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.
| Founded | 1922 (unofficial)[1] 1934[1] |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1991[1] (reformed) |
| Country |  Belarusian SSR |
| Level on pyramid | Soviet football: 4-5 Belarusian (republican) football: 1-2 |
| Relegation to | Regional competitions (in regions of Belarus) (Football Championship of the Byelorussian SSR – Druhaja Liha) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Football Cup of the Byelorussian SSR |
| Last champions | Metalurh Maladzechna (1st title) (1991) |
| Most championships | 8 - SKA Minsk (Belarusian Military District) |
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 | |
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
References
External links
- List of top runners. Kick-off.by (Peter A. Karnaugh). (in Russian)
- Lars Kubusch and Hans Schöggl. Belarus - Championships before Independence. RSSSF.
- Football championship of the BSSR (Чемпионат БССР). Footballfacts.ru. (in Russian)