2024 Latvian Higher League
| Season | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 March – 9 November 2024 |
| Champions | RFS |
| Relegated | Jelgava |
| Champions League | RFS |
| Conference League | Auda Riga Valmiera |
| Matches played | 154 |
| Goals scored | 454 (2.95 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Reginaldo Ramires (25 goals) |
← 2023 2025 →
All statistics correct as of 2 October 2024. | |
The 2024 Latvian Higher League, known as the TonyBet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd season of top-tier football in Latvia. The season began on 8 March 2024 and ended on 9 November.[1][2]
The winners (RFS, their second consecutive title win and third overall) qualified for the 2025–26 Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up (Riga) qualified for the 2025–26 Conference League second qualifying round, with the third and fourth-placed teams (Auda and Valmiera) qualifying for the first qualifying round. The ninth-placed team (Grobiņa) qualified for the Latvian Higher League play-off, winning and retaining their place in the league. The bottom-placed team (Jelgava) were relegated to the 2025 Latvian First League.
Teams
[edit]The league consisted of ten teams; the top nine clubs from the previous season, and one team promoted from the Latvian First League. RFS entered the season as defending champions.
Grobiņa were promoted as champions of the 2023 Latvian First League, replacing the 2023 Latvian Higher League bottom-placed team (Super Nova).[3]
| Club | Seasons in Virsliga |
2023 position | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auda | 3 | 3rd | Audas Stadions | 520 |
| Daugavpils | 11 | 7th | Esplanādes stadions | 1,980 |
| Grobiņa | 0 | 1st in Latvian First League | Grobiņa Stadium | 200 |
| Jelgava | 2 | 6th | Zemgale Olympic Center | 2,500 |
| Liepāja | 11 | 5th | Daugava Stadium (Liepāja) | 4,022 |
| Metta | 13 | 9th | Daugava Stadium (Riga) | 10,461 |
| RFS | 9 | 1st | LNK Sporta Parks | 2,300 |
| Riga | 9 | 2nd | Skonto Stadium | 8,087 |
| Tukums 2000 | 3 | 8th | Tukuma Pilsētas Stadions | 1,000 |
| Valmiera | 7 | 4th | Jāņa Daliņa Stadions | 1,250 |
League table
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RFS (C) | 36 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 103 | 25 | +78 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Riga | 36 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 99 | 23 | +76 | 87 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Auda | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 63 | 34 | +29 | 60 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Valmiera | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 75 | 39 | +36 | 55[b] | |
| 5 | Daugavpils | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 42 | |
| 6 | Liepāja | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 39 | |
| 7 | Metta | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 34 | 76 | −42 | 36 | |
| 8 | Tukums 2000 | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 38 | 81 | −43 | 35 | |
| 9 | Grobiņa (O) | 36 | 8 | 5 | 23 | 34 | 78 | −44 | 29 | Qualification for the Latvian Higher League play-off |
| 10 | Jelgava (R) | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 28 | 82 | −54 | 25 | Relegation to the Latvian First League |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play ranking; 7) Play-off.[6]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ The 2024 Latvian Football Cup winners qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round. Since the cup winners (RFS) qualified based on league position, the Conference League spot was passed to the second-placed team, and the second Conference League first qualifying round spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.
- ^ On 19 April, Valmiera were deducted three points, with an additional six points and a suspended 25 points deduction being issued on 11 October due to licensing regulation breaches.[4][5]
Results
[edit]Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).
Latvian Higher League play-off
[edit]The ninth-placed club (Grobiņa) faced the third-placed club from the 2024 Latvian First League (JDFS Alberts) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2025 Latvian Higher League.
First leg
[edit]| 20 November 2024 | Grobiņa | 2–3 | JDFS Alberts | Grobiņa |
| 11:00 BST | Sdaigui  15'Halata 20' |
Indrāns 16' Zegele 40'Andersons 43' |
Stadium: Grobiņa Stadium |
Second leg
[edit]| 23 November 2024 | JDFS Alberts | 0–2 (3–4 agg.) | Grobiņa | Riga |
| 10:00 BST | Gaučis 36', 42' |
Stadium: Daugavgrīvas vidusskolas stadions |
Statistics
[edit]Top scorers
[edit]- As of 16 August 2024[7]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Reginaldo Ramires
|
Riga | 18 |
| 2 |  Alioune Ndoye
|
Valmiera | 15 |
| 3 |  Marko Regža
|
Riga | 14 |
| 4 |  Ismaël Diomandé
|
RFS | 11 |
 Joseph Oloko Ede
|
Jelgava | ||
| 6 |  Darko Lemajić
|
RFS | 10 |
| Mohamet Corréa
|
Metta | ||
| 8 | Abdoul Kader Traore
|
Daugavpils | 9 |
| 9 |  Aleksej Golijanin
|
Daugavpils | 8 |
| Jānis Ikaunieks
|
RFS |
Attendances
[edit]| # | Football club | Average attendance[8] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riga FC | 1,200 |
| 2 | FK Liepāja | 595 |
| 3 | Grobiņas SC | 559 |
| 4 | FK RFS | 493 |
| 5 | Valmiera FC | 450 |
| 6 | BFC Daugavpils | 436 |
| 7 | FK Metta | 319 |
| 8 | FS Jelgava | 286 |
| 9 | FK Tukums 2000 | 261 |
| 10 | FK Auda | 229 |
References
[edit]- ^ "CALENDAR FOR THE NEW SEASON OF THE SUPER LEAGUE IS PUBLISHED" (in Latvian). lff.lv. 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Latvian First Division 2024". UEFA.
- ^ "GROBINAS SC GRANTS A LICENSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUPER LEAGUE" (in Latvian). lff.lv. 30 January 2024.
- ^ "LFF DK 19. aprīļa lēmumi" (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ ""Valmiera FC" piemērots sešu punktu sods un 25 punktu nosacīts sods" (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ "2024.gada Latvijas Virslīgas futbola čempionāta reglaments" (PDF) (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Flashscore
- ^ https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/avelva.htm