FK Jelgava

FK Jelgava

Full name	Futbola Klubs Jelgava (Football Club Jelgava) RAF Jelgava (2001–03) FC Universitāte Rīga (1996–97) RAF Rīga (1996) RAF Jelgava (1988–95) Automobīlists Jelgava (1980–87) Metālists Jelgava (1977–79)
Founded	2004
Ground	Olympic Sports Center of Zemgale, Jelgava, Latvia
Capacity	1,560
Chairman	Māris Peilāns
Manager	Vitālijs Astafjevs
League	Virsliga
2015	4rd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

FK Jelgava is a Latvian football club that is based in Jelgava. Its best results came when the team was named RAF Jelgava. The club plays its home-matches at the Zemgales Olimpiskais Sporta Centrs stadium with capacity of 1,560 people.^[1]

Team history

Automobīlists Jelgava

The car factory club Automobīlists played in the lower Latvian leagues in the early 1970s, but in the mid 1970s were renamed Metālists.

Metālists Jelgava

The club first appeared in 1977 and in their debut season in the Latvian league finished 7th out of 13 teams. After three less than stellar seasons the club changed owners – it was attached again to the bus factory and renamed to Automobīlists Jelgava.

Automobīlists Jelgava

As Automobīlists the Jelgava squad also had it hard – at best it finished seasons in the middle of the table, and between 1983 and 1987 it played in the 1st league. In 1987 Automobīlists lost to Zemgale Ilūkste for a place in Virslīga but as the league was expanded under the name of RAF, Jelgava once again had a club in the top Latvian league.

RAF Jelgava

In 1988 and 1989 there were two teams of RAF Jelgava which in 1990 merged into one. One of those played in the lower Soviet leagues, the other – in the Latvian league. In 1988 and 1989 under the management of Viktors Ņesterenko the "local" RAF won the Latvian league, in 1988 as a golden double it also won the Latvian Cup. Meanwhile the "international" RAF weren't doing that well – although they had in its squad several talented young players including Vladimirs Babičevs, Dzintars Sproģis, Igors Troickis and Aleksandrs Stradiņš, its results were very disappointing. In 1989 Ņesterenko took over the unified RAF team in the Soviet league and in the Baltic league. In 1990 and 1991 the team played better, but then the Soviet Union collapsed and RAF joined the Latvian Virslīga.

In the early 1990s RAF was one of the strongest teams in Virslīga, three times finishing second and once third (in 1992 they finished runners up to Skonto Rīga in an additional game after finishing the season on equal points). However, when the plant ran into financial difficulties, the team received new sponsorship from the University of Latvia in 1996 and, as a result, changed their name and relocated to Riga, and played in the Latvian University Stadium. ^[2]

RAF Rīga

As RAF Rīga the club only played one season, finishing 5th in the Latvian league, however it won the 1996 Latvian Cup. But after the season the club changed its name again – this time to Universitāte Rīga.

Universitāte Rīga

The only season under the name of Universitāte didn't bring much success to the club – 6th place in the league with the club being disbanded after the season.

RAF Jelgava (again)

A team under the name RAF Jelgava appeared again in 2001 in the 1. līga. After the 2003 season the club merged with another Jelgava club – FK Viola Jelgava forming FK Jelgava.

FK Jelgava

FK Jelgava has played since their foundation in 2004 in the 1. līga,^[3] but in 2009 after winning the Latvian First League the team had the chance to play their first games in the Virslīga.

On 19 May 2010 FK Jelgava won the Latvian Cup final in Skonto Stadium, beating FK Jūrmala-VV 6:5 in a penalty shoot out after the game had finished 0:0.^[4]

On the way to the final, the club beat FK Liepājas Metalurgs in the quarter-finals and Skonto FC in the semi-finals. ^[5][6] Victory in the Latvian Cup final allowed FK Jelgava to debut in the UEFA Europa League tournament. In the second qualifying round FK Jelgava played Molde FK from Norway. With a score of 2:2 on aggregate, Molde won on away goals.<ref name="Jelgavai" sāpīgs zaudējums">"Jelgava uzvar, taču tālāk netiek". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-15.</ref>^[7]

In the 2010 season Jelgava was the only Latvian football club which won a game in European football tournaments (2:1 against Molde).

On 2 September 2010 FK Jelgava played a friendly against Premier League club Blackpool. The match marked the opening of the Olympic Sports Center of Zemgale. The President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers and the British Ambassador in Latvia attended the game.^[8]

Honours

Latvia

• Latvian Higher League
  • Runners-Up (2): 1992, 1994, 1995
• Latvian Cup
  • Winners (5): 1993, 1996, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15

Latvian SSR

• Latvian SSR Higher League
  • Winner: (2) 1988, 1989
• Latvian Cup
  • Winners: (1) 1988

League and Cup history

Soviet Union

RAF Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Soviet Cup
1988	4th (Soviet Second League B)	18/(18)	34	5	5	24	43	6	15	Did not participate
1989	4th (Soviet Second League B)	18/(22)	42	10	9	23	38	61	29	Did not participate
1990	4th (Soviet Second League B)	4/(17)	35	17	9	6	54	25	43	Did not participate
1991	4th (Soviet Second League B)	3/(22)	42	28	6	8	71	39	62	Did not participate

Baltic

RAF Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P
1990	1st (Baltic League)	8/(17)	32	13	10	9	44	37	36

Latvian SSR

Metālists Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1977	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	7/(13)	24	9	5	10	42	33	23
1978	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	10/(14)	26	6	6	14	30	39	18
1979	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	11/(14)	26	8	8	10	29	31	24

Automobīlists Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1980	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	7/(16)	30	9	11	10	40	38	29
1981	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	12/(16)	22	6	6	10	27	39	18
1982	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	11/(14)	26	7	3	16	22	65	17
1983	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	11/(14)	26	7	3	16	22	65	22

RAF Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1988	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	1/(16)	30	19	11	0	69	18	49	Winner
1989	1st (Latvian SSR Higher League)	1/(17)	31	22	7	2	72	26	51

Latvia

RAF Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1992	1st (Virsliga)	2/(12)	22	17	14	1	43	6	38
1993	1st (Virsliga)	3/(10)	18	12	2	4	34	11	26	Winner
1994	1st (Virsliga)	2/(12)	22	13	7	2	38	11	33	1/4 finals
1995	1st (Virsliga)	2/(10)	18	14	6	8	40	28	48	1/2 finals

RAF Rīga / FC Universitāte Rīga

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1996	1st (Virsliga)	5/(10)	28	11	6	11	37	45	39	Winner

FC Universitāte Rīga

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
1997	1st (Virsliga)	6/(9)	24	8	5	11	25	42	29	1/2 finals

RAF Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
2001	2nd (1.līga)	4/(8)	28	14	6	8	62	33	48	1/8 finals
2002	2nd (1.līga)	5/(8)	28	12	2	14	48	47	38	1/16 finals
2003	2nd (1.līga)	7/(10)	27	8	4	15	33	62	28	1/16 finals

FK Jelgava

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Latvian Football Cup
2004	2nd (1.līga)	11/(14)	26	7	5	14	43	69	26	1/16 finals
2005	2nd (1.līga)	11/(14)	26	8	2	16	43	59	26	1/8 finals
2006	2nd (1.līga)	9/(16)	26	12	6	12	53	49	42	1/8 finals
2007	2nd (1.līga)	5/(16)	30	16	6	8	70	43	54	2nd Round
2008	2nd (1.līga)	4/(15)	28	19	3	6	63	41	60	1/8 finals
2009	2nd (1.līga)	1/(14)	26	19	5	2	57	20	62	Not Held
2010	1st (Virsliga)	6/(10)	27	6	7	14	36	45	25	Winner
2011	1st (Virsliga)	6/(9)	32	13	4	15	47	54	43	1/4 finals
2012	1st (Virsliga)	7/(10)	36	7	10	19	32	56	31	1/4 finals
2013	1st (Virsliga)	8/(10)	27	5	8	14	26	46	23	Winner
2014	1st (Virsliga)	3/(10)	36	20	10	6	57	27	70	Winner

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Team	Home	Away	Aggregate
1993–94	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	PR	HB Tórshavn^1	1–0	0–3	1–3
1995–96	UEFA Cup	PR	Afan Lido F.C.^1	0–0	2–1	2–1
		1Q	FC Zimbru Chişinău^1	1–2	0–1	1–3
1996–97	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QR	FC Vaduz^2	1–1	1–1(aet)	2–2(p)
1997	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 7	İstanbulspor^2	1–5	N/A	5th
			Vasas SC^2	N/A	0–3
			Werder Bremen^2	0–3	N/A
			Östers IF^2	N/A	1–2
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Molde FK^3	2–1	0–1	2–2(a)
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Rosenborg^3	0–2	0–4	0–6
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Litex Lovech^3	1–1	2–2	3–3 (a)
		2Q	Rabotnički^3	1–0	0–2	1–2

Notes

• Note 1: As RAF Jelgava.
• Note 2: As FC Universitate Riga.
• Note 3: As FK Jelgava.

UEFA Team Ranking 2011

Rank	Country	Team	Points
298		Budućnost Podgorica	2.025
299		Dinamo Tirana	2.024
300		Sligo Rovers	1.991
301		FK Jelgava	1.983
		Dinaburg FC	1.983
303		Zalaegerszegi TE	1.950
304		HB Tórshavn	1.783

As of 16 September 2010 Source

Sponsors

Role	Sponsors
General sponsors	Jelgavas Pilsētas Dome Igate Jelgavas Krekli
Kit manufacturer Nike
Other sponsors	Jelgavas Vēstnesis Sporta Servisa centrs "Jelgava" Zemgales kurjerpasts SIA "Merco Links" Dion Sportlab Astarte – Nafta

Players and staff

Current squad

Entry for the 2016 Latvian Higher League season, according to LFF.lv^{[9] [10]} Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Kaspars Ikstens 2 DF Vladislavs Sorokins 3 DF Igors Savčenkovs 4 DF Vitālijs Smirnovs 5 DF Gints Freimanis 6 MF Ryotaro Nakano 7 DF Valērijs Redjko 8 MF Andrejs Kovaļovs 9 FW Kyrylo Silich 10 MF Boriss Bogdaškins 11 FW Daniils Turkovs

No. Position Player 12 FW Oļegs Malašenoks 13 GK Ivans Muižnieks 15 DF Abdoulaye Diallo 17 DF Viktors Litvinskis 19 FW Aleksejs Davidenkovs 21 FW Vladislav Klimovich 23 MF Gļebs Kļuškins 24 GK Mārcis Melecis 27 FW Verners Zalaks 28 MF Artis Lazdiņš 29 FW Kevin Kauber

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 20 FW Ismail Musa (at Auda Riga) 22 MF Kennedy Eriba (at Stumbras Kaunas)

For recent transfers see: List of Latvian football transfers summer 2015 and List of Latvian football transfers winter 2015-16

Reserves squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Edgars Andrejevs GK Kaspars Sondors DF Edijs Jurušs DF Edgars Fjodorovs DF Raitis Kols DF Antons Dresmanis DF Edvīns Bergmanis DF Jurijs Ksenzovs DF Iļja Veļikanovs DF Iļja Golubevs DF Vitālijs Lapkovskis MF Māris Dūrējs MF Jānis Meiers

No. Position Player MF Artūrs Pugačs MF Vadims Avdejevs MF Igors Romašins MF Timurs Tihijs MF Kristaps Neilands MF Viktors Rezjapkins FW Kristaps Soloveiko FW Elvijs Antonišķis FW Edgars Ratkevičs FW Edgars Jansons FW Ričards Jirgensons FW Grigorijs Misjuks FW Iddrisu Abdalah

Foreign players

Non-EU Nationals

EU Nationals

Staff

Name, surname	Position
Māris Peilāns	Chairman
Jānis Kovaļevskis	Director
Sergejs Golubevs	Manager
Raimonds Aleksandrovs	Assistant manager
Oļegs Samoiļenko	Doctor
Jurijs Ksenzovs	Psychotherapist
Marks Dresmanis	Administrator

Managers

• Dainis Kazakevičs (2004 – June 30, 2013)
• Jānis Dreimanis (2013)
• Sergejs Golubevs (interim) (2013)
• Sergejs Golubevs (2013)
• Vladimirs Beškarevs (December 2013 – June 2014)
• Vitālijs Astafjevs (June 2014 –)

References

1. "Futbola laukumi". Zemgales Olimpiskais centrs. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
2. Virsliga table 1996 at RSSSF.com. Note E explains the relocation to Riga. Retrieved 30 November 2006
3. "Jelgava triumfē 1. līgas čempionātā". Sportacentrs.com. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
4. "Pasaka ar laimīgām beigām jeb Jelgava izcīna Latvijas kausu". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
5. "Jelgava sensacionāli uzvar un iekļūst pusfinālā". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
6. "Jelgava uzveic Skonto un tiek Latvijas kausa finālā". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
7. "Jelgavai sāpīgs zaudējums". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
8. "Stadions Jelgavā iesvētīts ar uzvaru pār Blackpool". Sportacentrs.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
9. http://www.lff.lv/lv/virsliga/klubi/fkjelgava/
10. http://www.lff.lv/lv/turniri/viriesu-turniri/smscredit-lv-virsliga/sastavi/fk-jelgava/

External links

• (Latvian) (English) FK Jelgava Official Site
• (Latvian) (English) Official Latvian Football Federation website