FK Panevėžys

Lithuanian football club

Football club

Panevėžys

Full name| Futbolo Klubas Panevėžys
Founded| 2015; 10 years ago (2015)
Ground| Aukštaitija Stadium
Capacity| 6,600
Chairman| Bronius Vaitiekūnas
Manager| Roland Vrabec
League| A Lyga
2024| A Lyga, 8th of 10
Website| fk-panevezys.lt

Home colours

Away colours

|

Current season

Futbolo klubas Panevėžys, commonly known as Panevėžys, is a Lithuanian professional football club from the city of Panevėžys. The team currently plays in A Lyga, the top tier of Lithuanian football.

## History

[edit]

Aukštaitija Stadium, home ground of FK Panevėžys

The city of Panevėžys has a long history of football in Lithuania. Until 2014, the city was represented by 7-time title winners FK Ekranas. However, FK Ekranas was unable to meet the financial criteria to participate in the 2015 season and lost eligibility to participate in the A Lyga. The club was declared bankrupt. To fill the void, FK Panevėžys was established at the beginning of 2015, right before the new season started.[1] The club made its debut in the I Lyga (second tier), finishing its first season in eighth place.[2] In 2016, the club improved its performance and finished in fifth place.[3]

In 2017, Panevėžys aimed to win the I Lyga and return a club from the city of Panevėžys to the A Lyga. However, the start of the season was disastrous, which resulted in the resignation of the head coach Virginijus Liubšys. Eventually, the club finished 10th in the league table. In the 2018 season under new coach Alexandru Curteian, FK Panevėžys achieved their goal of winning the I Lyga and achieved promotion to the A Lyga for the first time in history. They finished their first season in the top flight (2019 A Lyga) in 5th position.[4]

Panevėžys reached the final of the 2020 Lithuanian Football Cup and on 24 October 2020 beat FK Sūduva on penalties to secure the trophy.[5] In the 2021 Lithuanian Football Cup, the club reached the final again, but could not defend the title, as they lost 1–5 against FK Žalgiris.

Former Lithuania national team coach Valdas Urbonas took over the club for the 2022 season.[6] After a successful start to the season, Panevėžys was in first place in the table after 14 matches played. After a series of weak performances, the club dropped to third place, leading to the dismissal of Urbonas in September 2022.[7] Urbonas was replaced by Italian national Gino Lettieri. At the end of the 2023 season, Panevėžys secured first place in the league, 12 points ahead of second-place team FK Žalgiris, becoming a Lithuanian champion for the first time in history.[8]

## Kit manufacturers

[edit]

Kit provider  | Period

|

Adidas | 2015–2018
Hummel | 2019–present

The team kit is produced by Danish company Hummel. It is all-red with white details to reflect the colours of the FK Panevėžys.

## Honours

[edit]

* Lithuanian Championship:
* A Lyga
* Winners (1): 2023
* 3rd place (1): 2022
* Lithuanian Cup
* Winners (1): 2020
* 2nd place (1): 2021
* Lithuanian Supercup
* Winners (2): 2021, 2024

## Participation in Lithuanian championships

[edit]

Season | League | Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Cup

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2015 | I Lyga | 8th | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 79 | 48 | 55 | Round of 32
2016 | 5th | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 68 | 35 | 59 | Round of 16
2017 | 10th | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 45 | 44 | 37 | Quarterfinalist
2018 | 1st | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 26 | 58 | Round of 16
2019 | A Lyga | 5th | 30 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 49 | 63 | 37 | Quarterfinalist
2020 | 5th | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 38 | 12 | Winner
2021 | 4th | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 55 | 40 | 60 | Finalist
2022 | 3rd | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 31 | 62 | Semifinalist
2023 | 1st | 36 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 64 | 14 | 87 | Round of 32
2024 | 8th | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 40 | 41  | Round of 32

## European campaigns

[edit]

Season  | Competition  | Round  | Club  | Home  | Away  | Agg.

|
|
|
|
|
|

2021–22 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 2QR |  Vojvodina | 0–1  | 0–1  | 0−2
2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1QR |  Milsami Orhei | 0–0  | 0–2  | 0–2
2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1QR |  Milsami Orhei | 2–2  | 1–0  | 3–2
2QR |  Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 1–1  | 0–1  | 1–2
2024–25  | UEFA Champions League | 1QR |  HJK | 3–0  | 1–1  | 4–1
2QR |  Jagiellonia Białystok | 0–4  | 1–3  | 1–7
UEFA Europa League | 3QR |  Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–2  | 0–3  | 1–5
UEFA Conference League | PO |  The New Saints | 0–3  | 0–0  | 0–3

Notes

* QR: Qualifying round
* PO: Play-off round

## Panevėžys B

[edit]

The Panevėžys 'B' team is currently playing in the I Lyga (second tier).

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 11 July, 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

1  | GK |  LTU | Vytautas Černiauskas
2  | DF |  LTU | Linas Klimavičius
4  | DF |  MLI | Abdoul Karim Danté
7  | MF |  LTU | Ernestas Veliulis
8  | MF |  CIV | Salomon Kouadio
9  | FW |  LTU | Faustas Steponavičius (on loan from  Botev Plovdiv)
10  | MF |  BRA | Lucas Vega
11  | FW |  NCA | Ariagner Smith
13  | GK |  LTU | Daniel Bukel
15  | DF |  LTU | Justinas Januševskij
18  | MF |  LTU | Edvinas Puikis
20  | DF |  CYP | Strahinja Kerkez
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

23  | MF |  LTU | Eimantas Dzinga
25  | MF |  LTU | Domantas Vaičekauskas
26  | MF |  FRA | Jérôme Simon
27  | MF |  GHA | Kwadwo Asamoah
29  | FW |  NGA | Job Okpanachi
32  | DF |  LTU | Rokas Rasimavičius
34  | MF |  BEL | Isaac Asante
44  | MF |  SVN | Lovro Grajfoner
50  | DF |  KOS | Laurit Krasniqi
66  | DF |  LTU | Dovydas Balsys
80  | FW |  BRA | Elivelto
97  | DF |  UKR | Andriy Karvatskyi

### Out on loan

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

20  | FW |  LTU | Nojus Lukšys (on loan to  Sūduva until 31 December 2025)
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

## Staff

[edit]

Position  | Name

|

Chairman  |  Bronius Vaitiekūnas
Head coach  |  Roland Vrabec
Coach  |
Coach  |  Dainius Gleveckas
Club doctor  |  Jonas Vinogradovas
Head physio  |  Dainius Mikšys
Media  |  Gintaras Brazdžionis

## Coaches

[edit]

Name  | Nat | From  | To

|
|
|

Virginijus Liubšys

|  | 2015 | 2017
Albertas Klimavičius (caretaker)  |  | 2017 | 2017
Alexandru Curteian |  | 2018 | 2020
João Luís Martins |  | 2020 | 2021[9]

Valdas Urbonas

|  | 2021 | 2022[10]
Gino Lettieri |  | 2022 | 2024
Stijn Vreven |  | 2024 | 2024
Roland Vrabec |  | 2024 | now

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Apie klubą – FK Panevėžys". fk-panevezys.lt. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
2. ^ "Lithuanian 2015 LFF 1 Lyga". almis.sritis.lt. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
3. ^ "Lithuanian 2016 LFF 1 Lyga". almis.sritis.lt. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
4. ^ "Lithuanian 2019 A Lyga". rsssf.org. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
5. ^ "Nepakartojama drama Hegelmann LFF taurės finale ir istorinis "Panevėžio" triumfas". 24 October 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
6. ^ "V. Urbonas perėmė "Panevėžio" vairą" (in Lithuanian). alyga.lt. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
7. ^ ""Panevėžys" atsisveikino su vyriausiuoju treneriu" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
8. ^ "FK "Panevėžys" užsitikrino A lygos čempionų titulą" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
9. ^ "J. Martinsas atsisveikino su "Panevėžiu" | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
10. ^ "Išsiskyrė klubo ir V. Urbono keliai - FK Panevėžys". 11 September 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Clubs of the 2025 A Lyga season

* Banga
* DFK Dainava
* Džiugas
* Hegelmann
* Kauno Žalgiris
* Panevėžys
* Riteriai
* Sūduva
* Šiauliai
* Žalgiris

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[Nat]: Nationality
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template