advertising company. From 2015 its name was Komanda.lv First League ( Komanda.lv 1. līga ) for sponsorship reasons, after the Komanda.lv sporting goods store became the league's main sponsor in 2015. There are 14 clubs in
288-568: Was held from 1922 to 1926 in similar fashion. The Virslīga lasted until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 . After World War II , between 1945 and 1991 the championship of Soviet Latvia was the main footballing competition in the Latvian SSR . With Latvia regaining full independence in August 1991 , the newly established Latvian Football Federation (LFF) decided to reorganise its competitions within
306-550: Was replaced by TonyBet . Source: This is a list of clubs, in order of most titles won in championships in independent Latvia (1922–1940 and 1991 to date). Teams in bold are part of 2020 Virslīga. Titles won by club (%) The most well-known rivalry is the Kurzeme derby (Kurzemes derbijs) between Ventspils and Liepāja . The two biggest clubs in Kurzeme have played 86 matches between themselves with
324-509: Was scheduled for renovation. The team returned to the Daugava after renovations in the summer of 2018. However, since the fall of 2022 home matches were once again moved to Skonto Stadium due to problems with the grass pitch and other issues. Works on replacing and upgrading the pitch began in October 2023. At the time, Latvian Football Federation president Vadims Ļašenko said that Skonto would become
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