Football in Russia

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This article covers the current state of football in Russia.

Contents
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Background[edit]
When the USSR broke down into 15 different countries, the once renowned sports structure of
the union collapsed. Football was the most popular sport in the Soviet Union.[1] While the national
teams and the clubs used to be linked to state institutions or mass organizations, in 1991 they
became private enterprises. Just like in many other spheres of business, corrupt and sometimes
bloody division of power began. Furthermore, many teams of the erstwhile Soviet Top League,
which was once considered to be one of the strongest and was able to compete with those
ofEngland and Italy, were now in divided between the national football associations of the newly
independent republics. Many of the top brand names lost their financing from the government
and were left to rot, waiting for some forms of sponsorship. Citizens of Russia are interested
mostly in the national team that gets to compete in the World Cup and the European
Championship, and in the Premier league, where clubs from different cities look to become
champions of Russia. There are also competitions considered less important, such as
the Russian Cup. Some of the most famous clubs include Spartak Moscow, Lokomotiv
Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow. There are in fact six teams in
the Premier League from the city of Moscow as it was the first city to recover from the destruction
of the old system.
Due to the large extension of the country, the top Russian division and its European-based clubs
have often had problems adjusting to having to play clubs from Siberia, particularly those from
the Far East, such as Okean Nakhodka, Luch-Energia Vladivostok and SKA-Energia
Khabarovsk. Although it is very rare that a Far Eastern club competes for the Russian league title
or spots in UEFA competitions, European-based teams often complain about lost matches due to
jet lag or other such factors.
Today, football is the number one sport in the country.[2][3][4][5] A very high proportion of men are
interested in it to a certain extent (and many children play it regularly) and women also join men
when it comes to the national team. The Russian league is rapidly regaining its former strength
because of huge sponsorship deals, an influx of finances and a fairly high degree of
competitiveness with roughly 10 teams capable of winning the title. Many notable talented
foreign players have been and are playing in the Russian league as well as local talented players
worthy of a spot in the starting eleven of the best clubs.[6] The relegation battles are also
competitive and considered very exciting.[7][8]
The Russian national team gained attention when they beat traditional European powerhouses
The Netherlands 3-1 in the Euro 2008quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions Spain.
Nevertheless, four players made the Team of the Tournament. Some players such asAndrei

Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko earned big-money moves to the English Premier
League after impressing at the tournament.[9]
Thus now the Russian Premier League are among the best in Eastern Europe, as evidenced by
recent victories in the UEFA Cup (CSKA Moscowdefeated Sporting CP in the 2005 final and Zenit
St. Petersburg earned a victory over Rangers F.C. in the 2008 UEFA Cup in Manchester) and
also claimed the UEFA Super Cup in a 2-1 win over Manchester United.[10]

League system[edit]
The first level of the Russian league system is the 16-club Premier League. Below it are
the National Football League, a self-governing league, and the Second Division, administered by
the Russian Football Union. The National League consists of 17 clubs, and the Second Division
has 73 clubs split geographically into five zones (West, Centre, South, Ural-Povolzhye, and East)
with varying numbers of clubs in each. After each season, the top two clubs of the National
League replace bottom two clubs of the Premier League, and champions of each Second
Division zone replace five bottom clubs of the National League. A championship between youth
teams of Premier League clubs also exists.[11][12]
The Second Division is the lowest level of professional football in Russia. The next level of
football is the Amateur Football League, which is split into ten zones: Northwest, Golden Ring,
Moscow, Podmoskovye (Moscow region), Chernozemye (Black Earth region), South, Privolzhye
(Volga region), Ural and West Siberia, Siberia, and Far East. After each season, the bottom
finishers of each Second Division zone are relegated to the Amateur Football League, and the
winners of each Amateur Football League are eligible for promotion to the Second Division,
subject to meeting Professional Football League requirements.
Seven of the Amateur Football League zones are using one-tier system. The rest (Moscow,
Podmoskovye, and Siberia) consist of two divisions with promotion and relegation. This means
that a newly created team can enter the Russian league system at the fourth level and reach the
Premier League in three years.
There are also championships of federal subjects. These competitions that are not part of the
league system; clubs can enter the Amateur Football League without participation in them. [13][14]
The Russian football league system is structured as two series of
interconnected football leagues across Russia