RIGA - With Liepaja Metalurgs already crowned champions, the Latvian national football league wraps up its final games of the season this weekend.
This is the first season that Skonto FC have failed to take the title, having won the championship on the previous 13 occasions since the founding of the Virsliga in 1992. It could be argued that Skonto's dominance of the Premier League has lead to a distinct lack of interest from the Latvian public in the national football league. While the national team now regularly plays in front of near-capacity crowds of 10,000 fans, Latvia's leading club, Skonto, often turns out to paltry attendances of just 200 supporters. For the first time, the Baltic state now has three clubs with the finances and ambition to fight for the title. This can be nothing else but positive stimulus for the national game's future.
Liepaja first seriously challenged Skonto for the title in 1998, when it finished in the runners-up spot. However, having finished just three points off the title last season, Liepaja's consistency over this season, together with an uncharacteristically poor start to the campaign by Skonto, helped Metalurgs to open up an uncatchable lead at the top of the table. Liepaja are currently 13 points clear of Skonto, who only need a point to guarantee they take the runners-up spot in front of their third-place west-coast rivals FK Ventspils.
The main issue left to be resolved is over which club will be playing in next season's Inter Toto Cup. Daugavpils side FC Dinaburga go into a tough match with Skonto on Nov. 5, two points ahead of fifth-placed FK Riga, who could yet slip past Dinaburga if they can overcome Olimps at the University Stadium. The underdog Riga club has seen its fan base grow this season at the expense of the other sides in the capital, and regularly boasts a strong away following. If the club could attract significant investment then it could begin to challenge the "big three" for the title in future seasons.
Propping up the Latvian national league is FK Venta. With just two wins from 27 matches, it has been a disastrous season for Venta, which had started the season as one of the favorites after a consortium of Ukrainian businessmen had promised to pile millions into the ailing club.
This season's final fixtures:
Nov. 5, 14:00 Ventspils v Venta, Dinaburga v Skonto, Riga v Olimps,
16:00 Metalurgs v Jurmala
