The Livonian language is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Riga, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia but also used to be spoken in the Salaca River valley. Although initially its last native speaker died in 2013, a child, Kuldi Medne, born in 2020 is reported to be a native speaker of Livonian. Her parents are Livonian language revival activists Jānis Mednis and Renāte Medne. Also, there are about 40 reported L2 speakers and 210 having reported some knowledge of the language. Possibly uniquely among the Uralic languages but similarly to Latvian and Lithuanian, Livonian has been described as a pitch-accent language.
The Lithuania national football team represents Lithuania in men's international football, and is controlled by the Lithuanian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Lithuania. They played their first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match thereafter against Georgia on 27 May of that year.
The Latvia national football team represents Latvia in men's international football, and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but did qualify for the European Championship in 2004 under head coach Aleksandrs Starkovs.
The Latvian Football Federation ) is the governing body of football in Latvia with its headquarters located in the capital Rimi Sports Centre in Riga. Its activities include the organizing of the Latvian football championship, the Latvian First League, the Latvian Second League, as well as lower league championships and the Latvian Football Cup. The federation also manages the Latvia national football team and Latvia women's national football team.
The Latvian First League is the second tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation. Since 2021, its full name is Optibet Nākotnes Līga due to the sponsorship by sports betting company Optibet.
The Latvia national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Latvia and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body of football in Latvia. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. The team is coached by Aleksandrs Basovs and is currently captained by defender Daniels Balodis.
The Latvia women's national football team represents Latvia in international football and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the major tournament.
The Latvian Second League, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Altero.lv LIIGA, is the third tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation.
Vladimirs Kamešs is a Latvian football midfielder playing as a left winger for Norwegian club Elverum and Latvia national football team.
Vladislavs Gabovs is a former Latvian football right-back who played for Salaspils and the Latvia national football team.
Gints Freimanis was a Latvian professional footballer who played as a right-back.
The 2017 Latvian Football Cup was the 23rd version of the tournament. This version of the competition began on 28 May 2017 and ended on 18 October 2017. The winners of this season's cup earned a place in the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 Europa League.
Andrejs Cigaņiks is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a left winger or wing-back for Polish club Widzew Łódź and the Latvia national team.
The 2019 Baltic Futsal Cup was held on 2–4 December 2019 in Raasiku, Estonia. This edition featured the three Baltic teams.
The 2020 Latvian Football Cup was the 26th edition of the football tournament. The competition began on 23 July 2020 and ended on 8 November 2020. RFS were the defending champions, having won the previous year's final over Jelgava 3–2 after extra time. The cup winners qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League 1st qualifying round.
Roberts Ozols is a Latvian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Auda and the Latvia national team.
The Ludza dialect or Lutsi is a dialect of South Estonian that was spoken in Latvia by the Ludza Estonians near the town of Ludza in Latvia. Ludza is the most similar to the Seto dialect of South Estonian. The Ludza dialect has been on a decline and is now extinct. It was estimated that around 800 people spoke Ludza in 1894, and by 1936 this number had decreased to only around 30 to 40 people. The last native speaker of the Ludza dialect was Nikolājs Nikonovs, who was from the village of Lielie Tjapši. He died in 2006, but some people still have limited knowledge of the dialect. The last knowledgeable language user with passive knowledge, Antonīna Nikonova, died later in 2014.
SK Super Nova is a Latvian association football club currently playing in the Virslīga. They were founded in 2000 in the city of Olaine. The team has been based in Salaspils since 2022.
LNK Sporta Parks is a football stadium and multi-sport complex located in Riga, Latvia. The stadium was built in 2022 and currently has 2,300 seats in total. It is the largest privately-owned sports complex in Latvia and its 7th-largest football stadium by capacity. The stadium design incorporates a number of auxiliary facilities, including an additional five football pitches, beach tennis and beach volleyball facilities, among others.
Maksims Toņiševs is a Latvian footballer who plays as a right-back defender for Valmiera and the Latvia national team.
