Vilnius council member started to investigate the funding of 'Žalgiris'

2026-04-23 19:03 © fkzalgiris.lt

The Vilnius "Žalgiris" team – under the magnifying glass.

City council member Aleksandras Nemunaitis insists that it is necessary to clarify where the municipal funds allocated to the team are being spent.

"Vilnius "Žalgiris" sensationally lost to the Mažeikiai club and has already exited in the 1/16 stage of the LFF Cup. I really don't want to see comments on my profile claiming that the new club president is doing something wrong."

He hasn't had the chance to do anything apart from gathering people to buy season tickets and come to the matches. "Žalgiris" has had problems for a long time, and knowing that, one of the first things I did after becoming a member of the VMS Council was to inquire about support for sports.

"Žalgiris" has long been generously funded by the Vilnius City municipality. For example, this year, out of the club's budget of 4.135 million Euros, 1.5 million Euros is allocated from the VMS budget. That isn't inherently bad, but... do we, the residents of Vilnius, then have the right to know how that money is being used?

Even if you are the most loyal "Žalgiris" fan, you must acknowledge that this is a legitimate expectation. I knew even before the club said goodbye to Venslovaitienė that there were possibly unscrupulous uses of money in the club. I contacted the VMS administration with a simple request to allow me to review the contract for support to "Žalgiris" and the reports that "Žalgiris" was required to submit every 3 months.

The VMS Sports Department refused to provide me with this information. I appealed to the Administrative Law Dispute Commission and received a favorable decision. Then VMS APPEALED THIS DECISION TO COURT! Can you imagine how unwilling they were to give me this information??? The municipal administration is appealing to the court against a council member's right to access information on how the funds of Vilnius City are being used!!! I WON IN COURT! Then they appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court. We are waiting for when the session will take place... For two years they have not provided me with this information. The new club owners also promised audits... I’m still waiting... Is there something to hide?”, wrote A. Nemunaitis.