Football club forced to fold after money problems

One of Latvia's top football clubs, Liepajas Metalurgs, will disband following financial difficulties, the club has said. 

The announcement comes after the former Latvian champions recently lost its financial support from the folded metal company Liepajas Metalurgs.

Up to 1,500 people lost their jobs at the metal factory last year, causing unemployment figures to rise dramatically in the city. 

Financing for the club's youth football and ice hockey programs has been since taken over by the Liepaja City Council.

''Liepajas Metalurgs'' no longer exists as a football club. Contracts have been terminated for players who were still under contract in 2014 and 2015. Several of these players have already joined other clubs," club's sports director Ilgvars Sens said. 

''We tried to find potential investors this off-season, however, nobody wanted to sponsor the club. We did at one point have communication with a Chinese company, but we decided not to go forward with this plan, as they wanted to takeover everything and have their own coaches and players,'' Sens added.

The club's sports director also revealed that Liepaja has one spot secured in the Latvian Football League, thus it cannot be ruled out that a new club with a different name pops up, as there is still time until the start of the new season.

Liepajas Metalurgs is a two-time Latvian Football League champ, and once triumphed in the Latvian Cup competition. The club has also participated in qualification stages for various European cup competitions throughout its history, reports LETA.