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The TOPLYGA, previously the A Lyga (2001–2025), is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation(LFF) (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija).
The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. Due to the Polish–Lithuanian War, clubs from Vilnius did not take part in early period of the Lithuanian football competitions.
Later during the period of Soviet occupation, a Lithuanian amateur top division existed, while professional players played in USSR football competitions. The Lithuanian professional top division was restored in 1990. The naming convention changed several times, but since 1999 the league is consistently referred to as A lyga.
On 5 February 2026, it was officially announced that the new name of the Lithuanian football championship would be renamed to TOPLYGA.[2]
The league system and size have also stabilized since 1999. League size varied mostly between 8 and 10 teams, with the exceptions of 2011 A Lyga featuring 12 teams, and 2020 A Lyga record low of only 6 teams. The teams play 4 rounds in regular season. The bottom placed team is relegated, while the 9th placed team contests a play-off with the 2nd placed team from the I lyga. The final list of participants often did not correlate to the final results of the previous season, as the participation were rather finalized through the Lithuanian Football Federation league licensing process.
The season usually kicks off in February or March and ends in November. Because of the harsh climate, there are no games in winter until early spring (April/March) and it depends on the weather and temperature. Games are played in indoor arenas on artificial grass. The winter transfer window opens in early January and lasts until mid March, while the summer transfer window lasts for most of July.
Lithuania sought to participate in the UEFA club competitions immediately after regaining the independence. However, due to political reasons, in 1991 Lithuania was banned by UEFA from continental competitions and Žalgiris was refused licensing to compete as a Lithuanian club rather than a Soviet club. Eventually, Lithuania became affiliated with UEFA in 1992. The A Lyga champion secures the right to play in UEFA Champions League qualification. The runner up and the 3rd-place team secure right to play in UEFA Europa Conference League qualification.
UEFAの大会におけるリトアニアのクラブの最高成績は、2022-23年のUEFAクラブ大会シーズンにFKジャルギリスによって達成されました。リトアニアのチャンピオンである同クラブは、2022-23年のUEFAヨーロッパカンファレンスリーグのグループステージに進出しました。2022-23年のUEFAシーズン後、FKジャルギリスはヨーロッパで最も優れた成績を収めたAリーグのクラブとなり、 UEFAクラブ係数表で130位[ 3 ]を獲得しました。
a Aリーグの創設メンバーb Aリーグから降格したことがない c FKダイナヴァという名の2つの旧クラブが2001年、2011年、2012年、2013年、2014年にAリーグに参加した
2023年のAリーグの公式ボールサプライヤーはアディダスです。ナイキは2013年から2022年までこの契約を保持していましたが、その後アディダスから引き継ぎました。[ 5 ]
リトアニアが1918年に独立を果たした後、史上初のサッカー大会が1922年に開催された。
Note: In 1924–1930, 1935, 1942, 1942–1943 and 1945 seasons there was no unified league and winners were decided using either a play–off format or a single game between winners of separate divisions.
All champions from this period are defunct.
During the Lithuania's Soviet occupation, each soviet republic ran their separate football championship. The clubs could either participate in the competition of the soviet republic, or in the Soviet Union football league system.
Note: The biggest and most notable clubs, such as Žalgiris Vilnius played in Soviet Union's FootballPremier League instead of Lithuanian SSR Divisions.
現在Aリーグに所属しているクラブは太字で表記されています。 † - 解散したクラブ。
1991年にリトアニアが独立を回復すると、[ 7 ]リトアニアサッカー連盟（LFF）が再設立され、同年、Aリーグが結成された。ソ連のサッカーリーグは解散し、参加していたチームはリトアニアの全国選手権に復帰した。
Clubs currently playing in A Lyga are highlighted in Bold. † - Defunct clubs.
