Wikipedia

Soviet Second League

The Soviet Second League (Russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу (вторая лига), Soviet football championship (Second League)) was the third highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet First League. The league was formed in 1971 in place of the Class A Second Group of the Soviet football championship just a year after the division was downgraded to the third tier. Previously, the third-tier competition predecessor Class B was liquidated completely. The Second League remained in force until dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Soviet Second League
Founded1971
Folded1991
after 52 seasons
CountrySoviet Union
Level on pyramidLevel 3
Promotion toSoviet First League
Relegation toSoviet Second League B
or KFK competitions
Last championsKarpaty Lviv
Asmaral Moscow
Okean Nakhodka
Most championships11 clubs (2)

Overview

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The Soviet third tier competitions were conducted since the establishment of the Soviet football championship among teams of masters in 1936. At first they were called as the Group V (Cyrillic letter of V) of the Soviet football championship, but was discontinued after the 1937. The experimental edition of the third-tier competition was re-introduced in 1946 as the Third Group of the Soviet football championship. But the consistent competitions really took off in 1963 when the Class B of the Soviet football championship was downgraded to the third tier.

The most titles of the League won was two by 11 different teams out of various now independent republics. The last winners of the League were FC Karpaty Lviv, FC Asmaral Moscow, and FC Okean Nakhodka.

Between 1963 and 1970 football competitions in Class B were split by republican principle at first as tier two, then as tier three, and at the end in 1970 it was downgraded to the auxiliary tier four (or lower tier three). Each territorial Class B competition had multiple number of sub-groups that were known as zones. Winners of each territorial (republican) Class B was granted promotion to Class A Second Group (First League). Also on occasions, there were relegation play-offs to allow rotation for the collective of physical culture (KFK).

  • Class B of the Russian SFSR (1959–1970)
  • Class B of the Ukrainian SSR (1960–1970)
  • Class B of Union republics (1960–1967)
  • Class B of Central Asia (1966–1970)
  • Class B of the Kazakh SSR (1968–1970)
  • Class B of Caucasus (1969)

In 1970–71, the Soviet league system was restructured for lower leagues and Class B competitions were discontinued. Republican competitions were conducted with the Soviet Second League which consisted of multiple groups (zones). There was no explicit designation of zones as they were simply numerated. Initially the league consisted of six groups, but for the next couple of season was increased to seven before reducing back to six again. Normally winners of group were getting promoted to the First League.

In 1980 the league was expanded to 9 groups, winners of which qualified for a mini-tournament that consisted of three groups with three teams. The three winners of that mini-tournament received promotion to the First League. This format remained in place until 1989.

Republican competitions continued to be conducted among collective of physical culture and were considered as amateur.

In 1990 the league again went through another transformation reducing the number of groups from 9 to 3, winners of which would have been promoted to the First League. Due to withdrawal of teams, promotion and relegation was disrupted and the 1991 season became the last.

Third tier competition names

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  • 1936–1937 Group V (third letter in the Russian alphabet)
    • 1936–1937 Group G
    • 1936–1937 Group D and Group of Cities of the Far East
  • 1946–1946 Third Group
  • 1963–1969 Class B
  • 1970–1970 Second Group (Class A)
    • 1970–1970 Class B
  • 1971–1989 Second League
  • 1990–1991 Buffer League
    • 1990–1991 Second League B

Winners

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Group V

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Season Winner Runners-up Third Notes
1936 (spring) FC Dinamo Rostov/Don Stroiteli Baku Dynamo Odessa
1936 (autumn) Dinamo Kazan Spartak Kharkiv Dynamo Dnipropetrovsk
1937 Dynamo Odessa Lokomotyv Kyiv Stakhanovets Staline

Third Group

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Season Zone Winner Runners-up Third Notes
1946 1 Spartak Uzhhorod Krylya Sovetov Tbilisi five groups winners and runners-up of which qualified for the two final groups
2 Dinamo Riga Zenit Kaliningrad

Class B

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Season Zone Winner Runners-up Third Notes
1963 Russia Volga Kalinin Dinamo Kirov Zvezda Serpukhov three zones
Ukraine SKA Odessa Lokomotyv Vinnytsia Azovstal Zhdanov
Republics Lokomotivi Tbilisi Dinamo Batumi
1964 Russia Rostselmash Rostov/Don Terek Grozny Tekstilshchik Ivanovo three zones
Ukraine Lokomotyv Vinnytsia SKA Kiev Polissya Zhytomyr
Republics Granitas Klaipėda Vostok Ust-Kamenogorsk Politodel Tashkent Oblast
1965 Russia Spartak Nalchik Rubin Kazan Sokol Saratov three zones
Ukraine SKA Lviv SKA Kiev Avanhard Zhovti Vody
Republics Dynamo Kirovobad Dynamo Baku Pamir Leninabad
1966 Russia Lokomotiv Kaluga Spartak Ordzhonikidze Metallurg Tula four zones
Ukraine Avanhard Zhovti Vody Dynamo Khmelnytskyi Lokomotyv Kherson
Central Asia Pamir Leninabad Metallurg Chimkent Dynamo Tselinograd
Republics Meshakhte Tkibuli Polad Sumgayit Neman Grodno
1967 Russia Dinamo Makhachkala Volga Ulyanovsk Volgar Astrakhan four zones
Ukraine Avtomobilist Zhytomyr Khimik Severodonetsk Dnipro Kremenchuk
Central Asia Zarafshon Nawoyi Sverdlovets Tashkent Oblast Metallurg Temirtau
Republics Neman Grodno Polad Sumgait
1968 Russia Mashuk Pyatigorsk Kalinenets Sverdlovsk Spartak Belgorod four zones
Ukraine Avanhard Ternopil Bukovyna Chernivtsi Shakhtar Kadiivka
Central Asia Sverdlovets Tashkent Oblast Ak Altyn Andizhan Oblast Samarqand
Kazakhstan Embek Djezkazghan ADK Alma‑Ata Metallurg Temirtau
1969 Russia Druzhba Maykop Saturn Rybinsk Iskra Smolensk five zones
Ukraine Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk Shakhtar Horlivka Spartak Sumy
Central Asia Tashavtomash Tashkent Samarkand Yangiyer
Kazakhstan Traktor Pavlodar Tsementnik Semipalatinsk Embek Djezkazghan
Caucasus Dila Gori Guria Lanchkhuti Avtomobilist Yerevan

Second Group (Class A)

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Season Zone Winner Runners-up Third Notes
1970 Ukraine Metalurh Zaporizhia Tavriya Simferopol Avtomobilist Zhytomyr three zones; top two teams of second and third groups played in final Russian group
Russia Avtomobilist Nalchik Spartak Yoshkar‑Ola Kuzbass Kemerevo

Second League

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Season Winner Runners-up Notes
1971 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Iskra Smolensk six groups
1972 Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk Dinamo Riga seven groups
1973 Uralmash Sverdlovsk Tavriya Simferopol
Kuban Krasnodar 		winners of seven groups play in final
1974 Alga Frunze Rubin Kazan
Metalist Kharkiv 		six groups
1975 Terek Grozny Dinamo Riga
Stroitel Asgabat 		six groups
1976 Dinamo Leningrad Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
Uralmash Sverdlovsk 		six groups
1977 Kuban Krasnodar Žalgiris Vilnius
SCA Odessa 		six groups
1978 FC Zvezda Perm Spartak Nalchik
Metalist Kharkiv 		six groups
1979 Iskra Smolensk
Kolos Nikopol
Dinamo Stavropol
Guria Lanchkhuti
Sugdiyona Jizzakh
SKA Khabarovsk 		Textilschik Ivanovo
SKA Kyiv
Rotor Volgograd
Lokomotivi Samtredia
Shakhrikhonchi Shakhrikhan
FC Shakhter 		six groups, no final, six winners
1980 Spartak Kostroma
Traktor Pavlodar
CSKA Kyiv 		Rotor Volgograd
Dynamo Samarqand
Khimik Grodno 		nine groups, three final groups
1981 Daugava Riga
Dinamo Kirov
Rotor Volgograd 		Kotayk Abovyan
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
Textilschik Ivanovo 		nine groups, three final groups
1982 Textilschik Ivanovo
Dnepr Mogilev
Kuzbass Kemerevo 		Spartak Orjonikidze
Dynamo Samarqand
Shakhter 		nine groups, three final groups
1983 Irtysh Omsk
Spartak Orjonikidze
Dinamo Batumi 		Metallurg Lipetsk
Znamya Truda Orekhovo-Zuevo
Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev 		nine groups, three final groups
1984 Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev
Kotayk Abovyan
Dinamo Stavropol 		Nyva Vinnytsia
Geolog Tumen
Dynamo Samarqand 		nine groups, three final groups
1985 Rostselmash Rostov/Don
Atlantas Klaipėda
Iskra Smolensk 		Tavriya Simferopol
FC Zvezda Perm
Meliorator Chimkent 		nine groups, three final groups
1986 Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev
Geolog Tumen
Zoria Voroshilovgrad 		Kapaz Kirovobad
Metallurg Lipetsk
Sokhibkor Khalkabad 		nine groups, three final groups
1987 Tavriya Simferopol
FC Zvezda Perm
Kuban Krasnodar 		Iskra Smolensk
Meliorator Chimkent
Nistru Chisinau 		nine groups, three final groups
1988 Nistru Chisinau
Torpedo Kutaisi
Fakel Voronezh 		Neftchi Fergona
Tsement Novorossiysk
Bukovyna Chernivtsi 		nine groups, three final groups
1989 Lokomotiv Gorkiy
Textilschik Tiraspol
Dinamo Sukhumi 		Irtysh Omsk
Volyn Lutsk
Neftchi Fergona 		nine groups, three final groups
1990 Bukovyna Chernivtsi
Uralmash Sverdlovsk
Neftchi Fergona 		Daugava Riga
Textilschik Kamyshyn
Novbakhor Namangan 		three groups
1991 Karpaty Lviv
Asmaral Moscow
Okean Nakhodka 		Zorya Luhansk
Krylya Sovetov Samara
Kopetdag Asgabat 		three groups

All-time table (top 20)

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There were over 520 teams that played in the third tier competitions.[1]

Team Republic Seasons First
season		 Last
season		 Played Won Drawn Lost Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Points1 1st 2nd 3rd
Bukovina Chernovtsy Ukraine 26 1963 1989 1175 508 318 349 1466 1115 1842
Polesie Zhitomir Ukraine 24 1963 1988 1086 455 310 321 1294 986 1675
Druzhba Maikop Russia 28 1963 1990 1085 470 243 372 1374 1123 1653
Tselinnik Tselinograd Kazakhstan 26 1964 1990 974 476 215 283 1360 968 1643
Neftyanik Fergana Uzbekistan 23 1963 1989 908 479 178 251 1506 870 1615
Metallurg Lipetsk Russia 24 1963 1990 948 448 242 258 1281 855 1586
Khimik Dzhambul Kazakhstan 27 1963 1990 1013 446 242 325 1439 1127 1580
Krivbass Krivoi Rog Ukraine 22 1963 1988 1003 428 295 280 1267 967 1579
Sudostroitel Nikolaev Ukraine 23 1963 1989 1043 425 295 323 1257 1003 1570
Zakarpatie Uzhgorod Ukraine 26 1963 1989 1155 426 291 438 1235 1288 1569
Niva Vinnitsa Ukraine 22 1963 1990 1002 427 286 289 1230 885 1567
Podolie Khmelnitskiy Ukraine 24 1963 1988 1084 404 286 394 1191 1167 1498
Mashuk Piatigorsk Russia 24 1936 (f) 1989 916 431 202 283 1224 953 1495
Volyn Lutsk Ukraine 27 1963 1990 1206 386 332 488 1148 1416 1490
Avangard Rovno Ukraine 25 1963 1988 1113 388 309 416 1097 1152 1473
Sokol Saratov Russia 24 1963 1990 923 421 209 293 1416 1065 1472
Zenit Izhevsk Russia 26 1963 1990 972 407 251 314 1279 988 1472
Spartak Kostroma Russia 23 1963 1988 891 399 260 232 1225 885 1457
Meliorator Chimkent Kazakhstan 24 1963 1990 918 418 202 298 1352 1018 1456
Kristall Kherson Ukraine 24 1963 1988 1076 387 289 400 1233 1270 1450

1Three points for a win. In 1973, a point for a draw was awarded only to a team that won the subsequent penalty shootout. In 1978–1988, the number of draws for which points were awarded was limited.

See also

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  • Ukrainian Zone - the Ukrainian Republican competitions of the Soviet Second League only, not including the interzonal tournaments.

References

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  1. ^ "Чемпионат СССР, вторая лига, Все матчи".
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