Although BFC Daugavpils are yet to win any major trophies, the club is known for its focus on developing young players through its academy, which is considered to be one of the best in Latvia. Many talented footballers, both foreign and domestic, have come through the club’s youth system. Some of the bigger names include: Cedric Kouadio (FC RFS), Chinonso Offor (Chicago Fire), Antonijs Černomordijs, Eduards Dašķevičs (Riga FC). Focus on youth development is a big part of the club’s identity; indeed, the “BFC” part in “BFC Daugavpils” is a legacy part of the title from the early days of the club, which stands for “Bērnu futbola centrs” – Children’s Football Centre. 

In recent seasons, BFC Daugavpils has mostly finished in the middle to lower part of the league table. However, in the 2024 season, they achieved a 5th-place finish, their best result in recent years. The team’s current coach, Kirils Kurbatovs, has been leading the club for several seasons has proven instrumental in the growth of the team.

BFC Daugavpils is currently the sole club to represent the city of Daugavpils and the entire region of Latgale in the top flight of Latvian football. But this was not always the case. Football in Daugavpils dates back to the interwar years, making it one of the early football cities in Latvia. The first known club to represent the second largest city was Daugavpils ASK (“ASK” meaning “Sports Club of the Army”, Daugavpils branch), which was officially established around 1924. Their greatest success came soon after, when in 1926 (one year before the establishment of the Virslīga) they took bronze in a nation-wide football championship that was contested between Riga and four regional champions. Daugavpils finished third, behind the formidable Liepājas Olimpija and the even more legendary Riga FK. This, however, was the high-point in the pre-occupation history of Daugavpils football as, by and large, development of the sport in the regions generally lagged behind the capital city, and especially so in Latgale.

Locally, Daugavpils ASK enjoyed their “first mover” advantage and dominated the early days of Latgale football, although a much healthier competitive environment developed in the region during 1930s. Still, ASK managed to become regional champions twice during that time – in 1934 and in 1938. With the arrival of the Soviet occupation and the onset of the Second World War and the subsequent Soviet re-occupation, football in Daugavpils had gone through the same cycle of changes as any other city in Latvia – dissolution of Latvian sports clubs, establishment of soviet sports organizations, re-establishment of Latvian sports clubs, competitions under German occupation, repeat dissolution of Latvian sports clubs, and, finally, the inevitable transition to the Soviet Dynamo vs Daugava system that Latvia was subjected to (all “Dynamo” teams drawing affiliation from the internal security apparatus of the USSR (KGB, Internal Affairs, etc.) and all “Daugava” teams from the local communist party apparatus, similar to that of “Spartak” teams elsewhere in the Soviet Union).

As Daugavpils was turned into a city of heavy industry, various other clubs proliferated over the years. In the 1960s, Daugavpils “Celtnieks” (“Builder”) was competitive in the championship of occupied Latvia, achieving 6th place in 1960 and Cup silver in 1961. Despite these blips of success, in would take another decade for local football to mature further. In 1975, another club from the city – “Ķīmiķis” (“Chemist”) – took bronze in the national championship and, a year later, won the national cup and silver in the championship. In 1978, the Chemist finally won the national championship, suffering a single loss over the course of the season. Another Cup came in 1979 and, after a name change to Celtnieks (Builder) in 1987, the final one in 1991 against a newly established and not yet known Forums/Skonto.   

1990s were a turbulent time as Latvia regained and consolidated independence while transitioning back to democracy and the market economy. Football was not spared the instability, as multiple clubs rapidly came and went. Eventually, a club called Dinaburgs stood out to represent Daugavpils throughout the mid- to late-90s, winning their only Virslīga title in 1995 and making a European debut in 2006.

Early 2000s saw the emergence of a second club from Daugavpils – Ditton. Ditton was founded in 2001 and earned promotion to the top tier in 2003, establishing themselves there in 2006 after getting relegated in 2004. The club also changed name following their second promotion, appropriating the name, identity and history of the FK Daugava club from Riga (1944-2003). This new FC Daugava won the Latvian Cup in 2009. Meanwhile, Dinaburg was caught in a match-fixing scandal and their President and head coach, Tamaz Pertia, were banned from football for life by the Latvian FA.

In light of Daugava’s own financial issues brough about by the global financial crisis, plus the variety of problems of their city neighbours Dinaburg, the two Daugavpils clubs merged into one, keeping the name FC Daugava. The lifetime ban on former Dinaburg head coach Tamaz Pertia was mysteriously overturned in 2010 as he took over management of this new Daugava until 2011. Following his departure, the club won the Virslīga in 2012 and the first Latvian Supercup in 2013.

Troubles with the law did not go away with the disappearance of Dinaburg, however. In 2014, eight people from the club were arrested in a large-scale fraud investigation and, in 2015, the club was refused license. This, ultimately, spelled an end to them and the club ceased to exist in all but name.

As all of this was going on, BFC Daugavpils emerged out of the junior team of Daugava. Partly as a reaction to how criminal and toxic the state of football in Daugavpils had become, the explicit goal of BFC Daugavpils has been, from the beginning, to turn a blank page and start with popularising football among children and youngsters in the city. The club is led by President Aleksandrs Isakovs and Executive Director Nauris Mackevičs