Russian First League
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| Founded | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Country | Russia |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Premier League |
| Relegation to | Second League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Russian Cup |
| Current champions | Rubin Kazan (2nd title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Chernomorets Tyumen Luch-Energiya Shinnik Anzhi Mordovia Orenburg Krylia Sovetov (2 titles) |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2023–24 Russian First League | |
The Russian First League (Russian: Первая лига, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division (Russian: Первый дивизион) and Russian Football National League (FNL) (Russian: Первенство Футбольной Национальной Лиги, Pervenstvo Futbol'noy Natsional'noy Ligi) is the second level of the Russian football league system.
The Russian Professional Football League (PFL) used to run the division. Since 2011, it has been managed by the Football National League.
The league consists of 18 clubs. After each season the two top clubs are promoted to the Premier League, and the bottom three clubs are relegated to the Second League. Third and fourth team play in home-and-away promotion play-offs against the 13th and 14th Premier League teams. Should one or more clubs not possess the required licence to participate for the upcoming season, the teams previously relegated are kept in the league instead, in the order of last season's standings.
History[edit]
Due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all Russian clubs of the former Soviet Top League and Soviet First League unified into the Russian Top Division, which meant that the new second tier of Russian football would remain regionalized.
On 10 June 2022, the number of teams in the league was reduced from 20 to 18 for the 2022–23 season.[1] On the same day, the league requested Russian Football Union to rename the league to its historical name of Russian First League.[2] RFU officially approved the name change on 23 June 2022.[3] On the same date the league announced that the league's title sponsor would be a bookmaker Melbet.[4][5][6]
The following teams are competing in the 2023–24 season:
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Tolyatti | Zhigulyovsk | Kristall Stadium | 3,065 |
| Alania Vladikavkaz | Vladikavkaz | Republican Spartak Stadium | 10,250 |
| Arsenal Tula | Tula | Arsenal Stadium | 19,241 |
| Dynamo Makhachkala | Makhachkala | Dynamo Stadium | 15,200 |
| KAMAZ | Naberezhnye Chelny | KAMAZ stadium | 6,248 |
| Khimki | Khimki | Arena Khimki | 18,636 |
| Leningradets | Leningrad Oblast | Petrovsky Stadium | 20,985 |
| Kuban Krasnodar | Krasnodar | Kuban Stadium | 31,654 |
| Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | Nizhnekamsk | Neftekhimik Stadium | 3,100 |
| Rodina Moscow | Moscow | Spartakovets Stadium | 5,000 |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Khabarovsk | Lenin Stadium | 14,800 |
| Torpedo Moscow | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium | 81,000 |
| Tyumen | Tyumen | Geolog Stadium | 13,057 |
| Sokol Saratov | Saratov | Lokomotiv Stadium | 15,000 |
| Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Novorossiysk | Central Stadium (Trud) | 12,500 |
| Volgar Astrakhan | Astrakhan | Central Stadium | 21,500 |
| Shinnik Yaroslavl | Yaroslavl | Shinnik Stadium | 22,990 |
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk | Central Stadium | 15,000 |
Winners and top scorers[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "18 КОМАНД ПРИМУТ УЧАСТИЕ В ОЛИМП-ФНЛ-1 В СЕЗОНЕ-2022/23" (in Russian). Russian Football National League. 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "ПРЕЗИДИУМ ФНЛ ПРИНЯЛ РЕШЕНИЕ ОБ УЧАСТИИ 18 КОМАНД В СЕЗОНЕ-2022/23, СТАРТ ТУРНИРА ЗАПЛАНИРОВАН НА 17 ИЮЛЯ" (in Russian). Russian First League. 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Первая лига" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "КОМПАНИЯ "МЕЛБЕТ" СТАЛА ТИТУЛЬНЫМ ПАРТНЁРОМ ПЕРВОЙ ЛИГИ" (in Russian). Russian First League. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "MelBet Account Verification". MelBet Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "Melbet app". Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
External links[edit]
- Russian First League official website (in Russian)