Speaking to Edmunds Novickis on his Patreon after a 3-0 win over FC Viola from Jelgava, Valmiera FC head coach Gatis Kalniņš shared some information about what is going on at the club and explained why he opted to stay behind even as all of the first team players departed to pursue their careers elsewhere.
Having been denied license to play in the two top tiers of the Latvian football pyramid due to ongoing tax debts, Valmiera FC started 2025 in the third division with a mix of local veteran players and academy youngsters. There, the 2022 Latvia Champions sit atop of the table with a perfect record of 9 points in 3 games, having only conceded a single goal in the same period.
Speaking to Edmunds Novickis for his Patreon, Valmiera FC head coach Gatis Kalniņš provided some insight into the club’s ambitions and operations, as well as explained why he stayed with the club when everything seemed to be crumbling all around.
Our goal remains the same – we are working even harder now than we used to and in two or three years, in the best case scenario in two, to return to the Virlsīga and to return to the level at which we were within five years. Of course, this is not an easy task. The goal is to gain promotion to the second tier and from there back to the top.
Facilitating this mission is most of Valmiera’s top tied coaching staff, which, as Kalniņš acknowledged, looks excessive compared to the rest of their third tier opponents. Senior management remained in place in the same format also, with majority owner Swiss lawyer/consultant Ralph Isenegger still involved with the club. Speaking about his own job circumstances at Valmiera and about why he remained with the club instead of leaving to continue coaching elsewhere but at a higher level, Kalniņš noted:
Financially everything is fine and not much has changed for me compared to previous years. Clearly, not everything is sorted out yet but I believe that this too will be sorted out eventually because everything that is going on right now is worthwhile. There is so much in Valmiera, so many positive emotions. Only positive emotions this year. What was before is a little bit behind us but in terms of how I feel – I feel in debt to the club. My heart belongs to Valmiera no matter what or no matter where I am, so I had to stay. Of course, we need to change quite a bit but this is the work that we must do and we can already see some fruits of our labour. It is no secret that the most talented players had gone to other clubs all over Latvia.
As Valmiera’s tax debt still persists, albeit in smaller amounts than when their two consecutive license applications and appeals were rejected, Edmunds asked whether football in the city would survive if Valmiera FC was to perish. To this, Kalniņš was adamant that it will. Noting the developed academy system and some existing amateur teams, as well as the history of football in the city through the years, he was confident that Valmiera FC or not, football is going nowhere from the second largest city in Vidzeme.
