Uzbekistan Super League facts for kids

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Uzbekistan Super League
Oʻzbekiston Superligasi

Organising body	Uzbekistan Professional Football League Uzbekistan Football Association
Founded	1992; 33 years ago (1992)
Country	Uzbekistan
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	14
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	Pakhtakor (15th title) (2023)
Most championships	Pakhtakor (15 titles)
TV partners	NTRCU Sport [ru]

The Uzbekistan Super League (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Superligasi) is the top football league in Uzbekistan. It is also known as the Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League because of its sponsor. This league is managed by the Uzbekistan Professional Football League and the Uzbekistan Football Association. It started in 1992 and currently has 14 teams. The best team in the league gets to play in the AFC Champions League, which is a big competition for clubs in Asia.

History of the League
- How the League Works
Champions of Uzbekistan
- Champions Before Independence
- Champions Since Independence
League Winners and Top Scorers
Club Success in the League
Player Records
- Top Scorers
- Most Appearances
League Sponsors
See also

History of the League

The Uzbek League began in 1992. This was after the Soviet Union broke apart and its own football league ended. Locally, the league was first called the Higher League. Teams that didn't do well could move down to the First League.

How the League Works

The league usually runs from March to November each year. Sometimes, the Super Cup match kicks off the season. Teams play each other twice: once at home and once away.

Depending on how many teams are in the league (it has been between 14 and 17 teams), two or three teams might move down to a lower league. Sometimes, no teams are promoted from the First League. This happens if reserve teams win the lower league, as reserve teams are not allowed to play in the top league.

The team that wins the league gets to enter the AFC Champions League. The winner of the Uzbekistan Cup also gets a spot in this important Asian tournament.

On November 21, 2017, the league officially changed its name from the Uzbek League to the 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. Famous football stars like Rivaldo, Eren Derdiyok, Zico, and Luiz Felipe Scolari have been part of this league.

Champions of Uzbekistan

Champions Before Independence

Before Uzbekistan became an independent country, there was a football championship in the Uzbek SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic).

Club	Titles	Years won
Tashkent City Team	9	1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936
Sokol Tashkent	6	1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Spartak Tashkent	4	1937, 1938, 1950, 1951
Dinamo Tashkent	4	1939, 1949, 1952, 1954
Sverdlovets Tashkent (includes ODO & SKA)	3	1955, 1956, 1970
Traktor Tashkent	3	1967, 1976, 1986
Polyarnaya Zvezda Tashkent	1	1948
FShM Tashkent	1	1953
Mashinostroitel Tashkent	1	1957
Khimik Chirchik	1	1958
Mekhnat Tashkent	1	1959
Zvezda Tashkent	1	1966
Chust Pakhtakor	1	1968
Tashkabel Tashkent	1	1969
Xonqa (as Yangiaryk)	1	1971
Sogdiana Jizzakh	1	1972
Dinamo Samarqand	1	1973
Guliston	1	1974
Zarafshan Navoi	1	1975
Khiva	1	1977
Narimanovets (as Khorazm)	1	1978
Khisar Shakhrisabz	1	1979
Ekipress Samarkand	1	1981
Beshkent	1	1982
Oq Oltin Turtkul (as Tselinnik Turtkul)	1	1983
Khorazm Khanki	1	1984
Konchi Angren (as Shakhtyor Angren)	1	1985
Kokand 1912	1	1987
Selmashevets Chirchik	1	1988
Bukhara	1	1989
Naryn Khakulabad	1	1990
Dustlik	1	1991

Champions Since Independence

Here are the teams that have won the Uzbekistan Super League since the country became independent:

1992: Neftchi Fargʻona and Pakhtakor Tashkent
1993: Neftchi Fargʻona
1994: Neftchi Fargʻona
1995: Neftchi Fargʻona
1996: Navbahor Namangan
1997: MHSK Tashkent (former Pakhtakor-79 Tashkent)
1998: Pakhtakor Tashkent
1999: Doʻstlik (former Politotdel Tashkent Oblast)
2000: Doʻstlik
2001: Neftchi Fargʻona
2002: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2003: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2004: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2005: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2006: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2007: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2008: Bunyodkor Tashkent
2009: Bunyodkor Tashkent
2010: Bunyodkor Tashkent
2011: Bunyodkor Tashkent
2012: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2013: Bunyodkor Tashkent
2014: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2015: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2016: Lokomotiv Tashkent
2017: Lokomotiv Tashkent
2018: Lokomotiv Tashkent
2019: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2020: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2021: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2022: Pakhtakor Tashkent
2023: Pakhtakor Tashkent

League Winners and Top Scorers

This table shows the champions, runner-up teams, third-place teams, and the top goal scorers for each season.

Season	Champion	Runner-up	3rd position	Top scorer
1992 ¹	Pakhtakor Neftchi Fargʻona		Sogdiana Jizzakh	Valeriy Kechinov (Pakhtakor, 24 goals)
1993	Neftchi Fargʻona	Pakhtakor	Navbahor Namangan	Rustam Durmonov (Neftchi, 24 goals)
1994	Neftchi Fargʻona	Nurafshon Buxoro	Navbahor Namangan	Ravshan Bozorov (Neftchi, 26 goals)
1995	Neftchi Fargʻona	MHSK Tashkent	Navbahor Namangan	Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals)
1996	Navbahor Namangan	Neftchi Fargʻona	MHSK Tashkent	Jafar Irismetov (Doʻstlik, 23 goals) Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals)
1997	MHSK Tashkent	Neftchi Fargʻona	Navbahor Namangan	Jafar Irismetov (Doʻstlik, 34 goals)
1998	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Navbahor Namangan	Mirjalol Kasymov (Pakhtakor, 22 goals) Igor Shkvyrin (Pakhtakor, 22 goals)
1999	Doʻstlik	Neftchi Fargʻona	Navbahor Namangan	Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 24 goals) Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (FK Andijan, 24 goals)
2000	Doʻstlik	Neftchi Fargʻona	Nasaf Qarshi	Jafar Irismetov (Doʻstlik, 45 goals)
2001	Neftchi Fargʻona	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 28 goals)
2002	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Qizilqum Zarafshon	Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (FK Andijan, 22 goals)
2003	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Navbahor Namangan	Marsel Idiatullin (Qizilqum, 26 goals)
2004	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Navbahor Namangan	Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev (Navbahor, 31 goals)
2005	Pakhtakor	Mashʼal Mubarek	Nasaf Qarshi	Anvar Soliev (Pakhtakor, 29 goals)
2006	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Nasaf Qarshi	Pavel Solomin (Traktor Tashkent, 21 goals)
2007	Pakhtakor	Kuruvchi	Mashʼal Mubarek	Ilhom Moʻminjonov (Kuruvchi, 21 goals)
2008 ²	Bunyodkor	Pakhtakor	Neftchi Fargʻona	Server Djeparov (Bunyodkor, 19 goals)
2009	Bunyodkor	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	Rivaldo (Bunyodkor, 20 goals)
2010	Bunyodkor	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	Alisher Kholiqov (Neftchi, 13 goals) Nosirbek Otakuziev (Olmaliq FK, 13 goals)
2011	Bunyodkor	Nasaf Qarshi	Pakhtakor	Miloš Trifunović (Bunyodkor, 17 goals)
2012	Pakhtakor	Bunyodkor	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Anvar Berdiev (Neftchi, 19 goals)
2013	Bunyodkor	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Nasaf Qarshi	Oleksandr Pyschur (Bunyodkor, 19 goals)
2014	Pakhtakor	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Nasaf Qarshi	Artur Gevorkyan (Nasaf, 18 goals)
2015	Pakhtakor	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Nasaf Qarshi	Igor Sergeev (Pakhtakor, 23 goals)
2016	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Bunyodkor	Nasaf Qarshi	Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov (Lokomotiv Tashkent, 22 goals)
2017	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Nasaf Qarshi	Pakhtakor	Marat Bikmaev (Lokomotiv Tashkent, 26 goals)
2018 ³	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Pakhtakor	Navbahor Namangan	Tiago Bezerra (Pakhtakor, 17 goals)
2019	Pakhtakor	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Bunyodkor	Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 23 goals)
2020	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	AGMK	Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 21 goals)
2021	Pakhtakor	Sogdiana	AGMK	Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 16 goals)
2022	Pakhtakor	Navbahor Namangan	Nasaf Qarshi	Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 20 goals)
2023	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	Navbahor Namangan	Dragan Ceran (Pakhtakor, 13 goals)
¹ The league was named Oliy Liga ² The league was named Oʻzbekiston PFL ³ The league was named Super League

Club 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 Tashkent	16	6	2	1992*, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Neftchi Fargʻona	5	9	1	1992*, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001
Bunyodkor Tashkent	5	3	1	2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
Lokomotiv Tashkent	3	4	1	2016, 2017, 2018
Doʻstlik	2	-	-	1999, 2000
Navbahor Namangan	1	1	10	1996
MHSK Tashkent	1	1	1	1997
Nasaf Qarshi	-	4	11
Mashʼal Mubarek	-	1	1
Sogdiana	-	1	1
Buxoro	-	1	-
AGMK	-	-	2
Qizilqum Zarafshon	-	-	1

* Both teams were awarded with the title.
Defunct teams marked in Italics.

Player Records

Here are some interesting records about players in the league.

Top Scorers

These players have scored the most goals in the league's history.

Rank	Name	Years	Goals
1	Anvar Berdiev	1995–2019	225
2	Zafar Kholmurodov	1997–2012	200
3	Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev	2000–2014	194
4	Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev	1997–2011	178
5	Jafar Irismetov	1993–2012	174
6	Umid Isoqov	1994–2009	171
7	Ravshan Bozorov	1992–2007	171
8	Anvar Soliev	1996–2015	164
9	Oybek Usmankhojaev	1992–2005	157
10	Rustam Durmonov	1992–2002	133
11	Farid Khabibullin	1992–2004	131
12	Mukhtor Kurbonov	1993–2009	128
13	Numon Khasanov	1992–2009	125
14	Nosirbek Otakuziev	2003–present	117
15	Server Djeparov	2000–present	113
16	Shuhrat Rahmonqulov	1992–2005	108
17	Nagmetulla Kutibayev	1992–2007	106
18	Artur Geworkyan	2007–present	105
19	Oleg Shatskikh	1993–2003	105
20	Vali Keldiev	1992–2006	104
21	Zayniddin Tadjiyev	2001–2015	102
22	Shakhboz Erkinov	2003–2019	101
23	Igor Taran	2003–present	95

Most Appearances

These players have played in the most games in the league's history.

Rank	Name	Years	Apps
1	Asror Aliqulov	1995–2015	520
2	Anvar Berdiev	1995–2019	505
3	Anvar Gafurov	2000–present	455
4	Khikmat Khoshimov	1998–2017	453
5	Ilkhom Yunusov	2000–2018	431
6	Botir Qoraev	1999–2017	428
7	Ignatiy Nesterov	2001–present	423
8	Vali Keldiev	1992–2006	415
9	Hayrulla Karimov	1996–2016	410
10	Ruziqul Berdiev	1992–2008	408
11	Jasur Hasanov	1999–present	406
12	Abdumajid Toirov	1996–2013	406
13	Anvar Soliev	1996–2015	406
14	Numon Khasanov	1992–2009	402
15	Mukhtor Kurbonov	1992–2012	402
17	Shavkat Salomov	2000–present	368
18	Erkin Boydullayev	2003–present	362
19	Nosirbek Otakuziev	2003–present	351
20	Artur Geworkyan	2007–present	330
21	Mamur Ikramov	2003–present	323

League Sponsors

For many years, from 1992 to 2017, the Uzbekistan Super League did not have a main sponsor. This changed in 2018 when PepsiCo became the first official sponsor.

Period	Sponsor	Name
1992–2017	No sponsor	Oliy Liga
2018	Pepsi	Pepsi Uzbekistan Super League
2019–present	Coca-Cola	Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League