Rodina Moscow U19

Home games for Rodina Moscow's under-19s are played on a pitch that belongs, in every sense but the ownership papers, to somebody else.

The arrangement makes more sense once the club's short history is laid out. Rodina's youth set-up dates only to 2025, formed to enter Moscow's junior competitions, the MFL and the YFL-1. The senior club behind it was founded in 2015, though the project traces back to 2007.

Alexander Aksenov coaches the under-19s, but his role at the academy runs wider than one squad: he also holds the title of technical director, responsible for the whole youth programme Rodina has built since.

None of that has translated into results on the pitch yet. The team finished 10th of 18 sides in the 2024 YFL-1 season and 11th of 16 the year after, no trophies, and so far no graduate who has forced his way into a Russian Premier League first team.

What the fixture list does supply is friction closer to home. Games against Spartak, CSKA, Dynamo and Lokomotiv arrive as ordinary league rounds, with no derby name attached to any of them.