Uzbekistan Super League facts for kids
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| Organising body | Uzbekistan Professional Football League |
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| Founded | 1992 |
| Country | Uzbekistan |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Uzbekistan Pro League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Uzbekistan Cup Uzbekistan Super Cup |
| League cup(s) | Uzbekistan League Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two |
| Current champions | Nasaf (1st title) (2024) |
| Most championships | Pakhtakor (16 titles) |
| TV partners | Sport TV Futbol TV |
The Uzbekistan Super League is the highest level of professional football in Uzbekistan. It's also called the Artel Uzbekistan Super League because of its sponsor, Artel. This league is managed by the Uzbekistan Professional Football League and the Uzbekistan Football Association.
The league started in 1992 and currently has 16 teams. The best team in the Super League gets to play in the group stage of the AFC Champions League. This is a big tournament for clubs in Asia.
Contents
History of the League
The Uzbek League began in 1992. This was after the Soviet Union broke apart and its own football league ended. In Uzbekistan, the league was first known as the Higher League. Teams that didn't do well could be moved down to the First League.
How the League Works
The Super League usually runs from March to November each year. Sometimes, a special match called the Super Cup kicks off the season. Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.
A few teams can be moved down to a lower league if they don't perform well. This depends on how many teams are in the league that year. Sometimes, reserve teams (B-teams) win the lower league. But reserve teams are not allowed to play in the top league. In these cases, fewer teams might be promoted, meaning the Super League could have fewer teams the next season.
The team that wins the league gets to play in the AFC Champions League. The winner of the Uzbekistan Cup also gets a spot in this important Asian competition.
On November 21, 2017, the league's management decided to officially change the name from "Uzbek League" to "Uzbekistan Super League." This change started with the 2018 season. The number of teams in the top division was also reduced from 16 to 12 at that time. Famous football players like Rivaldo and Zico have played in this league.
Champions and Top Scorers
The table below shows the teams that have won the league and the top goal scorers each season.
| * | League champions also won the Uzbekistan Cup, meaning they won both the league and the main cup in the same year. |
Uzbekistan Oliy Liga (1992-2017)
| Season | Champions | Runner-up | Third place | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Pakhtakor and Neftchi | Sogdiana |  Valeriy Kechinov (Pakhtakor, 24 goals) |
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| 1993 | Neftchi (2) | Pakhtakor | Navbahor | Rustam Durmonov (Neftchi, 24 goals) |
| 1994 | Neftchi (3) * | Bukhara | Navbahor (2) | Ravshan Bozorov (Neftchi, 26 goals) |
| 1995 | Neftchi (4) | MHSK | Navbahor (3) | Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals) |
| 1996 | Navbahor | Neftchi | MHSK | Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 23 goals) Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals) |
| 1997 | MHSK | Neftchi (2) | Navbahor (4) | Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 34 goals) |
| 1998 | Pakhtakor (2) | Neftchi (3) | Navbahor (5) | Mirjalol Kasymov (Pakhtakor, 22 goals) Igor Shkvyrin (Pakhtakor, 22 goals) |
| 1999 | Dustlik | Neftchi (4) | Navbahor (6) | Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 24 goals) Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (Andijon, 24 goals) |
| 2000 | Dustlik (2) * | Neftchi (5) | Nasaf | Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 45 goals) |
| 2001 | Neftchi (5) | Pakhtakor (2) | Nasaf (2) | Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 28 goals) |
| 2002 | Pakhtakor (3) * | Neftchi (6) | Qizilqum | Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (Andijon, 22 goals) |
| 2003 | Pakhtakor (4) * | Neftchi (7) | Navbahor (7) | Marsel Idiatullin (Qizilqum, 26 goals) |
| 2004 | Pakhtakor (5) * | Neftchi (8) | Navbahor (8) | Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev (Navbahor, 31 goals) |
| 2005 | Pakhtakor (6) * | Mashʼal | Nasaf (3) | Anvar Soliev (Pakhtakor, 29 goals) |
| 2006 | Pakhtakor (7) * | Neftchi (9) | Nasaf (4) | Pavel Solomin (Traktor, 21 goals) |
| 2007 | Pakhtakor (8) * | Kuruvchi | Mashʼal | Ilhom Moʻminjonov (Kuruvchi, 21 goals) |
| 2008 | Bunyodkor * | Pakhtakor (3) | Neftchi | Server Djeparov (Bunyodkor, 19 goals) |
| 2009 | Bunyodkor (2) | Pakhtakor (4) | Nasaf (5) |  Rivaldo (Bunyodkor, 20 goals) |
| 2010 | Bunyodkor (3) * | Pakhtakor (5) | Nasaf (6) | Alisher Kholiqov (Neftchi, 13 goals) Nosirbek Otakuziev (AGMK, 13 goals) |
| 2011 | Bunyodkor (4) | Nasaf | Pakhtakor |  Miloš Trifunović (Bunyodkor, 17 goals) |
| 2012 | Pakhtakor (9) | Bunyodkor (2) | Lokomotiv | Anvar Berdiev (Neftchi, 19 goals) |
| 2013 | Bunyodkor (5) * | Lokomotiv | Nasaf (7) |  Oleksandr Pyschur (Bunyodkor, 19 goals) |
| 2014 | Pakhtakor (10) | Lokomotiv (2) | Nasaf (8) |  Artur Gevorkyan (Nasaf, 18 goals) |
| 2015 | Pakhtakor (11) | Lokomotiv (3) | Nasaf (9) | Igor Sergeev (Pakhtakor, 23 goals) |
| 2016 | Lokomotiv * | Bunyodkor (3) | Nasaf (10) | Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov (Lokomotiv, 22 goals) |
| 2017 | Lokomotiv (2) * | Nasaf (2) | Pakhtakor (2) | Marat Bikmaev (Lokomotiv, 26 goals) |
Uzbekistan Super League (2018-Present)
| Season | Champions | Runner-up | Third place | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Lokomotiv (3) | Pakhtakor (6) | Navbahor (9) | Tiago Bezerra (Pakhtakor, 17 goals) |
| 2019 | Pakhtakor (12) * | Lokomotiv (4) | Bunyodkor | Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 23 goals) |
| 2020 | Pakhtakor (13) * | Nasaf (3) | AGMK | Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 21 goals) |
| 2021 | Pakhtakor (14) | Sogdiana | AGMK (2) | Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 16 goals) |
| 2022 | Pakhtakor (15) | Navbahor | Nasaf (11) | Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 20 goals) |
| 2023 | Pakhtakor (16) | Nasaf (4) | Navbahor (10) | Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 13 goals) |
| 2024 | Nasaf | AGMK | Navbahor (11) | |
| 2025 |
Team Success in the League
This table shows how many times each club has won the league, been runner-up, or finished in third place.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third Place | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakhtakor | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1992*, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Neftchi | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1992*, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001 |
| Bunyodkor | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 |
| Lokomotiv | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Dustlik | 2 | - | - | 1999, 2000 |
| Nasaf | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2024 |
| Navbahor | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1996 |
| MHSK | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1997 |
| AGMK | - | 1 | 2 | |
| Mashʼal | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sogdiana | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bukhara | - | 1 | - | |
| Qizilqum | - | - | 1 |
* Both teams were awarded with the title.
Defunct teams are marked in Italics.
Player Records
Top Goal ScorersThese players have scored the most goals in the Uzbekistan Super League.
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Most AppearancesThese players have played in the most matches in the Uzbekistan Super League.
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League Sponsors
For many years, from 1992 to 2017, the Uzbekistan Super League did not have a main sponsor. This changed in 2018. On April 4, 2018, the Uzbekistan Football Association and PepsiCo (a big drinks company) agreed that PepsiCo would become the league's first official sponsor for the 2018 season.
Here's a list of the league's sponsors over the years:
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1992–2017 | No sponsor | Oliy Liga |
| 2018 | Pepsi | Pepsi Uzbekistan Super League |
| 2019–2023 | Coca-Cola | Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League |
| 2024–present | Artel | Artel Uzbekistan Super League |
See also
In Spanish: Super Liga de Uzbekistán para niños
- List of foreign football players in Uzbekistan
- Uzbekistan Pro League
- Uzbekistan First League
- Uzbekistan Second League
- Uzbekistan Cup
- Uzbekistan League Cup
