The Russian Second League (Russian: Первенство России II дивизиона ФНЛ), formerly the Russian Professional Football League are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional football.
History
In 1998–2010, it was run by the Professional Football League. The 2011–12 season was run by the Department of Professional Football of the Russian Football Union (Russian: Департамент профессионального футбола Российского футбольного союза (ДПФ РФС), Departament professional'nogo futbola Rossijskogo futbol'nogo soyuza [DPF RFS]).[1] From 2013 to 2021 season the league was again run by the Professional Football League and the name Second Division was no longer used, the league was just called PFL. Before the 2021–22 season, the league was merged organizationally with the second-tier First League and renamed to FNL2.[2] Before the 2022–23 season, its short name was changed again, to a historical name "Russian Second League", even though the league's full title ("Second Division of the Football National League") remained the same.[3]
The Second League was geographically divided into 4 zones:[4] 1 (ex-South - Southern European Russia), 2 (ex-West - Western European Russia and Eastern Siberia), 3 (ex-Centre - Northern and Eastern European Russia and Sakhalin), 4 (ex-Ural-Povolzhye - Southern Urals and Western Siberia). The number of clubs in each zone varied between years. In the 2020–21 season, there were 64 clubs in the division.[5]
The winners of each zone were automatically promoted to the Russian First League (known before 2011 as the First Division and from 2011 to 2022 as Russian Football National League). The bottom finishers of each zone lost professional status and were relegated to the Russian Amateur Football League. The teams typically could avoid relegation as long as they still have necessary financing to stay in the FNL2. Each club plays its opponents twice home and away.[citation needed]
For the 2023–24 season, the league was reorganized once again and split into two tiers - third-tier Russian Second League Division A and fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B.[6]
Division A consists of two groups of 10 teams each - Gold Group and Silver Group, based on the 2022–23 results. In the first part of the season (summer/autumn 2023), each team in the Gold and Silver groups played each other team in the same group twice, home-and-away, for 18 games in total for each team. For the second part of the season (spring/summer 2024), Groups will be re-constituted. Gold Group will now include top 6 first-stage Gold Group teams and top 4 first-stage Silver Group teams. Silver Group will include bottom 4 first-stage Gold Group teams, 5th and 6th-placed first-stage Silver Group teams and four winners of the Division B groups. Bottom 4 first-stage Silver Group teams would be relegated to Division B for 2024. The teams in re-constituted groups will play each other twice more for 18 more games. Top 2 Gold Group teams at the end of the season will be promoted to the Russian First League for the 2024–25 season. The 3rd-placed Gold Group team will play in promotion play-offs (two games, home-and-away) against the team that finishes first in the Gold Group in the first part of the season, the winner of those play-offs will also be promoted to the Russian First League. The bottom four teams in the Gold Group at the end of the season would be moved to Silver Group for the 2024–25 season, and the top four teams in the Silver Group would be moved to the Gold Group.[7]
Division B consists of four groups, mostly based on geography (1, 2, 3, 4). A transitional season of Division B was played from July to November 2023. The winners of groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be included in the Division A Silver Group for the spring/summer part of the 2023–24 season. Beginning in 2024, Division B switched to the spring-to-autumn cycle, the 2024 season is played from March to November.
The rotation between Division A and Division B will be happening in the winter from then on. For example, in November 2024, bottom 2 teams of Division A Silver Group standings at the time would be relegated to 2025 Division B directly, 7th and 8th-placed teams in Division A Silver Group will play in relegation play-offs against the bottom two teams of the 2023–24 Division A Silver Group season, with 2 losers of the playoffs also relegated to Division B. Winners of the 2024 Division B groups will be promoted to Division A Silver Group at that time.
Current Teams
Second League A[8]
| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FK Dinamo Bryansk | Bryansk | Stadion Dinamo | 10,100 |  Konstantin Sineokov
|
| FK Irtysh Omsk | Omsk | Stadion Krasnaya Zvezda | 4,655 | Maksim Mishatkin
|
| FK Khimik Dzerzhinsk | Dzerzhinsk | Stadion Khimik | 5,266 | Sergey Perednya
|
| FK Krasnodar II | Krasnodar | Stadion Akademii FK Krasnodar | 4,371 | Ilya Valiev
|
| FK Mashuk-KMV Pyatigorsk | Pyatigorsk | Central'nyj Stadion Mashuk | 10,365 | Artur Sadirov
|
| FK Metallurg Lipetsk | Lipetsk | Stadion Metallurg | 14,940 |  Maksim Romashchenko
|
| FK Murom | Murom | Stadion Park 50 | 3,000 | Aleksandr Kulchiy
|
| FK Rodina Moskva II | Moscow | Stadion Rodina | 10,033 | Filipp Sokolinskiy
|
| FK Torpedo Miass | Miass | Stadion Trud | 5,000 | Vladimir Fedorov
|
| FK Volga Ulyanovsk | Ulyanovsk | Stadion Trud | 15,000 | Mikhail Belov
|
Second League B Group 1[9]
| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaniya Vladikavkaz II | Grozny | Republican Spartak Stadium | 32,364 | Aslan Zaseev
|
| Angusht Nazran | Nezran | Stadion Central'nyj im. Rashida Ausheva | 3,200 | Umar Markhiev
|
| FK Astrakhan | Astrakhan | Stadion imeni Kolosova | 5,000 | Artem Kulikov
|
| Biolog Novokubansk | Progress | Stadion Biolog | 2,300 | - |
| Dinamo Dagestan | Makhachkala | - | - | Artem Kashuba
|
| Dinamo GTS Stavropol | Stavropol | Stadion Dinamo | 15,982 | Ashamaz Shakov
|
| Druzhba Maikop | Maykop | Adygeyskiy Respublikanskiy Stadion Druzhba | 15,000 | Sergey Miroshnichenko
|
| Forte Taganrog | Taganrog | Forte Arena Taganrog | 16,500 | Eduard Sarkisov
|
| Kuban Kholding | Pavlovskaya | Stadion Urozhay | 3,500 | Dmitri Fomin
|
| Legion Makhachkala | Machačkala | Stadion Dinamo | 16,100 | Akhmad Magomedkamilov
|
| Nark Cherkessk | Cherkessk | - | - | Arslan Khalimbekov
|
| FK Pobeda | Khasavyurt | - | - | - |
| FK Rostov II | Rostov-na-Donu | - | - | Aleksandr Abroskin
|
| Rubin Yalta | Yalta | Stadion Avanhard | 4,000 | Aleksey Grachev
|
| FK Sevastopol | Sevastopol | SKS Arena | 5,864 | Stanislav Gudzikevich
|
| Stroitel Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy | Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy | - | - | Aleksey Korobchenko
|
| Spartak Nal'chik | Nal'chik | Stadion Spartak | 14,384 | Timur Bitokov
|
Second League B Group 2[10]
| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luki-Energiya Velikiye Luki | Velikiye Luki | Stadion Ekspress | 3,500 | Sergey Osadchuk
|
| Baltika BFU imeni Immanuila Kanta | Kaliningrad | - | - | Anver Koneev
|
| Chertanovo Moskva | Moscow | Arena Chertanovo | 4,000 | Sergey Chikishev
|
| Dinamo Moskva II | Moscow | UTB Novogorsk-Dynamo | 1,500 | Pavel Alpatov
|
| Dinamo St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Malaya Sportivnaya Arena | 3,018 | Aleksandr Fomichev
|
| Dinamo Vologda | Vologda | Stadion Dinamo | 8,460 | Rudolf Chesalov
|
| FK Irkutsk | Irkutsk | - | - | Konstantin Dzutsev
|
| FK Rodina-m | Moscow | - | - | Aleskandr Pavlenko
|
| Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast | Ramenskoe | Leon Arena | 16,726 | Vladimir Korytko
|
| FK Spartak Moskva II | Moscow | Futbol'noe pole 4 Akademiya Spartak im. F. Cherenkova | 4,000 | Dmitri Kombarov
|
| Torpedo Vladimir | Vladimir | Stadion Torpedo | 19,700 | Denis Evsikov
|
| FK Tver | Tver | Stadion Junost' | 650 | Vladislav Ternavskiy
|
| FK Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk | Central'nyj Stadion | 32,500 | Aleskandr Kishinevskiy
|
| Zenit St. Petersburg II | St. Petersburg | Malaya Sportivnaya Arena | 3,018 | Andrey Pocheptsov
|
| Znamya Truda Orekhovo-Zuyevo | Orekhovo-Zuyevo | Sportkompleks Znamja Truda | 5,500 | Vyacheslav Lugovkin
|
| Zvezda St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Stadion Nova Arena | 2,000 | - |
Second League B Group 3[11]
| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal Tula II | Kosaya Gora | Stadion DYUSSH Arsenal | 1,000 | Andrey Kozlov
|
| Dynamo Vladivostok | Vladivostok | - | - | Mikhail Salnikov
|
| Spartak Tambov | Tambov | Stadion Spartak | 8,000 | Mikhail Pilipko
|
| FK Khimki II | Khimki | Stadion Novye Khimki | 3,066 |  Branimir Petrović
|
| FK Kolomna | Kolomna | Stadion Trud | 3,200 | Aleksandr Kuranov
|
| Kompozit Pavlovsky Posad | Pavlovsky Posad | - | - | Igor Rudoy
|
| Kosmos Dolgoprudny | Dolgoprudny | - | - | Andrey Proshin
|
| Kvant Obninsk | Obninsk | Stadion Trud | 4,000 | Oleg Morozov
|
| FK Orel | Orel | Stadion Central'nyj im. V.I. Lenina | 15,292 | Evgeni Polyakov
|
| FK Ryazan | Ryazan | Central'nyj Sportivn'yj Kompleks | 20,000 | Yuri Kuleshov
|
| Sakhalin Sakhalinsk | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | Stadion Spartak | 4,200 | Yuri Drozdov
|
| Salyut Belgorod | Belgorod | Stadion Salyut Belgorod | 11,456 | Viktor Navochenko
|
| SKA-Khabarovsk II | Khabarovsk | Stadion imeni V.I. Lenina zapasnoe pole | 1,000 | Marat Khoziev
|
| Strogino Moskva | Moscow | Stadion Rublevo | 2,000 | Sergey Zagidullin
|
| Zenit Penza | Penza | Stadion Pervomayskiy | 4,000 | - |
Second League B Group 4[12]
| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Barnaul | Barnaul | Stadion Dinamo | 16,000 | Vitali Vikhlyanov
|
| Akron Togliatti II | Togliatti | - | - | Renat Miftakhov
|
| Amkar Perm | Perm | Stadion Zvezda | 17,000 | Andrey Blazhko
|
| Dinamo Kirov | Novovyatsk | Stadion Rossiya | 3,000 | Viktor Bulatov
|
| Krylya Sovetov Samara II | Samara | Stadion Metallurg zapasnoe pole | 1,500 | Dmitri Shukov
|
| Lada Tolyatti | Tolyatti | Stadion Torpedo | 18,500 | Vladimir Shcherbak
|
| Nosta Novotroitsk | Novotroitsk | Stadion Metallurg | 6,060 | Maksim Gerasin
|
| FK Orenburg II | Rostoshi | Stadion Gazovik | 10,046 | Maksim Groshev
|
| Rubin Kazan II | Kazan | Stadion Rubin | 10,000 |  Gökdeniz Karadeniz
|
| Sokol Kazan | Kazan | - | - | Sergey Ryzhikov
|
| Ural-D Ekaterinburg | Ekaterinburg | Stadion Central'nyj | 27,000 | Aleksandr Dantsev
|
| Uralets TS Nizhnyi Tagil | Nizhnyi Tagil | Stadion Uralets | 10,000 | Igor Bakhtin
|
| Volna Nizhegorodskaya Oblast | Kovernino | - | - | Oleg Makeev
|
| RTsPF NN Elektrika | Nizhny Novgorod | - | - | Valeri Burlachenko
|
Winners
References
- ^ Второй дивизион - очень важный пласт (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ "Реформы в российском футболе уже произошли. Всё о ФНЛ-2 с тремя клубами Петербурга" (in Russian). NV Sport. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "ВТОРАЯ ЛИГА – НАЧИНАЕМ!" (in Russian). Russian Second League. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b From 2016–17 – Zone Ural-Povolzh'e was renamed Ural-Privolzh'e and all zones began to be referred to as "groups" instead.
- ^ a b Since the 2020–21 season, the Vostok group has been abolished. The teams from Vostok were scattered in groups 2, 3 and 4.
- ^ "Бюро исполкома РФС утвердило реформу Второй лиги" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 10 May 2023.
- ^ "ВТОРАЯ ЛИГА БУДЕТ РЕФОРМИРОВАНА С СЕЗОНА 2023/2024" (in Russian). FNL. 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Summary - Second League A - Russia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Summary - Second League B - Russia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Summary - Second League B - Russia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Summary - Second League B - Russia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Summary - Second League B - Russia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
External links
- (in Russian) Professional Football League official website
- (in Russian) Department of professional football of the Russian Football Union
- (in English) Russian Professional Football League summary (Soccerway)
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