Riga welcomes Cyprus and Montenegro this autumn as Tonybet brings a half-time shot challenge to Latvia’s Nations League home matches.
Latvia returns to Skonto Stadium with a busy few days ahead and home points to play for. The meetings with Cyprus on 28 September and Montenegro on 2 October give Riga’s supporters two chances to see the national side before the squad heads abroad again. With four of Latvia’s six group fixtures packed into the opening international window, much will depend on how they use those evenings at home.
For a supporter at each match, the evening could also involve a walk out to the centre spot. Tonybet is organising a half-time shooting contest with €5,000 to be won by scoring into a mini-net inside the main goal. Anyone tempted to take part would be wise to arrive before kick-off: that is when promotional staff will be gathering entries.
Two evenings behind Latvia
Latvia will arrive in Riga having already played their opening match in Armenia on 25th September. Whatever the result there, attention will turn quickly to Cyprus. The home crowd will want to see Latvia take the initiative, while the players must balance that ambition with the demands of another match against Montenegro just four days later.
Paolo Nicolato’s side now face Armenia, Cyprus and Montenegro in Group C2, with each team playing the others at home and away. The Nations League gives European national sides competitive fixtures against opponents of broadly similar standing. Across the six games, Latvia will need to turn that opportunity into results, especially with home advantage.
Nicolato knows Cyprus from his first game as Latvia coach in 2024. The return match follows on 5th October, just a week after the Skonto meeting, so neither side will have much time to forget what worked or what went wrong. After that trip, only November’s fixtures (away to Montenegro and home to Armenia) remain.
Montenegro arrive in between. Latvia held them to a goalless draw in their last meeting in Podgorica, a result they would dearly like to improve on in Riga. By then, the squad will have had a few days at home, with no journey between the two fixtures. Nicolato will need to judge who can go again and where fresh legs might help.
A local connection
Tonybet’s involvement in these matchdays grows out of its ties to Latvian sport. Headquartered in Riga, the company is in its third year as the Virslīga’s general sponsor and also supports FC RFS. Its name is familiar to people following the domestic game throughout the season.
“We’re proud to support the LFF and look forward to these two evenings with Latvia’s supporters,” says Jurijs Rapoports, Chairman of the Board and COO of Tonybet. “We want people to enjoy coming to Skonto, get behind the national team and leave wanting to come back. The half-time challenge is our way of adding a little fun to the evening. I hope whoever steps up feels the crowd is on their side, and I’d love to see that ball go in.”
A shot in front of the home crowd
Promotional staff around the stadium will ask attendees if they would like to enter and collect the details of those interested. Once the match has begun, one contestant will be selected at random.
At half-time, that person will shoot from the centre of the field. To win the prize, the ball must go into the mini-net positioned inside the full-size goal. Reaching the main goal alone will not count.
It is a small target from that distance, even before the nerves of stepping onto the pitch are considered. But the selected supporter should have one advantage: plenty of people in the stands willing the ball in.
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