The 2024 A Lyga, for sponsorship reasons also called TOPsport A Lyga, was the 35th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 1 March 2024 and ended on 9 November 2024.[1][2]
| Season | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 March – 9 November 2024 |
| Champions | Žalgiris |
| Relegated | TransINVEST |
| Champions League | Žalgiris |
| Conference League | Banga Hegelmann Kauno Žalgiris |
| Top goalscorer | Liviu Antal (20 goals) |
← 2023 2025 → | |
The winners (Žalgiris) qualified for the 2025–26 Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up (Hegelmann), third-placed team (Kauno Žalgiris), and 2024 Lithuanian Football Cup winners (Banga) qualified for the 2025–26 Conference League first qualifying round. The ninth-placed team (Sūduva) qualified for the A Lyga play-off, winning and retaining their place in the league. The bottom-placed team (TransINVEST) were relegated to the 2025 LFF I Lyga.
Teams
editThe league consisted of ten teams; the top nine teams from the previous season, and one team promoted from the LFF I Lyga. Panevėžys entered the season as defending champions.
TransINVEST were promoted as champions of the 2023 LFF I Lyga, replacing the 2023 A Lyga bottom-placed team (Riteriai).[3]
| Club | Location | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Seasons in A Lyga |
Position in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banga | Gargždai | Gargždai Stadium | Artificial | 2,323 | 11 | 6th |
| DFK Dainava | Alytus | Alytus Stadium | Natural | 3,726 | 13 | 8th |
| Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | |||
| Džiugas | Telšiai | Telšiai Central Stadium | Natural | 2,320 | 4 | 9th |
| Ateitis Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 300 | ||||
| Hegelmann | Kaunas | LFF Kaunas Training Center Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 4 | 5th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Hybrid | 15,315 | 10 | 4th |
| Akademija | VDU Stadium | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | 6 | 1st |
| Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 620 | ||||
| FA Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Savivaldybė Stadium | Natural | 4,000 | 3 | 3rd |
| Gytariai Stadium | Artificial | 500 | ||||
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 22 | 7th |
| Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | ||||
| TransINVEST | Vilnius | Širvintų miesto stadionas | 1,000 | 0 | 1st in I Lyga | |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 23 | 2nd |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 |
Managers
edit| Team | Coach | Appointed | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| FK Banga |  David Afonso
|
42 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| DFK Dainava |  Syarhey Kuznyatsow
|
30 months ago | UEFA A |
| FC Džiugas |  Andrius Lipskis
|
10 months ago | UEFA A |
| FC Hegelmann | Andrius Skerla
|
47 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Kauno Žalgiris | Saulius Širmelis
|
5 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Panevėžys |  Stijn Vreven
|
6 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FA Šiauliai | Mindaugas Čepas
|
48 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Sūduva | Dovydas Lastauskas
|
22 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK TransINVEST | Marius Stankevičius
|
2 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Žalgiris |  Vladimir Cheburin
|
46 months ago | UEFA Pro |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Žalgiris (C) | 36 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 76 | 31 | +45 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Hegelmann | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 60 | 40 | +20 | 67 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Kauno Žalgiris | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 54 | |
| 4 | Dainava | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 45 | |
| 5 | Banga | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 43 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Džiugas | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 33 | 48 | −15 | 42[b] | |
| 7 | Šiauliai | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 42[b] | |
| 8 | Panevėžys | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 41 | |
| 9 | Sūduva (O) | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 39 | Qualification for the A Lyga play-off |
| 10 | TransINVEST (R) | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 38 | Relegation to I Lyga |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (for champion only) 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head matches won; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Matches won; 10) Fairplay ranking; 11) Draw.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ a b Banga qualified for the Conference League first qualifying round by winning the 2024 Lithuanian Football Cup.
- ^ a b Head-to-head points: Džiugas 8, Šiauliai 2.
Fixtures and results
editA Lyga play-off
editThe ninth-placed club (Sūduva) faced the second-placed club from the 2024 LFF I Lyga (Be1 NFA) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2025 A Lyga.
First leg
edit| 17 November 2024 | Be1 NFA | 2–1 | Sūduva | Kaunas |
| 12:30 BST | Issah  13'Doké 79' |
Burba 78' |
Stadium: NFA Stadium |
Second leg
edit| 23 November 2024 | Sūduva | 1–0 (a.e.t.) (2–2 agg.) (4–2 p) | Be1 NFA | Marijampolė |
| 13:00 BST | Lawson 90+4' (pen.) |
Stadium: Sūduva Stadium | ||
| Penalties | ||||
Lawson  Burba Zingertas Maksimović |
Slendzoka  Dziugas Paukstys Sanokho |
|||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "A Lyga - Lietuvos Futbolas". lietuvosfutbolas.lt (in Lithuanian).
- ^ "2024 metų A lygos klubų tarpsezonio sudėtys". alyga.lt (in Lithuanian).
- ^ "Lietuvos taurės čempionai: ryžtingesni A lygos naujokai negu įprasta". Delfi sportas (in Lithuanian). 24 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
External links
edit- Official website (in Lithuanian and English)