On Friday, the new football season officially kicks off in Lithuania - five LFF Cup round of 16 matches will be played today on the country's fields, two more on Saturday, and one on Tuesday.
However, the start of the season is hindered by bad weather, preventing many teams from playing matches at their home stadiums, and even making the future match venue not completely clear.
For example, Lithuanian champions "Kaunas" will meet "Vėtra" reserves at home, but depending on weather conditions, the match can take place either at the "Panemunė" stadium or on the artificial turf field in Kaunas.
Vilnius clubs will start their season at "Sportimos" arena - "Žalgiris" will play against their reserve team "Polonija", and "Vėtra" will meet "Kauno Jėgeriai". The match between Marijampolė's "Sūduva" and Klaipėda's "Rodovitas" has been moved to the artificial turf field in Kaunas, while "Šilutė" will play against local team "Babrungas" in Plungė.
In Saturday's matches in Palanga, "Atlantas" from Klaipėda will play against "Nevėžis" from Kėdainiai, while Panevėžys "Ekranas" will meet "Jonavos "Lietava". Meanwhile, "Vilnius" will play against "Šiauliai" on Tuesday, and the match venue is not yet clear.
By the way, on the eve of the season, the Lithuanian Football Federation announced that as a result of the Executive Committee decision due to mutual disagreements, NFKA and two clubs - "Kaunas" and "Ekranas" are being warned. Both clubs violated the LFF Executive Committee's statutes by publicizing mutual disagreements in the press, and since this was the first case, it was decided to impose a minimal fine and warn them.
LFF Cup round of 16 schedule
Friday, March 18
12:00 "Sūduva" (Marijampolė) - "Rodovitas" (Klaipėda) Venue - Artificial turf field in Kaunas
13:00 "Žalgiris" (Vilnius) - "Polonija" (Vilnius) Venue - "Sportimos" arena
15:00 FBK "Kaunas" (Kaunas) - "Vėtra-2" (Vilnius) Venue - "Panemunė" stadium or on the artificial turf field in Kaunas
15:00 "Vėtra" (Vilnius) - "Kauno Jėgeriai" (Kaunas) Venue - "Sportimos" arena
15:00 "Šilutė" (Šilutė) - "Babrungas" (Plungė) Venue - Plungė
Saturday, March 19
14:00 "Ekranas" (Panevėžys) - "Lietava" (Jonava) Venue - Palanga
16:00 "Atlantas" (Klaipėda) - "Nevėžis" (Kėdainiai) Venue - Palanga
Tuesday, March 22
15:00 "Vilnius" (Vilnius) - "Šiauliai" (Šiauliai) Venue to be determined later