Curtains of the third TrioBet Baltic league season will rise on Monday with the presentation of the new competition format and the draw for the 2009/2010 season.

The presentation and draw event will be held in the Olympic Centre of Latvian capital Riga on the 17th of August, starting from 15:00. The draw is scheduled to be made at around 16:00 and after that the organizers of the league will hold a press conference.

16 teams - 6 from Lithuania, whose representative won the tournament last season, and 5 each from Estonia and Latvia – will enter the draw and find out who plays who in the first phase of the TrioBet Baltic league 2009/10 season.

Teams will be drawn from four pools according to results in their domestic league in the year 2008.

Three national champions - FC Levadia Tallinn, FK Ventspils and Ekranas Panevėžys – are in the Pool I alongside FK Skonto Riga, who is the finalist of the 2008 TrioBet Baltic league season and is therefore the highest ranking team of last year’s tournament.

Estonia and Latvia runners-up FC Flora Tallinn and SK Liepajas Metalurgs go in to the Pool II with Lithuanian and Estonian bronze medalists FK Vėtra Vilnius and JK Trans Narva.

Pool IIII consists of fourth placed teams in the respective championships JK Nõmme Kalju, FC Dinaburg Daugavpils and FK Sūduva Marijampolė. FC Šiauliai joins them as the fourth-ranked Lithuanian team.

JK Sillamäe Kalev, FC Jūrmala and FK Tauras Tauragė with FK Banga Gargždai complete the Pool III as the lowest ranked teams in their leagues.

Teams from Pools I-IV and II-III will be paired for the Round of last 16 draw. The draw order will determine the possible pairs for the quarterfinals and onwards.

The TrioBet Baltic league season will kick off on Autumn 2009 and finish in the Summer of 2010.

All football fans will be able to know the latest from the draw on Monday right here at Balticleague.com.

FBK Kaunas - Baltic league champions 2008

Estonia

FC Levadia Tallinn
FC Flora Tallinn
JK Trans Narva
JK Nõmme Kalju
JK Sillamäe Kalev

Latvia 

FK Ventspils
SK Liepajas Metalurgs
FK Skonto Riga
FC Dinaburg Daugavpils
FC Jūrmala Lithuania

FK Ekranas Panevėžys
FK Sūduva Marijampolė
FK Vėtra Vilnius
FC Šiauliai
FK Tauras Tauragė
FK Banga Gargždai

More information here: http://www.balticleague.com/home/356208.html

TrioBet Baltic League Press Office
press@balticleague.com