This week, Baltic football takes center stage in Europe! Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian clubs are gearing up for crucial clashes in both the UEFA Champions League and the Conference League qualifiers.What to look out for:-The Baltic derby between Levadia and RFS in the Champions League-Žalgiris Vilnius battling Hamrun Spartans from Malta-Kauno Žalgiris heavy favorites against Penybont of Wales-Nõmme Kalju, Daugavpils, Hegelmann, Auda, and Flora Tallinn chasing Conference League success-Key odds and predictions for every match-What’s at stake for Baltic nations in UEFA rankingsCan the Baltic underdogs spring surprises on the European stage? Who will carry the region’s hopes forward?Don’t miss this full preview of all the action, with insights into the teams, form, and what’s riding on each match! Go to BalticFootballNews.com for in-depth analysis and latest football news from the Baltics!Like, comment, and subscribe for more Baltic football updates and European football previews!#BalticFootball #ChampionsLeague #ConferenceLeague #Lithuania #Latvia #Estonia #UEFA #FootballNews #soccer #virsliga #alyga #premiumliiga

In this episode, we catch up on the Baltics leagues to see What's Hot and What's Not in Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian football before delving into the hype and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence in football - from how it's been used elsewhere to what are the potential use cases in the context of the Baltics.(00:02:00) Riga FC are Hot(00:04:22) Riga FC Women are HOT!!(00:08:00) FS Jelgava are Hot(00:09:52) FK Suduva are Hot(00:14:00) Kauno Zalgiris are Hot (and Vilnius Zalgiris are Not hot)(00:15:40) Flora are Hot(00:17:37) Standout moments thus far(00:19:07) Looking ahead to Europe(00:23:05) Dainava are ICE Cold(00:26:05) Riteriai are Not hot (again)(00:28:27) Metta's attitude is Not hot(00:32:26) Artificial Intelligence in football(00:55:01) Frank's and Dmitrijs's suggestions for trying AI#football #ai #artificialintelligence #soccer #latvia #lithuania #estonia #virsliga #alyga #premiumliiga

Recent weeks kicked up some alarming news about the President of the Estonian FA allegedly blacklisting referees he doesn't like and the owners of FK Riteriai allegedly embezzling funds intended for running of the club. As we unpack all of this and catch up on the football side of things across the A Lyga, Virslīga and the Premium liiga, these developments also promted us to take a closer look at the quality of governance in football in the Baltics. Hence, the 'Dodgy Governance Index' was born, ranking the governance structures of all 30 clubs from 'most dodgy' to 'not dodgy'. Where does your club fall on this spectrum?

(00:01:05) Premium liiga update

(00:06:06) Virslīga update

(00:13:17) A Lyga update

(00:23:55) Does Frank know what "Žalgiris" means?

(00:24:55) Referee blacklisting in Estonia

(00:34:28) Embezzlement scandal at Riteriai

(00:41:20) The Dodgy Governance Index

For latest and most up to date news from the world of Baltic football in English, follow balticfootballnews.com

#latvia #lithuania #estonia #football #soccer #governance #finance #alyga #virsliga #premiumliiga #news #footballnews

Baltic football is now underway, so we catch-up on what’s been happening before the first international break of 2025 – whether it’s the surprising results in Estonia, edge-of-your seat friction in Latvia, and absolute mayhem in Lithuania, the start of the season in the region is exceeding all expectations.

For the second part of the episode, Frank sits down with the President of the Latvian Football Federation, Vadims Ļašenko, to find out about the plans and activities around developing professional men’s and women’s football in Latvia.

(00:01:23) Premium liiga update

(00:04:28) Virsliga update

(00:05:43) A Lyga update

(00:11:00) What is the impact of the increased foreign player registration fee?

(00:20:56) The new LFF/Virsliga working group

(00:24:07) Why is Latvia losing so many Champion clubs?

(00:33:14) What is LFF doing to raise the level of lower divisions?

(00:35:05) Why is Latvia the only European country without a Cat IV stadium?

(00:42:45) Goals for the National Teams in this cycle

(00:54:56) Latvians in Scotland

(00:56:16) Working with the Latvian diaspora

(01:01:13) Futsal EURO 2026 in Latvia and Lithuania - what to expect?

(01:06:04) Draw for the RFS goodie bag winner!

For latest in Baltic football, go to balticfootballnews.com and follow us on social media!

#latvia #lithuania #estonia #football #soccer #virsliga#alyga #premiumliiga #futbols #jalgpall #futbolas #baltics #futsal

Football in the Baltics is finally back! As A Lyga, Virsliga and Premium liiga are all about to kick off, we offer a quick, 3-in-1 preview to this year's season in each of the Baltic nations. From how we got to where we are, to who are the players to watch, to our predictions for each of the competitions in 30 minutes or less - we got you covered! (00:01:01) A Lyga season preview(00:07:17) A Lyga players to watch(00:10:45) A Lyga 2025 predictions(00:11:10) Virsliga season preview(00:17:34) Virsliga players to watch(00:20:53) Virsliga predictions(00:21:13) Premium liiga season preview(00:24:52) Premium liiga players to watch(00:25:59) Premium liiga predictionsOur friends at RFS have some merch for you! To win a 2025 design RFS scarf and hat to keep you warm during the chilly Baltic spring, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and leave a comment with the name of the team that you support under this episode. Winner will be chosen on March 16th!For latest football news from the Baltics, go to balticfootballnews.com#football #soccer #latvia #lithuania #estonia #virsliga #alyga #premiumliiga #jalgpall #futbols #futbolas

In this ultimate superhero showdown of Baltic Football News, the podcast team takes on the editorial team to find out who knows more about football in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (or whether any of us know anything at all!)!Do you think you could do better? Share how many of the questions you got right in the comments below!

For all information about Baltic football in English and for latest football news from the region, including Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian players abroad, visit www.balticfootballnews.com

It's time to talk about Baltic football.

Why care about Baltic football, you may ask? It is exciting. It is unpredictable. It is accessible. And, it is authentic. For us, it is also local and we are very excited to expand our aperture to include Lithuania and Estonia to our previous coverage of Latvia. Whether you reside in one of the Baltic states and want to learn about what's going on next door or you are one of our many international listeners with great taste in football, we and our pan-Baltic team of football aficionados are here to cut through the language barrier and expose Baltic football in all its glory.

In this first episode of the Baltic Football Podcast, we talk about the new format before covering some of the key stories from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from January 2025. Tune in and dive in!

(00:00:01) Why do we care about Baltic football?

(00:07:05) Fans secure a home stadium purchase for FK Zalgiris!

(00:11:50) Gvidas Gineitis scores his first Serie A goal

(00:14:14) The football love story called FK Grobina

(00:19:47) Valmiera FC shown the Virsliga door

(00:22:03) Dream come true for Tamm, "the Estonian Haaland"

(00:25:15) Paide lead the way in girl's football

(00:28:03) Our favourite pan-Baltic friendlies

For football news from the Baltics, make sure to check out our brand new website - balticfootballnews.com

The Europa league stage is set to conclude with an intriguing clash between two teams that know one another quite well - FC RFS and FC Dynamo Kyiv. While both teams got some results in their previous match (RFS beating Ajax 1-0 and Dynamo drawing Galatasaray 3-3) both are also eliminated and have nothing but respect and UEFA money and coefficient points to play for.

For this final episode of this unexpectedly, yet delightfully long series on next opponents of Latvian clubs in Europe which started last summer (!), we sit down with a British-Ukrainian sports journalist Andrew Todos, who also hosts the podcast Zorya Londonsk, to discuss the upcoming Dynamo Kyiv fixture in Hamburg on January 30, 2025.

For more information (and ALL information) about Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian football, please visit balticfootballnews.com