LFF Legionnaire Fee & 2027 Premier League Changes | Sportacentrs.com

A year ago, the federation suddenly decided on a significant increase in the registration fee and also a change in structure. If in 2024 the first eight legionnaires paid three thousand euros for each and the next seven – eight thousand for each, then in 2025 the federation decided to raise the registration fee of all legionnaires to eight thousand for each – starting with the first.

Well, changes have been made again, but this time – much more club-friendly. Next year, the first four legionnaires will again pay only three thousand for each, the next four – six thousand for each, but the ninth legionnaire will have to part with a new record amount – 10 thousand for each. In general, the registration of legionnaires will be cheaper – the amount of the first four will return from 32 thousand to 12, the total cost of eight legionnaires will decrease from 64 thousand to 36 (but by 12 thousand more than in 2024), but 15 legionnaires will now be able to apply for 106 thousand instead of the previous 120 thousand (in 2024, 15 legionnaires cost 80 thousand).

If until 2024 only 15 legionnaires could be included in the application for the whole season, then a year ago the federation switched to an unlimited number in the season application, but 15 legionnaires in the game application. This system has been preserved for the next season as well (for each game, 20 players still apply, with at least one Latvian citizen aged U21 or born no earlier than 2004, there must be at least three local players of any age on the field). The definition of a local player has also remained unchanged – either a player trained in Latvia (three years of experience from the age of 12 to 21), or any citizen of Latvia (with rare exceptions). Ukrainians born no earlier than 2008 will not have to pay a registration fee and will not need a professional contract.

In 2024, the legionary fund was used in proportion to the accumulated minutes of U21 Latvian citizens, in the 2025 regulations it was changed to an enigmatic wording on a separate decision of the LFF board, but in the next year’s regulations there is a clear definition again. 250 thousand euros from the legionnaires’ fund will be used for VAR needs, 200 thousand – for the payment of referees, and the remaining amount will be divided according to the playing time of U21 Latvian citizens.

In the 1st league, the definitions of legionnaires, the limits of legionnaires and the registration fees will be identical, but there are differences in the registration of foreign coaches in the leagues – in the Premier League, 3,000 euros must be paid for each foreign coach, including physical training, but in the 1st league the first one is free and each subsequent one will cost 1,500 euros. A Latvian coach is either a Latvian citizen or a foreign citizen who has worked as a coach in Latvia for five years.

An important addition to the rules of the Premier League affects head coaches – the club can be fined if the head coach is only on paper and does not perform his duties during the game. At the end of the last season, this was the situation in “Auda”, where the official head coach was Mihails Konevs, although the team was actually led by the Frenchman Didier Zanetti, who plans to start the “UEFA-Pro” license courses. Also, the real head coach of the future league champion “Ogre United” was Juris Skābardis, not Raivis Rubīns, but now the new head coach of the team is Georgian Aleksandrs Rehviašvili, who has obtained Latvian citizenship – the former assistant of “Audas” already has a “UEFA-Pro” license.

According to the regulations of the Virsliga and the 1st league, it can be concluded that a 10-team Virsliga is also planned for 2027. According to the regulations, the owner of the 10th place in the Premier League will drop down a league in 2026, but the 9th place of the Premier League and the 2nd place of the 1st League will meet again in the rematch. The Premier League will also be allowed to play in a stadium not registered in the licensing process with a special permit – this could be relevant for the debutant “Ogre United”, whose artificial pitch will most likely not be ready for the start of the season. The LFF also revealed that Ogre United will receive €145,000 from the UEFA Solidarity Fund for the League 1 title. 15% of the total UEFA solidarity fund has been allocated to the entire 1st league – a third of the amount goes to the champion, and the other two thirds to the remaining clubs (except backup teams, so 29 thousand for each club).

Registration fee for Legionnaires in the Premier League

Note: the amounts indicated in 2018 were for registration during the winter transition period – in the summer they were twice as small.

The total cost of registration of 15 legionnaires in the Premier League

Note: the amounts indicated in 2018 were for registration during the winter transition period – in the summer they were twice as small.

Resources used:
https://lff.lv/files/documents/2310…
https://lff.lv/files/documents/2311…
https://lff.lv/zinas/18704/lff-vald…