2026 Toplyga
Football league season
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The 2026 Toplyga is the 37th season of the Toplyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 21 February 2026 and will end in November 2026.[1][2] This was first season renamed from A Lyga.
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 February – November 2026 |
| Relegated | FK Riteriai (withdrew) |
← 2025 2027 → | |
Teams
The league consisted of ten teams; the top nine teams from the previous season, and one team promoted from the LFF I Lyga. Kauno Žalgiris entered the season as defending champions.
The promoted team was the 2025 LFF I Lyga champions TransINVEST (returning to the TOPLYGA after a single-season absence). They replaced the 2025 A Lyga bottom-placed team Dainava (relegated from the TOPLYGA after three seasons).[3]
Locations of the 2026 TOPLYGA teams
| Club | Location | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Seasons in A Lyga |
Position in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banga | Gargždai | Gargždai Stadium | Artificial | 2,216 | 12 | 8th |
| Džiugas | Telšiai | Telšiai Central Stadium | Natural | 2,069 | 5 | 7th |
| ? | Artificial | ? | ||||
| Hegelmann | Raudondvaris | Raudondvaris Stadium | Artificial | 490 | 5 | 2nd |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Hybrid | 15,026 | 12 | 1st |
| Akademija | VDU Stadium | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | 8 | 6th |
| FA Panevėžys stadium | Artificial | 660 | ||||
| FK Riteriai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 11 | 9th |
| FA Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Savivaldybė Stadium | Natural | 3,017 | 5 | 5th |
| Gytariai Stadium | Artificial | 500 | ||||
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | ||||
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Arena | Natural | 6,523 | 24 | 4th |
| Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | ||||
| TransINVEST | Galinė | FK Transinvest stadionas | Natural | 1,000 | 2 | 1st in I Lyga |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 25 | 3rd |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 |
Managers
| Team | Coach | Appointed | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| FK Banga |  David Afonso |
63 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FC Džiugas |  Andrius Lipskis |
32 months ago | UEFA A |
| FC Hegelmann |  Mikel Aramburu |
7 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Kauno Žalgiris |  Željko Sopić |
2 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Panevėžys |  Roland Vrabec |
20 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Riteriai | Gintautas Vaičiūnas |
14 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FA Šiauliai |  Jurgis Pučinsks |
10 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Sūduva | Donatas Vencevičius |
20 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| TransINVEST | Marius Stankevičius |
24 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Žalgiris | Rolandas Džiaukštas |
11 months ago | UEFA Pro |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sūduva | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 48 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Kauno Žalgiris | 25 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 51 | 17 | +34 | 45 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Žalgiris | 25 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 40 | |
| 4 | Transinvest | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 39 | |
| 5 | Banga | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 38 | |
| 6 | Džiugas | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 38 | |
| 7 | Panevėžys | 27 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 32 | |
| 8 | Hegelmann | 27 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 24 | |
| 9 | Šiauliai | 27 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 56 | −32 | 16 | Qualification for the TOPLYGA play-off |
| 10 | Riteriai (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew and relegated |
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2026. Source: TOPLYGA, Soccerway
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.
(D) Disqualified; (R) Relegated
Notes:
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.
(D) Disqualified; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- The 2026 Lithuanian Football Cup winners qualify for the Conference League first qualifying round (or the second-placed team of the TOPLYGA if the Lithuanian Cup winners finish first). If the Lithuanian Cup winners finish in the top three of the TOPLYGA, the second Conference League first qualifying round spot will be passed to the fourth-placed team.
Fixtures and results
TOPLYGA play-off
The ninth-placed team will face the second-placed team of the 2026 LFF I Lyga in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2027 TOPLYGA.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nikola Petković |
FK Žalgiris | 10 |
| 2 |  Amine Benchaib |
Kauno Zalgiris | 9 |
 Abdel Kader Njoya |
FC Hegelmann | ||
| 4 |  Ronald Sobowale |
FC Džiugas Telšiai | 8 |
Top assist
| Rank | Player | Club | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|