The Premier League, or the Russian Football Championship, is the top level football league in Russia. It has 16 teams who play each other home and away for a total of 30 matches each. After this the top team in the league table is the champion, the bottom two relegated directly while two teams play a relegation playoff.
The Russian Football National League (FNL) is the second highest level of football in Russia. It was founded in 1992 and with the current format it holds 20 teams, including the reserve teams of some of the biggest Russian clubs. After the final league table is decided the top two are promoted directly while third and fourth have promotion playoff fixtures. The bottom five clubs are relegated.
The U21 Premier League is the premier development league in Russian football, featuring the youth teams of the big football clubs in Russia. It has 16 teams playing two fixtures against each other (home/away). After these 30 matches each the top team of the league table is U21 champion.
The Professional Football League (PFL) is the third level of Russian football. It is divided into five divisions (or zones) based on the team’s location. The divisions have a varying number of teams, in total about 60. The top team of each league table is promoted while the bottom team is relegated.
