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The Vilnius Regional Football Association (VRFS) has started the fourth season of the Vilnius City Seniors League.
All players over the age of 35 can play in these matches.
The tournament has attracted a record number of participants, with twenty teams competing this year, totaling over six hundred players.
Last year's champions, FK "Delintra", will try to defend their title, but will face tough competition from the FK "Prelegentai" team and other ambitious teams.
Many well-known former footballers, who have previously represented the Lithuanian national team, are participating in the tournament - E.Jankauskas, R.Žutautas, G.Kalvaitis, V.Urbonas, A.Preikšaitis, R.Stonkus, T.Razanauskas, and others.
Politicians and media representatives, such as MP M.Bastys and self-proclaimed "hard-hitting winger" V.Radzevičius with his teammate M.Starkus, also enjoy playing in the tournament.
As usual, the teams started the new season with the Seniors League Cup "blic" tournament. Last year, the Seniors' team from FK "Fazės" won the cup tournament.
Unfortunately, this year they failed to defend their title, losing 0-1 in a tough semi-final match to the eventual winners, the FK "Dangų centras" team.
In the other semi-final, the Seniors' teams from FK "Nerealas" and FK "TERA" competed, with the winner only being determined after a penalty shootout, won by the latter team.
The final match between FK "Dangų centras" and FK "TERA" was equally intense and ended in a goalless draw, but FK "Dangų centras" were more accurate in penalties, becoming champions of the cup tournament for the first time in history.
"We are very pleased with the large number of participants. I come with great pleasure to watch the matches of this tournament. The speeds are, of course, not the same as in professional football, but the understanding of the game, technique, and field vision are all still present. Many young players could definitely learn a lot from the veterans here. And in our future plans, we are already considering the idea of organizing a Seniors tournament for fifty-year-olds in Vilnius next year," mentioned VRFS President G.Žemaitis.
