Premier League (Russia) 2026/27

Russian Premier League (RPL) is the top tier of Russian football, established in 2001 by the Russian Football Union (RFU). It replaced the Russian Top Division, which had operated under the Professional Football League of Russia since 1992. Vitaly Mutko served as its first president, and the league operates as a non-commercial partnership under RFU supervision. The competition consists of 16 teams playing a double round-robin format, with each side facing every opponent twice. This structure results in 30 matches per team over a season that runs from autumn to spring, featuring a winter break. There are no play-offs for the championship; the title is decided by the final standings. Relegation sees the bottom two teams drop directly to the First League (FNL), while the 13th and 14th placed teams enter play-offs against the FNL’s third and fourth placed sides.

Zenit Saint Petersburg leads the post-Soviet era with 11 titles, including their 12th overall when counting the 1984 Soviet championship. Spartak Moscow holds the best record in the independent era with 10 wins. CSKA Moscow has six titles, Lokomotiv Moscow three, Rubin Kazan two, and FK Krasnodar one. The league underwent significant changes in the 2011–12 season, switching from a spring-autumn calendar to the current autumn-spring model. In 2018, it was rebranded from the Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) to the RPL. Title sponsorship has included Mir Pay and Alfa-Bank. The RPL operates independently from the Russian Cup, a knockout tournament founded in 1992. The Russian Super Cup, established in 2003, features a single match between the RPL champion and the Russian Cup winner. Zenit holds the record for Super Cup victories with 10 wins.

The First League (FNL) serves as the primary source for promotion, with 18 teams competing for spots. The RPL winner qualifies for European competitions based on league position, whereas the Russian Cup winner earns qualification through the knockout tournament. The league has never been officially sponsored by Gazprom as a title sponsor, although Gazprom sponsors Zenit. The RPL remains a central pillar of Russian football, with its structure and history shaped by various reforms and sponsorships over the years.