Established in 2005 some 28km west of Vilnius in the scenic town of Trakai, the club was known as FK Trakai until 2019, when they relocated to Vilnius and changed name to FK Riteriai. The word ‘riteriai’ translates as ‘knights’ or ‘chevaliers’ into English, hence the club is sometimes referred to as ‘The Knights’.

Since its founding in 2005, the ethos of Riteriai was to promote active lifestyle and youth football. Beginning their journey in the 4th tier of Lithuanian football pyramid, the club made it to A Lyga for the first time in 2014, having reached the semi-finals of the Lithuanian Cup for the first time a year prior. They reached the Cup final the following year – in 2015 – ultimately losing to FK Žalgiris 1-0.

The Knights became a consistent top 3 side until 2020, during which time they played six Europa league qualification campaigns, reaching as far as QR3 in 2017 and knocking out such clubs as Scottish St. Johnstone and Northern Irish Derry City. After 2020, a period of decline set in, culminating in finishing bottom of the table in 2023 and getting relegated to the second tier. Undeterred, Riteriai finished first in Pirma Lyga and earned promotion back to A Lyga for season 2025.

The club is known for its strong academy system and for player development. Recent noteworthy youngsters to have come out of the Riteriai system include Arnas Voitinovičius, who was a starting players for Benfica youngsters and played every game in the Youth League in 2024 and Ernestas Lysionok, who plays for Genoa youngsters and is widely considered to be a highly promising player. Oscar Dorley, Liberia’s national team captain and starting player for Slavia Praha, and Terem Moffi, who plays for OGC Nice and for Nigeria, have both also kickstarted their careers at Riteriai.

2025 was a turbulent season for Riteriai back in the top flight. Not only did they finish 9th, narrowly avoiding relegation, but the club spent the entire season teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and under near constant suspicion of embezzlement, made worse by resignations of key staff, players leaving due to unpaid salaries, and even an emergency bailout by the LFF. While the club eventually survived, 2026 did not start much different, with new, suspicious investors coming in and reports of controversial practices such as paid trials immediately surfacing.