Posts Tagged ‘soccer game’

Although a truly ancient land, Lithuania is a new player on the international stage when it comes to being an independent state.  It first declared its independence in the last decade of the 20th century.

Since then, the country had passed initiatives to encourage programs specific to sports training and physical education.  The aim was to make the people become more active and lead healthier lives.

This initiative has been successful as many citizens have chosen to support this program to stay healthy.  They are very competitive and they maintain their discipline in their chosen sport.  As proof of its success, Lithuania now has many various sports team to prove it as well as many talented athletes who have become popular all over the world.

One of the most popular sport played in Lithuania is football.  It is so popular that for many years, the term “sport” meant football.  As a side note, football is called soccer in the US.  One factor that restricts football’s popularity is the lack of outdoor arenas.

Another popular sport in Lithuania is basketball.  Since football needs huge stadiums which are expensive, many Lithuanians prefer to play basketball which can be played in a smaller area.  Due to this, basketball has become the most popular sport in Lithuania.  In fact, the teams of Lithuania perform very well during Olympics and in other competitions across the world where they have competed against incredibly talented teams from foreign countries.

Other popular sports in Lithuania include cycling and hockey.  Cycling is a competitive sport which is very popular among females.  In fact, there has been a great deal of top ranked cyclists from this country which includes a fascinating pair of twin sisters named Jolanta and Rasa Polikeviciute.

Some of the less traditional sports that Lithuanians compete in are alpine skiing and orienteering.  Both these sports are held in the snowy mountainous places.  Orienteering is a complicated outdoor sport where the participants do cross-country running in addition to making use of their navigation skills.  This loved sport is also offered in variations that add in the utilization of a bicycle or skis.

Needless to say, Lithuanians put heavy emphasis on sports and in living an active life.  It is always great to witness a country earn a reputation for itself in athletics.  Internationally known players such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas of the NBA basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers and Darius Kasparaitis, an NHL hockey player with an impressive record of success in both the United States and Russia, prove that Lithuanian athletes are players with a world class amount of talent.

has anyone traveled to lithuania? i want to take my boyfriend to lithuania and maybe watch a soccer game…without contacting a travel agent just yet, cuz i find them to be a little pressuring….anyone know of a good way to make a trip like that? any good sites we HAVE to see? about how much can a trip like that range? hotels? food? advice? Ive never been to out of the US, so this is all new to me. any advice will be appreciated. when is soccer usually going on?