Riga City Vidzeme District Court declared Latvian football club Skonto insolvent, newswire LETA learned, with Valdis Levkans appointed as the insolvency administrator.
As reported, in the spring of 2016, Skonto repeatedly sought legal protection in order to sort out its pressing financial problems so that they did not worry the club's investors. The legal protection procedure was launched in late April.
In February, Skonto was denied a license for participation in the Latvian Higher League Championship, under strict UEFA rules that mean clubs need to have their financial affairs in order to compete in national leagues.
Later, the football club was allowed to take part in the First League tournament, but it was also told to inform about its debt payments.
Insolvency marks a remarkable reversal in Skonto's fortunes. Skonto won all successive Latvian football championships from 1992 to 2004 and was unbeaten in 2010. It attracted most of the best players and was invariably Latvia's representative in European competitions.
In recent years, however, the football club has been struggling with financial issues and delaying salaries to its players. But its demise has at least made a more competitive league possible with the best players spread between several different clubs and the title no longer a foregone conclusion.
But still a sad day for a club that was once leading 2-1 away against Barcelona...
