Riga FC II

Riga's top-flight club plays its football in the Virslīga, and for years the players just below that level had nowhere to be tested in fixtures that actually counted. Riga FC II was set up in 2022 to close that gap, giving the academy generation a league season of its own rather than friendlies nobody remembers.

The side's first match came on 13 May 2022, against AFA Olaine in the 1. Liga, Latvia's second tier. That debut campaign ended with second place, behind champions Jelgava — the closest the team has come to a title, and one it could never have collected regardless of the result. As a reserve side, Riga FC II cannot be promoted to the Virslīga no matter where it finishes, a rule that shapes every season it plays. In 2024 it settled for fourth.

Home matches are played at Mežaparks Sports Village, a 1,500-capacity ground that suits a team built to develop players rather than draw crowds. The club has no page of its own on Riga FC's official site; its results are tracked instead on Transfermarkt and Sofascore, a reminder of where it sits in the club's structure.

That ceiling is what gives the fixture list its edge. Jelgava went up as champions in 2022 while Riga FC II finished second and stayed exactly where it was — chasing a table it is not allowed to win.