The 2016 Latvian Higher League was the 25th season of top-tier football in Latvia. FK Liepāja were the defending champions. The season began on 11 March 2016 and ended on 5 November 2016; the relegation play-offs took place on 9 and 13 November 2016.
Teams FB Gulbene were excluded from the previous season due to suspicion of match-fixing.'Gulbenes' dublieru komanda varēs turpināt piedalīties Latvijas dublieru čempionātā, Delfi, 4 June 2015, accessed 22 February 2015 2015 Latvian First League winners FC Caramba/Dinamo were promoted to the league and before the season changed their name to Riga FC.
Skonto FC did not obtain a license to play in the 2016 Higher League. Skonto appealed the decision, but the appeal was denied. Since 2015 Latvian First League runners-up Valmiera Glass FK/BSS turned down the opportunity to be promoted to the Higher League, third-placed Rīgas Futbola skola (RFS) was promoted instead.
Stadiums and locations
Club Location Stadium Capacity BFC Daugavpils Daugavpils Celtnieks Stadium 1,980 FK Jelgava Jelgava Zemgales Olimpiskais Sporta Centrs 1,560 FK Liepāja Liepāja Daugava Stadium 5,000 FS Metta/LU Riga Hanzas vidusskolas futbola laukums 500 Riga FC Riga Skonto Stadium 9,500 FK RFS Riga Stadions Arkādija 500 FK Spartaks Jūrmala Jūrmala Slokas Stadium 2,500 FK Ventspils Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadium 3,200
Kits manufacturer and sponsors Club Kit manufacturer Sponsor BFC Daugavpils Adidas Intergaz FK Jelgava Nike Igate FK Liepāja Adidas Mogo FS Metta/LU Nike Riga FCJako FK RFSNike LNK Group FK Spartaks Jūrmala Nike Hanseatisches Fußball Kontor FK Ventspils Adidas VK Tranzīts
League table
Relegation play-offs The 7th-placed side, FS METTA/LU, faced AFA Olaine, runners-up of the 2016 Latvian First League in a two-legged play-off, with the winner being awarded a spot in the 2017 Higher League competition. First leg
Second leg
METTA/LU won 2–1 on aggregate and retained their place in the 2017 Higher League.
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Ģirts KarlsonsVentspils172 Dzmitry PlatonawSpartaks113 Jevgēņijs KazačoksSpartaks104 Eduards TīdenbergsVentspils85 Edgars GauračsLiepāja/Spartaks7 Gļebs KļuškinsJelgava7 Andrejs KovaļovsJelgava6 Oskars KļavaLiepāja Roberts UldriķisFS Metta/LU Raivis JurkovskisFK RFS Yevgeni KozlovSpartaks Updated to match(es) played on 29 October 2016. Source:UEFA
References
External links Official website