Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR – Pershaja Liha
Founded1922 (unofficial)[1]
1934[1]
Folded1991[1] (reformed)
Country Belarusian SSR
Level on pyramidSoviet football: 4-5
Belarusian (republican) football: 1-2
Relegation toRegional competitions (in regions of Belarus)
(Football Championship of the Byelorussian SSR – Druhaja Liha)
Domestic cup(s)Football Cup of the Byelorussian SSR
Last championsMetalurh Maladzechna (1st title)
(1991)
Most championships8 - SKA Minsk (Belarusian Military District)

The Championship of the Belarusian SSR in football – First League (Belarusian: Першая ліга чэмпіянату БССР па футболе, Pershaja Liha chempijanatu BSSR pa futbole) was a top competition of association football in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922-91.

The first unofficial republican competition took place in 1922.[1] Six years after (1928) as part of the Belarusian Spartakiade there took place the next unofficial football competitions of the republic.[1] Since 1934 the competitions take place regularly on annual basis.[1] Throughout its history there were 55 winners of the tournament.[1] For some time there also existed second division of the competition.

In the system of leagues of the Soviet football, the Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR had a status as competitions of "collective of physical culture" (amateurs, the other status was "teams of masters").[1]

Winners of the competition qualified for "super cup" format competition known as the Season's Cup and was played between a winner of the republican championship and a republican cup holder.[1]

Unofficial competitions

Season Champion Runner-up 3rd Position
1922 Minsk Bobruisk Borisov
1923 no competitions
1924 Minsk Vitebsk Borisov
Bobruisk
1925 no competitions
1926 Bobruisk Orsha Minsk
Polotsk
1927 no competitions
1928 Gomel Polotsk Minsk
Bobruisk
1929 no competitions
1930 no competitions
1931 no competitions
1932 no competitions
1933 Gomel no data

Republican competitions among sports societies (First League)

The competitions were considered to be amateur. In Soviet Union officially all sports players were amateur athletes, however to differentiate level of teams, there were teams of sports societies and agencies (amateurs) and teams of masters (professionals).

At least since 1966 there were two all-republican divisions First League (Pershaja Liha) and Second League (Druhaja Liha).

In 1956, 1959 the competition was conducted among collective teams of regions (oblasts).[2] In 1957, 1958 the competition was conducted among collective teams of cities.[2]

Season Champion Runner-up 3rd Position
1934 Belarusian Military District Dinamo Minsk Trade Union Minsk
1935 Belarusian Military District Dinamo Minsk Spartak Minsk
1936 Belarusian Military District[a] Vitebsk Bobruisk
1937 Dinamo Minsk Spartak Minsk Temp Minsk
1938 Dinamo Minsk KIM Vitebsk[b] Spartak Minsk
1939 Dinamo Minsk Dinamo Vitebsk Spartak Minsk
1940 DKA Minsk[c] Voskhod Minsk Dinamo Minsk ‡
1941–1944 no competitions World War II
1945 Dinamo Minsk Dinamo Brest Dinamo Grodno
1946 ODOKA Minsk[d] ‡ Dinamo-2 Minsk Spartak Bobruisk
1947 Torpedo Minsk ‡ Spartak Bobruisk Dinamo Minsk
1948 Traktor-MTZ Minsk Lokomotiv Gomel Spartak Bobruisk
1949 Torpedo-MTZ Minsk Spartak Bobruisk Dinamo Molodechno
1950 ODO Minsk ‡ Torpedo-MTZ Minsk Spartak Bobruisk
1951 Dinamo Minsk ODO Minsk ‡ Spartak Minsk
1952 ODO Minsk Dinamo Minsk Spartak Minsk ‡
1953 Spartak Minsk ‡ Iskra SKIF Minsk Dinamo Pinsk
1954 ODO Pinsk Zavod imeni Kirova Vitebsk ODO Minsk[e]
1955 FShM Minsk Zavod imeni Molotova Minsk Dinamo Volkovysk
1956 Minsk-1 (Spartak Minsk) Mogilev Oblast Gomel Oblast
1957 Energiya Minsk[f] Bobruisk city team Dinamo Volkovysk
1958 Spartak Bobruisk Krasnoye Znamye Minsk Gomel city team
1959 Minsk I Grodno Oblast Molodechno Oblast
1960 Sputnik Minsk ‡ Metallurg Mogilev ODO Pinsk
1961 DO Volna Pinsk Spartak Molodechno Sputnik Minsk ‡
1962 Torpedo Minsk ‡ Spartak Molodechno Sputnik Minsk
1963 Spartak Molodechno Torpedo Minsk Lokomotiv Brest
1964 SKA Minsk Gvardeets Uručča[g] Volna Pinsk
1965 SKA Minsk[h] Khimik Grodno Naroch Molodechno
1966 Torpedo Minsk Sputnik Minsk ‡ SKA Minsk
1967 Torpedo Minsk Sputnik Minsk ‡ Khimik Grodno
1968 Sputnik Minsk Torpedo Minsk ‡ Metallurg Mogilev
1969 Torpedo Minsk Impuls Brest Gvardeets Uruchie
1970 Torpedo Zhodino Sputnik Minsk ‡ Stroitel Bobruisk
1971 Torpedo Zhodino ‡ Stroitel Bobruisk Impuls Brest
1972 Stroitel Bobruisk Torpedo Zhodino ‡ Torpedo Minsk
1973 Stroitel Bobruisk Sputnik Minsk Motor Minsk
1974 BATE Borisov Motor Minsk SKA Minsk
1975 Dinamo-2 Minsk Stroitel Bobruisk ‡ Torpedo Zhodino
1976 BATE Borisov ‡ Berezina Bobruisk Torpedo Minsk
1977 Sputnik Minsk Dinamo-2 Minsk Burevestnik Minsk
1978 Shinnik Bobruisk BATE Borisov Temp Orsha
1979 BATE Borisov Burevestnik Minsk Torpedo Mogilev
1980 Torpedo Zhodino Shinnik Bobruisk Burevestnik Minsk ‡
1981 Torpedo Zhodino ‡ Impuls Brest[i] Metallist Molodechno
1982 Torpedo Mogilev Burevestnik Minsk Torpedo Zhodino ‡
1983 Obuvshchik Lida Torpedo Minsk ‡ Orbita Minsk
1984 Orbita Minsk ‡ Torpedo Mogilev Traktor Minsk
1985 Obuvshchik Lida Torpedo Zhodino Traktor Minsk
1986 Obuvshchik Lida Shinnik Bobruisk Sputnik Minsk
1987 Shinnik Bobruisk Sputnik Minsk Obuvshchik Lida
1988 Sputnik Minsk Shakhter Soligorsk ‡ Obuvshchik Lida
1989 Obuvshchik Lida Sputnik Minsk ‡ Shakhter Soligorsk
1990 Sputnik Minsk Shakhter Soligorsk Torpedo Minsk
1991 Metallurg Molodechno ‡ Torpedo Mogilev SKB[j] Vitebsk

‡ – winners of the Football Cup of the Belarusian SSR

Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR – Second League laureates

Season Group Champion Runner-up 3rd Position
1966 no data
1967 no data
1968 no data
1969 no data
1970 1 Obuvshchik Lida Motor Minsk Traktor Minsk
2 Start Orsha Temp Baran Trud Gomel
1971 1 DOK Gomel Trud Gomel Neftianik Novopolotsk
2 Pripiat Minsk SKA Minsk Shakhter Soligorsk
1972 1 SKA Minsk Stankostroitel Lokomotiv Osipovichi
2 Obuvshchik Lida Selena Molodechno Metallist Dzerzhinsk
1973 1 Selena Molodechno Orbita Minsk Shakhter Soligorsk
2 BATE Borisov DSK Minsk Temp Baran
1974–1988 no competitions / no data
1989 1 KIM Vitebsk Torpedo Mogilev Almaz Gomel
2 Metallurg Molodechno Traktor Minsk Olimp Grodno
1990 1 Traktor Bobruisk Berezina Borisov Vedrich Rechitsa
2 Veras Grodno Neman Mosty Stankostroitel Smorhon
1991 1 Vedrich Rechitsa Kolos Ustie Shinnik Bobruisk
2 Luch Minsk Kommunalnik Pinsk Niva Samokhvalovichi

Source

List of all champions

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Notes
SKA Minsk 8 1 1934, 1935, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1964, 1965 Belarusian Military District, DKA Minsk, ODOKA
Dinamo Minsk 6 5 1937, 1938, 1939, 1945, 1951, 1975 (including Dinamo-2 Minsk)
Sputnik Minsk 5 6 1960, 1968, 1977, 1988, 1990
Torpedo Minsk 5 3 1947, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1969
Torpedo Zhodino 4 2 1970, 1971, 1980, 1981
Obuvshchik Lida 4 0 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989
BATE Borisov 3 1 1974, 1976, 1979
Minsk-1 city team 3 0 1936, 1956, 1959 Minsk city team
Shinnik Bobruisk 2 3 1978, 1987 Berezina Bobruisk
Stroitel Bobruisk 2 2 1972, 1973
MTZ Minsk 2 1 1948, 1949 Torpedo-MTZ Minsk, Traktor-MTZ Minsk
DO Volna Pinsk 2 0 1954, 1961 DO Pinsk
Spartak Bobruisk 1 2 1958
Spartak Molodechno 1 2 1963
Torpedo Mogilev 1 2 1982
Spartak Minsk 1 1 1953
FShM Minsk 1 0 1955
Energiya Minsk 1 0 1957
Orbita Minsk 1 0 1984
Metallurg Molodechno 1 0 1991
Impuls Brest 0 2
Burevestnik Minsk 0 2
Shakhter Soligorsk 0 2
Vitebsk city team 0 1
KIM Vitebsk 0 1
Dinamo Vitebsk 0 1
Voskhod Minsk 0 1
Dinamo Brest 0 1
Dinamo-2 Minsk 0 1
Lokomotiv Gomel 0 1
Iskra SKIF Minsk 0 1
Zavod imeni Kirova Vitebsk 0 1
Zavod imeni Molotova Minsk 0 1
Mogilev Oblast team 0 1
Bobruisk city team 0 1
Krasnoje Znamje Minsk 0 1
Grodno Oblast team 0 1
Metallurg Mogilev 0 1
Gvardeets Uruchie 0 1
Khimik Grodno 0 1
Motor Minsk 0 1

Qualification to All-Union competition

Before the World War II, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was rarely represented at the Soviet competitions among teams of masters. There were Dinamo Minsk in 1937 (undetermined conditions), Spartak Minsk in 1939 (placed 3rd at republican competitions), and one more time Dinamo Minsk in 1940 (champion of the BSSR).

Following the war, Belarusian teams rejoined the all-Union competition in 1945 by the Belarusian Dinamo Minsk which continued to play among teams of masters until dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1947 the competitions among teams of masters joined the 1946 Belarusian champion ODOKA Minsk that entered the 1947 Vtoraya Gruppa playing as DO Minsk (1947–1949).

In 1948 the all-Union competitions joined Spartak Minsk (1948–1949).

In 1950 took place reorganization of the Soviet football competitions and most Belarusian clubs were removed from competitions except for Dinamo.

In 1954 the all-Union competitions joined Pischevik Minsk (1954).

In 1957 the all-Union competitions joined Urozhai Minsk (1957–1960).

In 1960 the all-Union competitions joined Spartak (Lokomotiv) Gomel (1960–1991), Dvina (Krasnoje Znamja) Vitebsk (1960–1991), Spartak (Khimik) Mogilev (1960–1991), Dinamo (Spartak) Brest (1960–1991).

In 1961 the all-Union competitions joined Bobruisk (1961).

In 1962 the all-Union competitions joined SKA Minsk (1962–1963).

In 1964 the all-Union competitions joined Neman Grodno (1964–1991).

In 1963 Dvina, Spartak Mg, Spartak Br, SKA played in the Union republics Class B.

In 1964–1965 Dvina, Spartak Mg, Spartak Br, and Neman played in the Ukrainian Class B. In 1970 Spartak Br, Gomselmash and Neman played in Ukrainian competitions of Class A Second Group.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Possibly, it could have been the Minsk city team.
  2. ^ Possible, KIM Minsk
  3. ^ DKA is an abbreviation for Dom Krasnoi Armii which means the House of the Red Army.
  4. ^ ODOKA is an abbreviation for Okruzhnoi Dom Ofitserov Krasnoi Armii which means the District House of the Red Army Officers.
  5. ^ Possibly, ODO Borisov (Borisov is a city in Minsk Oblast.)
  6. ^ Possibly, Sputnik Minsk ‡
  7. ^ or Gvardeets Minsk ‡
  8. ^ SKA Minsk Oblast
  9. ^ or Gomel
  10. ^ SKB is abbreviation for Special Design Bureau (Spetsialnoe Konstruktorskoe Biuro).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR. Kick-off.by (Peter A. Karnaugh).
  2. ^ a b c History of Belaursian clubs. Lena-Dvorkina.narod.ru

External links

Belarusian Premier League
Football in Belarus
Soviet republican level football championships
Categories