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21.07.2026
A Profile of FK Liepāja
Austria Wien will face the Latvian club FK Liepāja in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. The first leg will take place on Thursday (kickoff: 5:00 p.m. CEST, live on Puls 4 and at the Viola Pub) at Sloka Stadium in Jūrmala, a suburb of the capital, Riga. The reason for this is that the field at Liepāja’s home stadium is currently unplayable following a concert. The match against the Latvian team will also mark a reunion with Marvin Martins. The Luxembourg native played for Austria from 2021 to 2025 and has been under contract with FK Liepāja since February 2026.
All-Season Championship in Latvia
FK Liepāja is already well into the season in the Latvian championship. After 22 matchdays, the team led by Estonian coach Vladimir Vassiljev is in fifth place in the VIRSLIGA. As was once the case in Austria, the teams in this ten-team league play each other four times and complete 36 matchdays from March through November. In the 2025 season, Liepāja finished in third place and thereby qualified for the UEFA Conference League qualifiers.
Player Spotlight: Marvin Martins and Goal-Scorer Ede Oloko
Marvin Martins has been a fixture in the starting lineup ever since his transfer. He has mostly played as a left back, but recently he has led the team onto the field several times as a center back and captain. However, the 31-year-old will have to sit out the first leg due to a suspension after receiving a red card in Q1 against FK Dečić Tuzi; Martins will be eligible to play again in the second leg in Vienna.
With Nigerian striker Ede Oloko, FK Liepāja currently has the leading scorer in the Latvian VIRSLIGA in its ranks; in 19 league games, the 25-year-old has scored 17 goals, only two of them for Liepāja, which signed the forward from league rival FK Tukums just this past June. The FK Liepāja roster consists largely of foreign players. A total of eight different nationalities are represented on the team.
“Everything that happens, happens for Liepāja.”
The club itself is still young: FK Liepāja was founded in 2014 and celebrated its only league title to date just one year later. Two cup victories followed in 2017 and 2020. The club gained international experience in 2016 during the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, among other competitions. At that time, Liepāja faced FC Red Bull Salzburg—featuring Konrad Laimer, Jonathan Soriano, and others—who prevailed with scores of 2–0 and 1–0.
The club’s motto is: “Everything that happens, happens for Liepāja.” The club is also known nationwide for its picturesque home stadium, located just about 200 meters from the Baltic Sea. However, due to a concert taking place a few days before the Conference League first leg, the field will not be ready in time. As a result, FK Liepāja will play its home game against Austria Vienna in Jūrmala, located about 250 kilometers away in the greater Riga area.
The Sloka Stadium in Jūrmala has a capacity of 2,500 spectators and is located about 40 kilometers from Riga’s city center. With a population of about 590,000, the Latvian capital is the largest city in the Baltic region.