The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (Lithuanian: Lietuvos futbolo federacija) is the governing body of football in Lithuania. The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams, including the Lithuania national football team. It is based in Vilnius. LFF became a member of FIFA in 1923, but following Lithuania's annexation by the Soviet Union it was disbanded.[1] It became a member again in 1992 after Lithuania regained its independence. The top division is A Lyga.
When one French journalist saw a full basketball arena (where "Lietuvos rytas" fought in ULEB cup semifinals) close to an empty stadium (where a Baltic Football League match took place) he published an article that Lithuania is a land where "the king of sports" has to live in basketball's shadow.
In reality, the popularity of football is on the rise and the very few games that are on par in terms of quality with the ULEB cup semifinals also attract full stadiums as well as a TV following. This craze is mostly imported from other European nations, such as England, where many Lithuanians emigrated since the country has joined the European Union in 2004.
However, very unlike basketball, Lithuanian football is weak. The national team has never qualified for the European Championships or World Cup. In football, the element of luck is bigger than is basketball, therefore there were times when the Lithuanians scored draw against major teams such as Germany, Italy or Spain. However, defeats to the likes of the Faroe Islands or Liechtenstein soon afterward dash the hopes of Lithuanian fans and decrease the popularity of football.
Football clubs of Lithuania attract less funding than their basketball counterparts and so they are weak, relying on Lithuanian players and foreigners who did not manage to get a hold into their national leagues. Not a single Lithuanian team ever took part in main stages of the Champions’ League or the UEFA Cup. Moreover, the Lithuanian national football league is frequently dipped into scandals of betting fraud. Panevėžio Ekranas from Panevėžys long dominated this league in the early 2010s, amassing a yearly budget of 2 million Euro (yes, this was the richest football club in Lithuania). FBK Kaunas used to prevail in the 1990s and 2000s (both the Kaunas and Panevėžys teams were eventually expelled from the league in 2009 and 2015 respectively, because of debts and controversies). FK Zalgiris Vilnius was the best Lithuanian team in the 1980s and still has a larger fan base than other Lithuanian football clubs. It has recently returned to prominence, dominating the league once again in the 2010s."[2]
References
^"Lithuania go it alone | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. July 9, 2018.
^"Lithuanian Football League | True Lithuania". www.truelithuania.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
External links
Official website(in Lithuanian)
at FIFA site
Lithuania at UEFA site
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lithuanian, football, federation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lithuanian Football Federation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Lithuanian Football Federation LFF Lithuanian Lietuvos futbolo federacija is the governing body of football in Lithuania The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams including the Lithuania national football team It is based in Vilnius LFF became a member of FIFA in 1923 but following Lithuania s annexation by the Soviet Union it was disbanded 1 It became a member again in 1992 after Lithuania regained its independence The top division is A Lyga Lithuanian Football FederationUEFAFounded1922HeadquartersKaunasFIFA affiliation1923UEFA affiliation1992PresidentTomas DanileviciusWebsitewww wbr lff wbr ltWhen one French journalist saw a full basketball arena where Lietuvos rytas fought in ULEB cup semifinals close to an empty stadium where a Baltic Football League match took place he published an article that Lithuania is a land where the king of sports has to live in basketball s shadow In reality the popularity of football is on the rise and the very few games that are on par in terms of quality with the ULEB cup semifinals also attract full stadiums as well as a TV following This craze is mostly imported from other European nations such as England where many Lithuanians emigrated since the country has joined the European Union in 2004 However very unlike basketball Lithuanian football is weak The national team has never qualified for the European Championships or World Cup In football the element of luck is bigger than is basketball therefore there were times when the Lithuanians scored draw against major teams such as Germany Italy or Spain However defeats to the likes of the Faroe Islands or Liechtenstein soon afterward dash the hopes of Lithuanian fans and decrease the popularity of football Football clubs of Lithuania attract less funding than their basketball counterparts and so they are weak relying on Lithuanian players and foreigners who did not manage to get a hold into their national leagues Not a single Lithuanian team ever took part in main stages of the Champions League or the UEFA Cup Moreover the Lithuanian national football league is frequently dipped into scandals of betting fraud Panevezio Ekranas from Panevezys long dominated this league in the early 2010s amassing a yearly budget of 2 million Euro yes this was the richest football club in Lithuania FBK Kaunas used to prevail in the 1990s and 2000s both the Kaunas and Panevezys teams were eventually expelled from the league in 2009 and 2015 respectively because of debts and controversies FK Zalgiris Vilnius was the best Lithuanian team in the 1980s and still has a larger fan base than other Lithuanian football clubs It has recently returned to prominence dominating the league once again in the 2010s 2 References Edit Lithuania go it alone Inside UEFA UEFA com July 9 2018 Lithuanian Football League True Lithuania www truelithuania com Retrieved 2020 05 11 External links EditOfficial website in Lithuanian Lithuania at FIFA site Lithuania at UEFA site This article about an association football related organization is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article about sports in Lithuania is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lithuanian Football Federation amp oldid 1084526416, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
