2016 A Lyga
The 2016 A Lyga, also known as SMSCredit.lt A Lyga for sponsoring purposes was the 27th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 2 March and ended on 26 November 2016. Žalgiris Vilnius were the defending champions.
Teams
failed to obtain a license to play in the A Lyga and were relegated alongside FK Kruoja, which withdrew and FK Klaipedos Granitas, which was disqualified. They were replaced by FK Lietava Jonava, which will make its debut at the top level. FK Spyris Kaunas changed its name to FK Kauno Žalgiris.Changes from 2015
The league reduced its number of teams from ten sides down to eight. As a consequence, each team will play every other four times, twice at home and twice away with the top six then playing an additional round against each other.Clubs and locations
The following teams are competing in the 2016 championship:| Club | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | 2015 position |
| Klaipėda | Central Stadium of Klaipėda | Natural | 4,428 | 3rd | |
| Klaipėda | Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | 3rd | |
| Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 5th | |
| Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 5th | |
| Jonava | Central Stadium of Jonava | Natural | 1,008 | I Lyga, 1st | |
| Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | I Lyga, 1st | |
| Kėdainiai | Kėdainiai Stadium | Artificial | 3,000 | I Lyga, 1st | |
| Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 7th | |
| Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 7th | |
| Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 4th | |
| Marijampolė | ARVI Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | 4th | |
| Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd | |
| Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 2nd | |
| Utena | Utenis Stadium | Natural | 3,073 | 6th | |
| Visaginas | Visaginas Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 212 | 6th | |
| Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 1st | |
| Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 1st |
Stadium location
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlantas |  Konstantin Sarsania |  Andrius Bartkus | Jako | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Laimis Bičkauskas | Ignas Dedura | Joma | BC Žalgiris |
| Lietava | Robertas Poškus | Laurynas Stonkus | Joma | Achema |
| Stumbras | Darius Gvildys Mariano Barreto | Artūras Rimkevičius Nerijus Mačiulis | Hummel | Novecorum Group |
| Sūduva |  Aleksandar Veselinović Eivinas Černiauskas ' Vladimir Cheburin ' | Tomas Radzinevičius | Joma | Sumeda |
| Trakai | Valdas Urbonas Albert Rybak  Serhiy Kovalets | Deividas Česnauskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Utenis | Mindaugas Čepas Oleh Boychyshyn | Valentin Jeriomenko Robertas Freidgeimas | Adidas | Baltijos polistirenas |
| Žalgiris | Valdas Dambrauskas | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | Nike | TOP Sport |
Regular season
Table
Results
Championship round
Top six will play each other once.Table
Results
Relegation play-offs
The 7th placed team will face the runners-up of the 2016 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn entry into the 2017 A Lyga.First leg
Second leg
3–3 on aggregate. Utenis won on away goals.Season statistics
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
Attendance
— Official attendance statistic for the play-off matches wasn't publicly released.Awards
Yearly awards
Awards were presented at the LFF Awards ceremony, which was held on November 28. Finalists for voted awards were announced after the season and winners were presented at the award ceremony.| Award | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Mantas Kuklys |
| Young Player of the Year | Eligijus Jankauskas |
| Manager of the Year | Valdas Dambrauskas |
| Golden Boot | Andrija Kaluđerović |
| Goal of the Season | Matija Ljujić |
| Fair Play Award | Trakai |
Quarterly awards
"Golden Heart" initiative
From 2016 season A lyga together with Lithuanian Football Federation decided to expand project "Bring you hearts to the stadium" and honor players who played 10 or more times for the Lithuania national team with golden heart on their shirts.In 2016 season these players have had this evaluation:
- FK Žalgiris — Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Saulius Mikoliūnas, Linas Pilibaitis, Marius Žaliūkas, Vytautas Lukša, Mantas Kuklys, Simonas Stankevičius
- FK Trakai — Deividas Česnauskis, Arūnas Klimavičius, Tadas Labukas, Nerijus Valskis
- FK Kauno Žalgiris — Andrius Velička, Ignas Dedura, Audrius Kšanavičius
- FK Sūduva — Tomas Radzinevičius, Vaidas Slavickas,
- FK Atlantas — Andrius Jokšas
- FK Lietava — Valdemaras Borovskis
- FK Utenis — Pavelas Leusas
Team of the Week