Skanste

The Virslīga fixture list has carried Skanste since 2024. The club came out of the FK Metta-2 structure in 2021. It works as a cooperation partner rather than an opponent, so the two meeting carries none of the weight a Riga derby might suggest.

First place in the 2. līga in 2021, then the First League title in 2023, taken in the Nākotnes līga promotion round with 53 points. A 6–1 win over Metta in the Latvian Cup quarter-finals, top-flight opposition dismantled by the side meant to be feeding it. Valmiera FC ended the run in the semi-finals.

Alans Kangars is the clearest illustration of the model doing what it was designed to do. The defender left for FK Liepāja in 2024, played Virslīga football there, was called into the Latvia under-21 side, and went back to Metta in 2025 — the loop closing more or less as intended.

Black, grey and bright yellow are the colours. The nickname, Skanste Horses, comes from the Riga hippodrome that once stood in the district.

Home is Grostonas iela 5, the ground of Riga Hansa High School: 180 places, a school pitch in a quarter of Riga now dominated by office towers and building sites. Top-flight opponents arrive to find a touchline and a few rows of seats, and Skanste plays its league football there.