With the USSR collapsing in 1991, Russia emerged as its successor state, with the Soviet football federation being transformed in the Russian football federation.[7][8] While the national teams and the clubs used to be linked to state institutions or mass organizations, in 1991 some of them 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, were now 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 successful clubs include Spartak Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow and FC Torpedo Moscow.[citation needed]
Today, football is the most popular in Russia, beating hockey.[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 5 teams capable of winning the title. Russian top teams are usually sponsored by state-controlled companies. For example, Gazprom sponsors Zenit Saint Petersburg, Lukoil sponsors FC Spartak Moscow, Russian Railways sponsors FC Lokomotiv Moscow etc. 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.[9] Foreign players sometimes face a very hostile environment. A problem of racism in Russian football is particularly important.[10][11]
The Russian national team gained attention when they defeated traditional European powerhouse Netherlands 3–1 in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions Spain. Nevertheless, four players made the Team of the Tournament. Some players such as Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko earned big-money moves to the English Premier League after impressing at the tournament.[12] Currently, the majority of Russian footballers play in a home league mainly due to the foreign players limits. This causes a significant disbalance in players' salaries with Russian footballers getting more than their foreign counterparts only because of their nationality.[13]
The first level of the Russian league system is the 16-club Premier League. Below are two other professional levels, namely First League and Second League, both managed by the National Football League. The First League consists of 18 clubs, and the Second League has 72 clubs split geographically into Groups 1 to 4 (representing Southern, Western, Central and Eastern parts of Russia) with varying numbers of clubs. Four clubs from the Far East are allocated to Groups 2 to 4. After each season, the top two clubs of the First League replace the bottom two clubs of the Premier League, and champions of each Second League group replace the four bottom clubs of the First League.
The Second League Division B is the lowest level of professional football in Russia. The next level of football is the Amateur Football League (aka Third Division), which is split into ten zones: North-West (Severo-Zapad), Golden Ring (Zolotoe Koltso), Moscow City (Gorod Moskva), Moscow Region (Podmoskovye), Center, South (Yug), Volga Region (Privolzhye), Ural and West Siberia (Ural i Zapadnaya Sibir), Siberia (Sibir), and Far East (Dalniy Vostok). Also there is a Cup competition in each zone. At the end of the season, the zonal champions and cup winners participate in the AFL Finals to determine the AFL Champions and Cup Winners. There is no automatical promotion/relegation between Second League and AFL, though the winners of each Amateur Football League zone are eligible for promotion to the Second League Division B, provided that they have taken part in the AFL Finals. The actual promotion and relegation is subject to meeting Professional Football League requirements.[citation needed]
There is no promotion/relegation between the AFL and lower level either, and the composition of AFL zones can change a lot from season to season, as the AFL is basically open to new clubs. At the lower level, there are championships of federal subjects. They are often called the Fourth Division, though these competitions are formally not part of the league system. Nevertheless, some AFL zonal football unions organize tournaments (like Champions League) for the champions of federal subjects which are the members of the respective union. Many federal subject leagues provide a much stronger competition, so clubs often prefer to stay at the 5th level rather than enter the AFL. The competitions at the 4th and 5th level have a spring-autumn format, unlike the autumn-spring professional league format.
On December 2, 2010, Russia was awarded the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Russia hosted the tournament for the first time, becoming the largest country to host the World Cup, a title held by the United States since 1994.[22][23][24]
Cup competitions
The main cup competition in Russia is the Russian Cup. Only professional clubs take part in it.[citation needed]
There is also an Amateur Football League Cup, a competition for the Amateur Football League clubs. The winners of this cup are eligible for promotion to the Second Division.[citation needed] Cups of federal subjects are also played.[citation needed]
Stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or higher are included. The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex is the largest stadium in Russia, followed by the Gazprom Arena, the home of FC Zenit. On 24 May 2023, Zenit became the first Russian sports club with 10 million followers on social media.[27]
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat is a Dutch former football player and coach. He is the current manager of the Curaçao national football team.
Football Club Zenit, also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925, the club plays in the Russian Premier League. Zenit are the reigning champions of the Russian Premier League. Previously they won the 2007, 2010, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 and the 2021–22 seasons of the Russian Premier League, as well as the 2007–08 UEFA Cup and the 2008 UEFA Super Cup. The club is owned and sponsored by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom. The team play its home matches at the Gazprom Arena. In March 2022, the club was expelled from all European and international club competitions by FIFA and the UEFA due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the European Club Association suspended the team. On 24 May 2023, Zenit became the first Russian sports club with 10 million followers on social media.
Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains Russian club CSKA Moscow.
Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov is a Russian football manager and former professional football player who played as a striker.
Sergei Bogdanovich Semak is a Russian football manager and a former international midfielder who currently manages Russian Premier League side FC Zenit.
Yuri Valentinovich Zhirkov is a Russian former footballer who played as a left-back and as a left-winger.
Igor Vladimirovich Denisov is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid. He originally also played in more offensive roles such as central or attacking midfielder.
Aleksei Sergeyevich Ionov is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ural Yekaterinburg. He can play on the left flank or the right.
Alan Yelizbarovich Dzagoev is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
ArtemSergeyevich Dzyuba is a Russian professional football player who plays as a striker for Lokomotiv Moscow and the Russia national football team.
Vladimir Vasilyevich Granat is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Igor Aleksandrovich Smolnikov is a Russian former football player who played as a right-back.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kokorin is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot club Aris Limassol on loan from Italian side Fiorentina.
Mário Figueira Fernandes is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Born in Brazil, he played for the Russia national team.
Anton Konstantinovich Zabolotny is a Russian professional football player who plays as a striker for CSKA Moscow.
Aleksei Andreyevich Miranchuk is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for Italian Serie A club Atalanta and the Russia national team.
Dmitry Vladimirovich Shishin is a Russian beach soccer player currently active as forward, playing for the Russia national beach soccer team and BSC Kristall. Shishin is Merited Master of Sports of Russia.
Ilya Yuryevich Leonov is a retired Russian beach soccer and former futsal player. From 2010 to 2018, he played for Lokomotiv Moscow, where for a time he served both as player and coach. After his retirement as a player he is coaching the Russia women's national beach soccer team, winning with them two Euro Beach Soccer Cups in a row, and continues coaching Lokomotiv Moscow.
Yuri Yuryevich "Krash" Krasheninnikov is a Russian beach soccer player currently active as defender. He is Merited Master of Sports of Russia.
↑ Marcotti, Gabriele (2010-11-15). "Russia: Soccer's Sleeping Giant". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
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