2023 Latvian First League

Latvian First League
Season2023
ChampionsGrobiņas
PromotedGrobiņas
RelegatedBeitar
Dinamo Rīga
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 Latvian First League (referred to as the Optibet Nākotnes Līga for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd season of second-tier football in Latvia. The season started on 7 April 2023 and finished on 12 November 2023.[1][2]

The winners (Grobiņas) were promoted to the 2024 Latvian Higher League. The third-placed team (Skanste) qualified for the Latvian Higher League play-off. The twelfth-placed team (Smiltene) qualified for the Latvian First League play-off. Two teams (Beitar and Dinamo Rīga) withdrew from the league and were relegated to the 2024 Latvian Second League.

Teams

Team changes

Promoted from
2022 Latvian Second League 		Promoted to
2023 Latvian Higher League 		Relegated to
2023 Latvian Second League
Beitar
Ventspils 		Jelgava Salaspils

Stadia and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
AFA Olaine Olaines pilsētas stadions Olaine
Beitar Salaspils sporta nama stadions Salaspils 648
Dinamo Rīga Riga RTU stadions 1,000
Grobiņas Grobiņa Grobiņa Stadium 1,000
JDFS Alberts Riga Daugavgrīvas vidusskolas stadions 1,000
Rēzeknes FA/BJSS Rēzekne Sporta Aģentūras Stadions 978
RFS 2 Riga LNK Sporta Parks 740
Riga II Riga Skonto Stadium 8,087
Saldus SS/Leevon Saldus Saldus pilsētas stadions 2,000
Skanste Riga Hanzas vidusskolas laukums 2,000
Smiltene Smiltene Tepera stadions 1,000
Tukums II Tukums Tukuma Pilsētas Stadions
Valmiera 2/VSS Valmiera Jānis Daliņš Stadium 2,000
Ventspils Ventspils Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions 3,200

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Grobiņas (C, P) 26 21 3 2 71 17 +54 66 Promotion to the Latvian Higher League
2 Riga II[a] 26 20 4 2 85 15 +70 64
3 Skanste 26 19 2 5 58 21 +37 59 Qualification for the Latvian Higher League play-off
4 JDFS Alberts 26 13 8 5 60 36 +24 47
5 Saldus SS/Leevon 26 12 4 10 40 28 +12 40
6 RFS 2 26 11 4 11 58 42 +16 37
7 Beitar[b] (R) 26 11 2 13 41 66 −25 35 Relegation to the Latvian Second League
8 Tukums II 26 10 3 13 41 54 −13 33
9 Ventspils 26 8 6 12 24 29 −5 30
10 Valmiera 2/VSS 26 7 7 12 30 40 −10 28
11 AFA Olaine 26 5 8 13 36 61 −25 23
12 Smiltene (O) 26 6 4 16 31 67 −36 22 Qualification for the Latvian First League play-off
13 Dinamo Rīga[c] (R) 26 5 3 18 27 66 −39 18 Relegation to the Latvian Second League
14 Rēzeknes FA/BJSS[d] 26 3 4 19 18 78 −60 13
Source: Soccerway
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. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Ineligible for promotion as a reserve team a division below main team.
  2. ^ Withdrew from league.
  3. ^ Withdrew from league.
  4. ^ Reprieved from relegation after Beitar's withdrawal from the league.


Latvian First League play-off

The twelfth-placed club (Smiltene) faced the third-placed club from the 2023 Latvian Second League (Augšdaugavas) for the final place in the following season's Latvian First League.

First leg

19 November 2023 Augšdaugavas 3–1 Smiltene Ilūkste
12:00 BST Stadium: Ilūkstes pilsētas stadions

Second leg

25 November 2023 Smiltene 3–0
(4–3 agg.)		AugšdaugavasSmiltene
12:00 BST Stadium: Tepera stadions

References

  1. ^ "Optibet Náktones líga - Latvijas Futbola federácija". LFF.
  2. ^ "1. Liga 2023 scores, Football Latvia". Flashscore.