Russian First League facts for kids
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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) |
The Russian First League is a big football league in Russia. It used to be called the Russian First Division or the Russian Football National League (FNL). This league is the second most important football league in Russia. It's like the step right below the top league.
The league used to be run by the Russian Professional Football League (PFL). But since 2011, the Football National League has been in charge.
There are 18 teams in the league. At the end of each season, the two best teams move up to the Premier League. This is the highest level of football in Russia. The three teams at the bottom of the league move down to the Second League. This is a lower league.
Sometimes, the third and fourth teams play special games. They play against teams from the Premier League. These games decide if they can move up or stay in the First League. If a team doesn't have the right permission to play, a team that was supposed to move down might get to stay instead.
History of the League
The Russian First League started in 1992. This was after the Soviet Union broke apart. Before that, Russian football clubs played in Soviet leagues. When the Soviet Union ended, Russian clubs formed their own top league. This meant a new second league was needed.
On June 10, 2022, the number of teams in the league changed. It went from 20 teams down to 18 teams. On the same day, the league asked to change its name. They wanted to go back to its old name, the Russian First League. The Russian Football Union officially agreed to this on June 23, 2022. The league also announced that a company called Melbet would be its main sponsor.
Teams Playing Now
The teams listed below are playing in the 2024–25 season. This table shows their names, home cities, stadiums, and how many people their stadiums can hold. It also lists their head coaches.
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alania Vladikavkaz | Vladikavkaz | Republican Spartak Stadium | 10,250 | |
| Arsenal Tula | Tula | Arsenal Stadium | 19,241 |  Aleksandr Storozhuk |
| Baltika Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium | 35,016 | |
| Chayka Peschanokopskoye | Peschanokopskoye | Chayka Central Stadium | 3,445 | Dmitri Pyatibratov |
| Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Novorossiysk | Central Stadium (Trud) | 12,500 | Vadim Garanin |
| KAMAZ | Naberezhnye Chelny | KAMAZ stadium | 6,248 | Vladimir Klontsak |
| Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | Nizhnekamsk | Neftekhimik Stadium | 3,100 | Kirill Novikov |
| Rodina Moscow | Moscow | Spartakovets Stadium | 5,000 |  Franc Artiga |
| Shinnik Yaroslavl | Yaroslavl | Shinnik Stadium | 22,990 | Dmitri Cheryshev |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Khabarovsk | Lenin Stadium | 14,800 | |
| Sochi | Sochi | Fisht Olympic Stadium | 44,287 | Robert Moreno |
| Sokol Saratov | Saratov | Lokomotiv Stadium | 15,000 |  Aleksey Baga |
| Torpedo Moscow | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium | 81,000 | Oleg Kononov |
| Tyumen | Tyumen | Geolog Stadium | 13,057 | Igor Menshchikov |
| Ufa | Ufa | BetBoom Arena | 15,234 | Yevgeni Kharlachyov |
| Ural Yekaterinburg | Yekaterinburg | Central Stadium | 35,696 | |
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk | Central Stadium | 15,000 | Andrey Tikhonov |
Winners and Top Scorers
This table shows the winners of the Russian First League each season. It also lists other teams that were promoted to the top league. You can also see the top goal scorer for each season.
| Season | Winners | Also promoted | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Zhemchuzhina-Amerus (West) KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny (Centre) Luch Vladivostok (East) |
– |  Gocha Gogrichiani (Zhemchuzhina-Amerus, West) – 26 Oleg Teryokhin (Sokol Saratov, Centre) – 27 Vyacheslav Kartashov (Irtysh Omsk, East) 19 |
| 1993 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk (West, not promoted) Lada Togliatti (Centre) Dinamo-Gazovik Tyumen (East) |
– | Sergey Burdin (Chernomorets Novorossiysk, West) – 25 Vladimir Filimonov (Zvezda Perm, Centre) – 37 Vyacheslav Kamoltsev (Dinamo-Gazovik Tyumen, East) – 22 |
| 1994 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | Dmitri Silin (Baltika Kaliningrad) – 35 |
| 1995 | Baltika Kaliningrad | Lada Togliatti Zenit Saint Petersburg |
Sergei Bulatov (Baltika Kaliningrad) – 29 |
| 1996 | Dinamo-Gazovik Tyumen | Shinnik Yaroslavl Fakel Voronezh |
Varlam Kilasonia (Lokomotiv Saint Petersburg) – 22 |
| 1997 | Uralan Elista | – | Aleksei Chernov (Lada-Grad Dimitrovgrad) – 29 |
| 1998 | Saturn Moscow Region | Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod |  Andradina (Arsenal Tula) – 27 |
| 1999 | Anzhi Makhachkala | Fakel Voronezh | Konstantin Paramonov (Amkar Perm) – 23 |
| 2000 | Sokol Saratov | Torpedo-ZIL Moscow | Andrei Fedkov (Sokol Saratov) – 26 |
| 2001 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | Uralan Elista | Vitaly Kakunin (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk) – 20 |
| 2002 | Rubin Kazan | Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Vyacheslav Kamoltsev (Chernomorets Novorossiysk) – 20 David Chaladze (Rubin Kazan) – 20 |
| 2003 | Amkar Perm | Kuban Krasnodar | Aleksandr Panov (Dynamo Saint Petersburg) – 23 |
| 2004 | Terek Grozny | Tom Tomsk | Andrei Fedkov (Terek Grozny) – 38 |
| 2005 | Luch-Energia Vladivostok | Spartak Nalchik | Yevgeni Alkhimov (Lokomotiv Chita) – 24 |
| 2006 | Khimki | Kuban Krasnodar | Yevgeni Alkhimov (Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast) – 25 |
| 2007 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | Terek Grozny | Dmitri Akimov (Sibir Novosibirsk) – 34 |
| 2008 | FC Rostov | Kuban Krasnodar | Denis Popov (Torpedo Moscow/Chernomorets Novorossiysk) – 24 |
| 2009 | Anzhi Makhachkala | Sibir Novosibirsk Alania Vladikavkaz |
Aleksei Medvedev (Sibir Novosibirsk) – 18 |
| 2010 | Kuban Krasnodar | Volga Nizhny Novgorod Krasnodar |
Otar Martsvaladze (Volga Nizhny Novgorod) – 21 |
| 2011–12 | Mordovia Saransk | Alania Vladikavkaz | Ruslan Mukhametshin (Mordovia Saransk) – 31 |
| 2012–13 | Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | Tom Tomsk | Spartak Gogniyev (Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast) – 17 |
| 2013–14 | Mordovia Saransk | Arsenal Tula Torpedo Moscow Ufa |
Aleksandr Kutyin (Arsenal Tula) – 19 |
| 2014–15 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | Anzhi Makhachkala |  Yannick Boli (Anzhi Makhachkala) – 15 |
| 2015–16 | Gazovik Orenburg | Arsenal Tula Tom Tomsk |
Artyom Delkin (Gazovik Orenburg) – 16 Khasan Mamtov (Tyumen) – 16 Maksim Zhitnev (Sibir Novosibirsk) – 16 |
| 2016–17 | Dynamo Moscow | Tosno SKA-Khabarovsk |
Kirill Panchenko (Dynamo Moscow) – 24 |
| 2017–18 | Orenburg | Krylia Sovetov Samara Yenisey Krasnoyarsk |
Artyom Kulishev (Dynamo Saint Petersburg) – 17 |
| 2018–19 | Tambov | Sochi | Maksim Barsov (Sochi) – 19 |
| 2019–20 | Rotor Volgograd | Khimki | Aleksandr Rudenko (Spartak-2 Moscow/Torpedo Moscow) – 14 Ivan Sergeyev (Torpedo Moscow) – 14 |
| 2020–21 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | Nizhny Novgorod | Ivan Sergeyev (Krylia Sovetov Samara) – 40 |
| 2021–22 | Torpedo Moscow | Fakel Voronezh Orenburg |
Maksim Maksimov (Fakel Voronezh) – 22 |
| 2022–23 | Rubin Kazan | Baltika Kaliningrad |
Images for kids
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Old logo from 2011 to 2020.
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Previous logo, 2020 to 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Rusia para niños
