I Watched Football In a Country That HATES It 

As a Lithuanian I can 100% confirm that the football culture just isn't really present here. During the soviet times football was quite popular here, Žalgiris Vilnius was (and still is) the biggest club here. It had a bigger real grass stadium just near the river (it was closed a while back and recently destroyed to build offices). Žalgiris played in the soviet 1st division with teams like cska Moscow, dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk... The attendance of the games was also pretty good. There is this story where more than 5k Lithuanian football fans teamed up with Ukrainian away fans (it was Dynamo Kyiv I think) to beat up the Russian soldiers in charge of security for the game (it was unarmed army rookies working as stewards). But then Lithuania got it's independence and football's popularity took a drop. The Žalgiris stadium was closed and there were only small stadiums left. The LFF stadium (which you visited) became our national stadium. The football federation was (and still partially is) ran by criminal organizations (gangs) which were really present here in the 1990's. The league here was weak, the federation stole money, we had no good stadiums (There is this famous failed attempt of building a stadium ). Also the fans weren't that supportive ( frequent racism cases like with Akinfenwa). The country lacked investment in youth football. In recent years we saw some improvement even if the national team is still only ranked 145th in the world. We built a new national stadium with 15k seats, Žalgiris Vilnius became the first Lithuanian team to qualify for European football last year... The local teams are also growing in popularity. European competition qualifiers and the competitions themselves seem to attract people to the stadiums. The local league is still not very popular with only a couple dozen people attending matches regularly. Most of these things are because of football being in the shadow of basketball. Our national basketball team is way better than the football team and naturally attracts more people. Basketball arenas are way more full than stadiums. also playing basketball here is more accessible for the youth or as a casual player. There are way more basketball courts than football grounds. As a football fan I hope that the football will grow in popularity here especially if our clubs improve and achieve more in the European competitions, but for now it is still in the shadow of basketball.

As a Lithuanian and a fan of this channel, I can confirm that the second the camera tilted to my flag I nearly had a heart attack 😂

I watched Andy Murray win Wimbledon 2013 in that bar at 5:47 on an outdoor telly - what history Lithuania has

You should go to a Loughgall FC game in Northern Ireland, a team who just got promoted to the top flight with under 300 people living in the village.

"You keep coming in 35 minutes into the game"😂😂

I went to Lithuania in 2017 to watch my team in a Europa League Qualifer. We had locals coming upto us before the game, wishing us luck against the team we were playing against. We also had to traverse a forest to get to the stadium, lovely scenery, but the funny part was whilst the game was on, there were actual fans of this team leaving the stadium at HT to go play basketball on an open court next to the car park area!!

As a Lithuanian I almost died of laughter, when the camera tilted towards the Lithuanian flag. And football in Lithuania is slowly becoming more popular. More and more people are coming to the games. Hopefully it won't stop growing.

no lie, I went to a festival there in 2019 with my old flatmate from Lithuania, I had kids watching me do basic kickups like it was the most impressive thing ever, they just need that 1 generational player to turn it around and make football great over there.

The UV light in a toilet is to stop people from taking drugs in Norway because then you can’t see the veins keep making the videos they are amazing and I love the content

little story: everywhere i go, i try to go to the local stadium. and sneak into it, if it is necessary . 2017, In Vilnius i went to the stadium (pretty close to the city center BTW), once arrived, i was intercepted by a LFF guy who gently asked me what i was doing. I told him that i really love football and stadiums, show him some pictures of me doing the same in other countries, etc.... The guy, not only let me walk around and take pictures of the stadium (it was closed to the public that day), but also he gave me a scarf of the national team of Lithuania as a present. Really friendly people there

Spent 10 days wandering Lithuania in 2018 and it's one of the best trips I've ever done - friendliest people I've ever encountered. Oh and UV lights in toilets are usually there to make it harder for people to locate a a vein to inject drugs(maybe that's why the crowd were so quiet!)

Fun Fact: Adebayo Akinfenwa has played for two lithuanian teams Fk Atlantas 2001 - 2002 and for 2003 season Laisvė Šilutė.

in the baltic states in general we have other passions , such as ice hockey or basketball. we are even passionate more about 3v3 basketball than football, but in recent times as a latvian ive seen some latvian players showing their shine in germany and italy so i cant wait for what the future holds and i hope that baltic football gets talked about more.

Great country, great people. Vilnius is an amazing city. Thursday through to Saturday nightlife is unreal! Went to Alytus to watch FC Dainava in Lyga A ..even they had some ultra’s and it’s 100km from Vilnius and a pretty sleepy town.

This reminds me a lot of my local USL Championship (2nd tier in USA) team's matches. The stadium is quite similar with small, minimal stands on each side of the pitch, very casual atmosphere with fans coming/leaving during play yet a very focused and passionate ultras section, and the area next to the pitch with people buying concessions and kids playing.

Lithuania reminds me so much of the Philippines!😁 Its the only country in Asia that I think is not crazy about football, they have a top league with only 5 clubs. The no#1 sports is basketball. You guys should go there!

Great video! You should really come over and see the Lithuania's national team play, Football is finally starting to grow here in Lithuania and there are a bunch of new football stadiums getting built, for example in Kaunas, was watching a match there recently, had an awesome atmosphere, the big stadium was filled to the brim with everyone shouting, drums and chants playing along. Yes, the teams themselves aren't that known here but the national team matches are usually the best ones. :) Glad you had a fun time here.

Been ages since I last watched an Away Days video and Ellis has only gotten better at this. Top shelf content.

Wow Ellis I have been watching your vids for a while, so credit where credits due, that’s f”kin brilliant! Something different and we love to see it. I’m from lithuania and fortunately enough I have played at LFF stadium myself as a teenager. Absolutely loved this vid, reminds me of good old times. Football is coming along more and more there is loads of academies especially in vilnius, however facility wise it’s not great. Only one proper stadium which has been built in Kaunas so you will deffo have to come back to watch the national team! Also bet you could get a shirt of one of the players🙌🏻🙌🏻

You should come watch Bohemians 1905 - Bodo/Glimt in Prague on August 3rd. Bohemians is a very traditional club that made it into European competitionfor the first time in ages. Unfortunately its played at Sparta Pragues stadium but the atmosphere should still be good. The club was actually saved from bankruptcy by its fans around 20 years ago and is also the boyhood club of Antonín Panenka, who goes to every home game.

Love the content Ellis and great to see the first away days of the season 🥳 Loved the Barnet comment 😂😂 Gotta come to Enfield Town and watch us play this season

met and worked with many Lithuanians and not one liked football at all, all the blokes were massive and made up a lot of the uni BB team and all the girls were stunning and on their way to crazy science degrees, great and humble people and the best genetics ive seen from any nationality in person lol

Brilliant as always Ellis! One idea for a trip could be to travel for a European qualifier (UCL, UEL or UECL) and instead of finding a shirt/jacket/etc. for the home side, instead try to find one for the opposing team (the away side). Imagine finding a Shamrock Rovers shirt in Iceland for example!

Lithuania used to be pretty good but they are ranked 146 in fifa ranking but main sport will always be basketball (Im Lithuanian)

I think it's great how you managed to convince Coronation Street's very own Chesney to travel to Lithuania with you. Fantastic

I am Latvian, but last year I was at several matches of Žalgiris and there were fewer fans, so in Lithuania the fans are progressing, unlike in Latvia

11:47 “They’re that passionate about something that a lot of people don’t know exists” hit me hard because that’s how I feel about football in the United States! I once asked a friend if he’d like to come to a New England Revolutuon game and he literally responded by asking, “What’s a Revolutuon game?” And then I explained what it was. Some people just don’t know about soccer. I bet a lot of people in Boston don’t know that the Revolutuon exist and a lot of people in Hartford don’t know that they have their own professional club as well 😮

I was in Lithuania this summer and watch Ekranas v Panevėžys B, basically the Lithuanian Championship, Ekranas fans were singing for 90 mins with flares and chants, there was only about 20 away fans

I think out of the 3 Baltic countries Estonia has the most predominant football culture and even then it isn't that big. I was in Tallinn a few weeks ago and the 3 games I went to were all really good and a decent standard but the crowds were pretty low as the Finnish league and other bigger European leagues are all more popular in Estonia. One thing I did notice is the fact that Estonians really get behind their teams in Europe I went to watch Levadia Tallinn in Europe and even fans from the bitter city rivals Flora wanted them to win. As a rule basketball and ice hockey are the most popular sports in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia but Baltic football is growing and it has a lot of potential. Keep bringing out these sorts of footballing stories

Loving all of your amazing content Ellis ❤

CL music only in the 4th (and last) round of qualifying

Loved this this. Need more of Ed!

It's great watching these videos. I fully expect to see a video of you going to random country that your search bar autocorrected to then watch a club there.

You always have bangers. Lovin the content ❤

Ed being in a San Marino shirt makes this even more endearing.

Love the content! I need 2 watch more of you I’ve only seen this and san Marino video. Hi from Australia but I, on holiday in Italy. New sub

Reminded me of Aris in Greece and Boca Juniors in Argentina, where it's fans/ultras/barras bravas, are passionate of their club, rather it be futbol, basketball, or handball

I saw Žalgiris in the Conference League last year in Vilnius, and was there for the Eurobasket defeat to Spain 😢. The Conference League and the Nations League should be good competitions for countries like Lithuania to compete in. There’s a good RU-vid documentary on them as well, which is the way for clubs to connect with a wider audience and attract fans. I keep an eye on Žalgiris and I hope they qualify for the group stages again this year

Was real fun watching it. So true. I live in Vilnius. Thanx lads for nice video.

As an American basketball fan, i can say Lithuania produces some wonderful basketball players and has some wonderful basketball culture. You should check out a match there and in a few Eastern European countries, Greece and Spain.

Lithuania is a truly beautiful country, I've had the privilege of going to Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai, Druskininkai, Kernavė and Birstonnas. I hope you sampled their cold, pink soup "saltibarsciai", it tastes a lot better than it sounds. Also, great content!

You should visit Mjällby AIF from Sweden. Mjällby comes from a small village called hällevik, which is the smallest village to have a team in the first division in Europe . It is unique.

I watched the euro qualifier match between Lithuania and Bulgaria and it was pretty good the Lithuanian national team is decent. I watched it with my grandparents from Lithuania and they spoke about how much they loved it when they were kids

Worth noting, of the three baltic countries, none of their favorite sports is football, Lithuania and Estonia's favorite sport is basketball. While Latvia joins Finland (and Canada) as the only countries where the most popular sport is ice hockey.

Brilliant video yet again Ellis

Would love to see Ellis come to nz. Another great video

Although its the Capital city the biggest stadium is in Kaunas the second largest city in Lithuania

you are finally back! I wanted to ask if you can make video about jersey and i ìf you still sell those

This brought back some good memories. Was in Vilnius last year (stayed at the same hotel, went to that first restaurant) and its a great city. Me and my mates went to Zalgiris vs Riterai (Vilnius derby) and there were about 200 people there if that. Really surprised me but the atmosphere was made decent by about 50 mad Zalgiris ultras. Will have to go back when its champions league time evidently!

In answer to your question at 14:02 yes AstroTurf does need watering but only when it's hot. Its to stop the ball from sticking to the ground and so it rolls smoother

Great stadium , athmosphere the food looks delicious . Seems like a great experince . Very cool to see the stadium was full of fans and they were so pasioned . The city looks very nice and chill too

Nerijus Valskis a Lithuanian Striker played in Indian Club Football( Chennayinn fc) and won a Golden Boot ...

I’ve been there. I spent the morning very rough from the night before, St Johnstone in Europe. We had the end the ultras were in. Very poor game too… this brought back many memories…

Did wrong by ordering Wheat Beers,usually result in thick heads the following mornings lol but Hoegardden isn't usually cloudy Ellis

As a Barnet fan, our atmosphere has improved alot this season that just finished and I expect it to continue

You are so underrated my man❤

They were singing "Slava Ukraine" 👏 Respect from Bulgaria

You should go watch Yeovil vs Weymouth at Weymouth in the national league south next season it is an amazing atmosphere

I'm Icelandic Artist I have had many exhibitions in Riga, and used to life in Vilnius, I am a Newcastle United fan my self, and watch most of they're games in a pub, but when I'm in the Baltic countries I don't even try to find a pub, because I know they are not interested at all. They are more into Basketball and Ice Hockey

As an American, much love to the Lithuanians for being so basketball passionate 🇺🇸🤝🇱🇹

i don't speak a word of lithuanian, but nealkoholinis almost certainly means non-alcoholic lmao

love the content lad

Love Zalgiris from Brazil 🇧🇷🇱🇹❤

The club has a beautiful green color, would love to see more of it.

Lithuanians are the coolest ever! The best tattoo artists ever! I would love to visit Lithuania, looks just like Germany, super peaceful!

Great video !! And how on earth did you convince Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter movies to tag along ?🤔

When I went to Vilnius with mates a couple of years ago, we were sitting in a bar, looking for something to do that night and saw the national team were playing Qatar at the national stadium just up the road in an hour. We were amazed the tickets were only 10 quid AND still available, but when we arrived it was at that stadium and there were less than 100 people in the ground. It was bizarre.

It's not that people in Lithuania, or in Latvia and Estonia hate football - the problem is that there is often a change of clubs, as a result of which the fan base of football clubs does not become stronger. I myself live in Latvia and follow local football - for example, some lower league teams have more attendance and fans than our highest league "Virsliga". I still don't know if the same problem exists in Lithuania, but in Latvia, a city with 20,000 - 30,000 inhabitants can have up to 4 teams and each has its own academy and even a small group of fans - it would be wiser to unite under one club name, but have some kind of internal due to disagreements, everyone forms their own football team! And finally, speaking about attendance and fans - in our three countries, the regional football infrastructure is in a very bad state + club management is not working to attract fans.

Champions league music starts at the Play off round, also it’s Tifo (teefo) not tiefo 😂 good video

A week ago I went to a Portugal The Man concert w/ a date. We made the mistake of putting our lawn chairs before a curved path where people were constantly walking back & forth on, always obstructing our view of the band. I truly feel your pain.

Not the Barnet dig 😭😭 come back now Ellis I promise the atmosphere will be better than whenever you came last time

The best Lithuanian club is zalgiris,probably there best effort is getting grouped at conference league 😂

It is interesting because the basketball team Žalgiris is linked to a football team, like how Galatasaray, Panathinaikos, Red Star etc all have basketball teams with ultras attending both.

looks like a nice place tbf, no wronguns, nice traditional / religious architecture, no litter

As an Aussie, can confirm you water astro, in order to a) make it softer and improve grip, and b) cool it down so you don't get carpet burns

You must definitely come here to the Philippines. Another country that's crazy for basketball. But we have a thriving national football league in based in Manila (Philippines Football League) . You should definitely watch it.

Petition to go to north Macedonia for the away fixture

This reminds me of my local team our stadium looks not better and we just enjoy ourselves. My friends go watch games but I don’t

14:37 Such a wholesome moment, they're chanting "Glory to Ukraine, to heroes glory" Got me a bit emotional

Liverpool played in Lithuania in 2005 champs league qualifiers. I’ve got a Kaunas scarf still from that match

No goals, but the Ellis beer challenge was sky high with the double Pinter 😂 Also first half, was that Alan Smith sat behind you 😂

I hope there is a football shirt hunting video to follow - could be a tricky challenge!

The national football stadium is in Kaunas. And it's actually very nice. Usually empty on game day, but nice

And to think, Zalgiris won the away leg and then drew 2-2 with Galatasaray (last minute goal) in the next round... Would've been a good video 😂

They water the astro to make the ball pop around a lot easier. A few years back my hometown team played on astro and the first half they'd only water the half of the pitch they were attacking and second half they'd water the rest.😅

Thxs fore coming to lithuania were i live and hope you come agian here

I went to watch a couple of matches when I was in Riga, including the cup final. It’s growing with the increased money in the Virsliga but games are still not well attended. Riga FC and RFS are the only club with ultras and there aren’t many. Watching Auda win the cup was special though, they are from a tiny village outside Riga and it felt like the entire town showed up.

Just watched this. Zalgiris did end up advancing to the next round of the Champions League Qualifiers and played Galatasaray. They drew 2-2 against Galatasaray at home (scoring a 91st minute equalizer). Seems like it was quite the match.

Why does Ed look like Chesney from coronation Street 😂😂 and love the content keep it up

I thought it would be like Will from Inbetweeners in the caravan club episode: ''As expected it was just chaws and old people''... which it probably would be for smaller clubs in the country when we talk about attendance

Come back to the US next year and come to a STL City game. It’s a new team for MLS this year and the atmosphere of the home games is amazing

At least they play the song that all Football stadiums worldwide play! @ 9:00 "All I need, is your loving tonight".

Can’t wait for the kit ranking bids to come out

Love the video

2:26 nah that hat is criminal 😂

Holy shit. You in my country. I have not watched the video yet, but theres no way you would find anybfootball shirts just randomly anywhere 😂

I had to assume he was going to say America. I took a dozen donuts to handout to the crowd at a college match here and had 2 left over. 😂😂

The funny thing is, that I was in this stadium as a kid. I watched a game of the club with my uncle back than.😅 I even got a shirt from them in my wardrobe.

11:29 I was not expecting to see someone wearing a shirt for small Japanese post-black metal band Asunojokei. Saw them in Glasgow.

Brilliant vid babe..