Valmiera FC

Valmiera FC is a second generation of top-tier football teams from Valmiera, founded a year before its rather popular predecessor, FK Gauja (1978-1997) ceased to exist due to bankruptcy. Despite quickly earning promotion to the Virsliga, Valmiera FC went back to the second tier in 2003 and stayed there until 2018 growing slowly but consistently; all the while struggling financially. The team went back up in 2018 and climbed its way to the title in 2022 as one of the youngest new Champion squads in all of Europe (Ø age only 22.4)!

In 2020, the club’s half-a-decade long partnership with the Valmiera glass factory (Valmiera Glass) ended as the latter went into administration. As a result, Valmiera FC altered its business model to focus on onboarding raw but talented players, developing them, and putting them up on the international transfer market. In this, Valmiera FC have been very successful, fetching record-breaking outbound transfers for Tolu Arokodare (2.5m) and Raimonds Krollis (1.5m).

Valmiera FC is a rare example of something akin to venture capital-owned club, majority owned by the Dubai-registered FCC International DMCC. The Chairman, on their behalf, is a Swiss strategy consultant and entrepreneur Ralph Isenegger. The same group also owns Polish side Lechia Gdansk.