The Baltic Cup (Estonian: Balti turniir, Latvian: Baltijas kauss, Lithuanian: Baltijos taurė) is an international football competition contested by the national teams of the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Sometimes guests from the Northern Europe subregion are also invited: Finland has participated in the event twice, Iceland once, and Faroe Islands made a debut appearance in 2024. Though originally held annually, the competition has been biennial since 2008.
 | |
| Founded | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Region | Baltic (UEFA) |
| Number of teams | 3 (+ possible guests) |
| Current champions |  Estonia(5th title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Latvia(13 titles) |
 2024 Baltic Cup | |
It is one of the oldest national teams football tournaments in Europe after the British Home Championship, and the oldest of the ones still organized.[1][2]
History
As Estonia had unofficially declared itself the Baltic football champion in 1925, 1926 and 1927 based on matches played with Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland it was decided in 1928 to organize an official tournament. Though Poland and Finland were invited to join, the tournament took place between the three Baltic nations.[3]
The tournament was intended to improve relations between the nations, but intrigues around the organization and budget questions worked against this goal. The hosts always did everything to wear out their competitors. In 1933 Lithuanian hosts surprised the officials with a tour to a local brewery in Kaunas in the morning before the Lithuania–Latvia match. The Estonian newspaper Päevaleht reported that the Finnish referee for the match was really jolly, but did a horrible job, mostly favouring the Lithuanian hosts. The rules demanded that at least two wins were necessary to win the championship. Both the Lithuania–Estonia and Lithuania–Latvia matches had been drawn, but stopped due to darkness and a lack of artificial lighting.
In the team meeting Latvia demanded that the Lithuania–Estonia match should be re-played first. Latvia was hoping for an advantage against a tired Lithuanian team in their match. Lithuania and Estonia disagreed, noting that Latvia had won their match against Estonia, so a Latvian win against Lithuania would grant the Latvians the championship and end the tournament. Consensus was not reached and the Latvian team left the same day. The championship was not awarded.[3][4]
The feud led to the cancellation of the 1934 tournament, but the championship returned for the 1935. The rules were changed so that extra matches were now only held between leading teams if they were necessary for deciding on the championship.[5] In 2021, for the 2020 Baltic Cup, Estonia won the Cup after a wait of 83 years.[6]
During the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, the Baltic Cup took place in 1940 and from 1948 to 1976 (with cancelled editions in 1951, 1953 to 1956 and 1963 to 1968) as a minor regional tournament between the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian SSRs, with occasional appearances by the Belarusian SSR. In 1991, the tournament was fully restored to the format as it was in the 1930s.
The 2020 tournament was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, and took place in 2021, similarly to UEFA Euro 2020.
The trophy
The original silver trophy of the Baltic Cup was seized by the Soviets in 1940 and subsequently lost after reportedly being taken to Moscow.[7] A replica trophy was created in 1991 by Latvian sculptor Indulis Urbāns.[8] It depicts three footballers, representing the three Baltic nations, holding a football on their shoulders akin to Atlas.[9][10][6] However, in recent editions, e.g. 2022 and in the 2000s, the trophies awarded were of various different shapes.[2]
Results
Medal summary
- As of 2024, excluding 1933.[12]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latvia | 13 | 14 | 2 | 29 |
| 2 |  Lithuania | 10 | 8 | 9 | 27 |
| 3 | Estonia | 5 | 6 | 16 | 27 |
| 4 |  Iceland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  Finland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 29 | 29 | 28 | 86 | |
Statistics
- As of 2024. Including the 1933 tournament, but excluding the replay match played on 5 September 1933.
| Rank | Team | Apps | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latvia | 30 | 59 | 30 | 20 | 9 | 92 | 52 | +40 | 110 |
| 2 | Lithuania | 30 | 59 | 20 | 14 | 25 | 79 | 95 | −16 | 74 |
| 3 | Estonia | 29 | 58 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 65 | 87 | −22 | 57 |
| 4 | Finland | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 5 | Iceland | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  Faroe Islands | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
Top scorers per tournament
| Tournament | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Arnold Pihlak | Estonia | 3 |
| 1929 | Voldemārs Plade | Latvia | 3 |
| Eugen Einman | Estonia | ||
| Eduard Ellman-Eelma | Estonia | ||
| 1930 | Ēriks Pētersons | Latvia | 4 |
| 1931 | Friedrich Karm | Estonia | 2 |
| Eduard Ellman-Eelma | Estonia | ||
| 1932 | Alberts Šeibelis | Latvia | 2 |
| 1933 | Ēriks Pētersons | Latvia | 2 |
| 1935 | Iļja Vestermans | Latvia | 2 |
| Antanas Lingis | Lithuania | ||
| 1936 | Alberts Šeibelis | Latvia | 2 |
| 1937 | Iļja Vestermans | Latvia | 3 |
| 1938 | Ralf Veidemann | Estonia | 2 |
| 1991 | 9 different players | – | 1 |
| 1992 | Virginijus Baltušnikas | Lithuania | 3 |
| 1993 | 5 different players | – | 1 |
| 1994 | Valdas Ivanauskas | Lithuania | 2 |
| 1995 | 11 different players | – | 1 |
| 1996 | 7 different players | – | 1 |
| 1997 | 7 different players | – | 1 |
| 1998 | 4 different players | – | 1 |
| 2001 | Marians Pahars | Latvia | 2 |
| Vladimirs Koļesņičenko | Latvia | ||
| 2003 | 9 different players | – | 1 |
| 2005 | Igoris Morinas | Lithuania | 2 |
| 2008 | 4 different players | – | 1 |
| 2010 | Mantas Savėnas | Lithuania | 1 |
| Artūras Rimkevičius | Lithuania | ||
| 2012 | Edgars Gauračs | Latvia | 3 |
| 2014 | 4 different players | – | 1 |
| 2016 | Fiodor Černych | Lithuania | 2 |
| 2018 | 5 different players | – | 1 |
| 2020 | Mattias Käit | Estonia | 2 |
| 2022 | Sergei Zenjov | Estonia | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 different players | – | 1 |
All-time top goalscorers
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals | Tournament(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ēriks Pētersons | Latvia | 9 | 1930(4), 1931(1), 1932(1), 1933(2) and 1935(1) |
| 2 | Antanas Lingis | Lithuania | 6 | 1930(2), 1932(1), 1933(1) and 1935(2) |
| Eduard Ellman-Eelma | Estonia | 1929(3), 1931(2) and 1935(1) | ||
| Iļja Vestermans | Latvia | 1935(2), 1936(1) and 1937(3) | ||
| 5 | Alberts Šeibelis | Latvia | 5 | 1932(2), 1933(1) and 1936(2) |
| 6 | Arnold Pihlak | Estonia | 4 | 1928(3) and 1929(1) |
| Eugen Einman | Estonia | 1929(3) and 1930(1) | ||
| Friedrich Karm | Estonia | 1930(2) and 1931(2) | ||
| Jaroslavas Citavičius | Lithuania | 1930(2), 1932 (1) and 1933(1) | ||
| Virginijus Baltušnikas | Lithuania | 1992(3) and 1995(1) | ||
| Marians Pahars | Latvia | 1997(1), 1998(1) and 2001(2) | ||
| Igoris Morinas | Lithuania | 1997(1), 2003(1) and 2005(2) | ||
| 13 | Voldemārs Plade | Latvia | 3 | 1929(3) |
| Stepas Chmelevskis | Lithuania | 1928(2) and 1930(1) | ||
| Georg Siimenson | Estonia | 1936(1) and 1937(2) | ||
| Richard Kuremaa | Estonia | 1933(1), 1936(1) and 1937(1) | ||
| Voldemaras Jaškevičius | Lithuania | 1935(1), 1936(1) and 1938(1) | ||
| Vitālijs Astafjevs | Latvia | 1993(1), 1994(1) and 1995(1) | ||
| Edgars Gauračs | Latvia | 2012(3) | ||
| Mattias Käit | Estonia | 2018(1) and 2020(2) |
Hat-tricks
Since the first official tournament in 1928, 4 hat-tricks have been scored in over 50 matches of the 28 editions of the tournament. The first hat-trick was scored by Arnold Pihlak of the Estonia, playing against Lithuania on 26 July 1928; and the last was by Virginijus Baltušnikas of Lithuania, playing against Latvia on 12 July 1992. No player has ever scored two hat-tricks in the Baltic Cup and no player has ever scored more than 3 goals in a single Baltic Cup match.
List
| # | Player | G | Time of goals | For | Result | Against | Tournament | Date | FIFA report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arnold Pihlak | 3 | 1', 21', 57' | Estonia | 6–0 | Lithuania | 1928 Baltic Cup | 26 July 1928 | Report |
| 2. | Voldemārs Plade | 3 | 51', 68', 86' | Latvia | 3–1 | Lithuania | 1929 Baltic Cup | 14 August 1929 | Report |
| 3. | Ēriks Pētersons | 3 | 37', 61', 64' | Latvia | 3–3 |  Lithuania | 1930 Baltic Cup | 17 August 1930 | Report |
| 4. | Virginijus Baltušnikas | 3 | 28', 31', 79' | Lithuania | 3–2 | Latvia | 1992 Baltic Cup | 12 July 1992 | Report |
See also
- Under-21 Baltic Cup
- Under-19 Baltic Cup
- Under-17 Baltic Cup
- Baltic Futsal Cup
- Women's Baltic Cup
- Women's Under-19 Baltic Cup
- Women's Under-17 Baltic Cup
- Women's Under-15 Baltic Cup