# Belarusian Premier League

The Belarusian Premier League, also called The BETERA Premier League for sponsorship reasons, or the Vyšejšaja Liha or the Vysheyshaya Liga,(Belarusian: Вышэйшая ліга, Russian: Высшая лига, "Top League") is a professional association football league in Belarus and the highest level of the Belarusian football league system. It is organized by the Belarusian Football Federation. The number of teams in the competition has varied over the years from as high as 17 (1992–93 season) to as low as 11 (2012). As of 2016, the league included 16 teams. Each team plays every other team twice during the course of the season. At the end of the season, the two teams with the fewest points are automatically relegated to the Belarusian First League, while the third worst team plays a promotion-relegation playoff against the third best team from the second tier. The top two teams from the Belarusian First League automatically win promotion to the Premier League. Shakhtyor Soligorsk are the current champions, after winning their second championship title in 2021.

## History

The Belarusian Premier League was organized in 1992. The first participants were: Dinamo Minsk, the only Belarusian side in the former Soviet Top League, five teams from the lower tiers of the Soviet league system and represented other five regional centers of Belarus, and ten teams who were previous competitors in the Belarusian SSR First League.
After the league creation, it was decided to change its schedule from a Soviet-style summer season to a European-style winter season. In 1995, the winter season experiment was proven unsuccessful due to poor weather and field conditions in Belarus in the late autumn and early spring. The season was changed back to summer. Every season since 1996 has been played in the summer. Throughout the 2000s, the number of competing teams has changed several times. 2012 season was played with only 11 teams due to last minute withdrawal of Partizan Minsk.
In its earliest years, the league was dominated by Dinamo Minsk, who won the league five times in a row between 1992 and 1995. During the next ten seasons, seven different teams finished as champions: Slavia Mozyr (1996 as MPKC Mozyr, 2000), Dinamo Minsk (1997, 2004), Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev (1998), BATE Borisov (1999, 2002), Belshina Bobruisk (2001), Gomel (2003), Shakhtyor Soligorsk (2005). Since 2006, BATE Borisov has dominated the league, winning 13 championships in a row (2006–2018).
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the other football leagues in Europe were postponed, and by the end of the month, the Belarusian Premier League was the only top-flight league in the continent that was still playing. Due to this, the league gained substantially increased viewership from abroad, with fans from all over the world watching the games online, due to the league being the only significant professional football available; the league signed new television rights deals with networks from countries including Russia and India. Matches were also streamed on the Belarusian Football Federation's YouTube channel. British betting companies also offered odds for the various matches, as the league's profile, previously relatively unknown outside of the country, grew a larger audience due to sporting inactivity elsewhere.

## Premier League in 2024

| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Position in 2023 |
| Arsenal Dzerzhinsk | Dzerzhinsk | City Stadium | 1,000 | 1st (First League) |
| BATE Borisov | Borisov | Borisov Arena | 13,126 | 5th |
| Dynamo Brest | Brest | OSK Brestsky | 10,169 | 10th |
| Dinamo Minsk | Minsk | Dinamo Stadium | 22,000 | 1st |
| Dnepr Mogilev | Mogilev | Spartak Stadium | 7,350 | 2nd (First League) |
| Gomel | Gomel | Central Stadium | 14,307 | 6th |
| Isloch Minsk Raion | Minsk | FC Minsk Stadium | 3,000 | 4th |
| Minsk | Minsk | FC Minsk Stadium | 3,000 | 9th |
| Naftan Novopolotsk | Novopolotsk | Atlant Stadium | 5,300 | 12th |
| Neman Grodno | Grodno | Neman Stadium | 8,479 | 2nd |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Soligorsk | Stroitel Stadium | 4,200 | 13th |
| Slavia Mozyr | Mozyr | Yunost Stadium | 5,300 | 7th |
| Slutsk | Slutsk | City Stadium | 1,896 | 8th |
| Smorgon | Smorgon | Yunost Stadium | 3,200 | 11th |
| Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | Zhodino | Torpedo Stadium | 6,524 | 3rd |
| Vitebsk | Vitebsk | Vitebsky CSK | 8,144 | 3rd (First League) |

### Soviet era champions

* 1922: Minsk (city team)
* 1923: Unknown
* 1924: Minsk (city team)
* 1925: Unknown
* 1926: Bobruisk (city team)
* 1927: Unknown
* 1928: Gomel (city team)
* 1929–32: Unknown
* 1933: Gomel (city team)
* 1934: BVO (Minsk)
* 1935: BVO (Minsk)
* 1936: BVO (Minsk)
* 1937: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1938: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1939: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1940: DKA (Minsk)
* 1941–44: Unknown
* 1945: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1946: ODO (Minsk)
* 1947: Torpedo (Minsk)
* 1948: Traktor MTZ (Minsk)
* 1949: Traktor MTZ (Minsk)
* 1950: ODO (Minsk)
* 1951: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1952: ODO (Minsk)
* 1953: Spartak (Minsk)
* 1954: ODO (Pinsk)
* 1955: FSM (Minsk)
* 1956: Spartak (Minsk)
* 1957: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1958: Spartak (Bobruisk)
* 1959: Minsk (city team)
* 1960: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1961: Volna (Pinsk)
* 1962: Torpedo (Minsk)
* 1963: Naroch' (Molodechno)
* 1964: SKA (Minsk)
* 1965: SKA (Minsk)
* 1966: Torpedo (Minsk)
* 1967: Torpedo (Minsk)
* 1968: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1969: Torpedo (Minsk)
* 1970: Torpedo (Zhodino)
* 1971: Torpedo (Zhodino)
* 1972: Stroitel' (Bobruisk)
* 1973: Stroitel' (Bobruisk)
* 1974: BATE (Borisov)
* 1975: Dinamo (Minsk)
* 1976: BATE (Borisov)
* 1977: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1978: Shinnik (Bobruisk)
* 1979: BATE (Borisov)
* 1980: Torpedo (Zhodino)
* 1981: Torpedo (Zhodino)
* 1982: Torpedo (Mogilev)
* 1983: Obuvschik (Lida)
* 1984: Orbita (Minsk)
* 1985: Obuvschik (Lida)
* 1986: Obuvschik (Lida)
* 1987: Shinnik (Bobruisk)
* 1988: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1989: Obuvschik (Lida)
* 1990: Sputnik (Minsk)
* 1991: Metallurg (Molodechno)

## Champions and top scorers

| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Top scorer |
| 1992 | Dinamo Minsk (1) | Dnepr Mogilev | Dinamo Brest | Andrey Skorobogatko (Dnepr Mogilev) (11) |
| 1992–93 | Dinamo Minsk (2) | KIM Vitebsk | Belarus Minsk | Sergey Baranovsky (Dinamo Minsk) (19) Miroslav Romaschenko (Vedrich Rechitsa / Dnepr Mogilev) (19) |
| 1993–94 | Dinamo Minsk (3) | Dinamo-93 Minsk | KIM Vitebsk | Pyotr Kachuro (Dinamo-93 Minsk / Dinamo Minsk) (21) |
| 1994–95 | Dinamo Minsk (4) | Dvina Vitebsk | Dinamo-93 Minsk | Pavel Shavrov (Dinamo-93 Minsk) (19) |
| 1995 | Dinamo Minsk (5) | MPKC Mozyr | Dinamo-93 Minsk | Sergey Yaromko (MPKC Mozyr) (16) |
| 1996 | MPKC Mozyr (1) | Dinamo Minsk | Belshina Bobruisk | Andrey Khlebasolaw (Belshina Bobruisk) (34) |
| 1997 | Dinamo Minsk (6) | Belshina Bobruisk | Lokomotiv-96 Vitebsk | Andrey Khlebasolaw (Belshina Bobruisk) (19) |
| 1998 | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev (1) | BATE Borisov | Belshina Bobruisk | Sergey Yaromko (Torpedo Minsk) (19) |
| 1999 | BATE Borisov (1) | Slavia Mozyr | Gomel | Valery Strypeykis (Slavia Mozyr) (21) |
| 2000 | Slavia Mozyr (2) | BATE Borisov | Dinamo Minsk | Raman Vasilyuk (Slavia Mozyr) (31) |
| 2001 | Belshina Bobruisk (1) | Dinamo Minsk | BATE Borisov | Sergei Davydov (Neman-Belcard Grodno) (25) |
| 2002 | BATE Borisov (2) | Neman Grodno | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Valery Strypeykis (Belshina Bobruisk) (18) |
| 2003 | Gomel (1) | BATE Borisov | Dinamo Minsk | Gennadi Bliznyuk (Gomel) (18) Sergei Kornilenko (Dinamo Minsk) (18) |
| 2004 | Dinamo Minsk (7) | BATE Borisov | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Valery Strypeykis (Naftan Novopolotsk) (18) |
| 2005 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk (1) | Dinamo Minsk | MTZ-RIPO Minsk | Valery Strypeykis (Naftan Novopolotsk) (16) |
| 2006 | BATE Borisov (3) | Dinamo Minsk | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Alyaksandr Klimenka (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) (17) |
| 2007 | BATE Borisov (4) | Gomel | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Raman Vasilyuk (Gomel) (24) |
| 2008 | BATE Borisov (5) | Dinamo Minsk | MTZ-RIPO Minsk | Gennadi Bliznyuk (BATE Borisov) (16) Vitali Rodionov (BATE Borisov) (16) |
| 2009 | BATE Borisov (6) | Dinamo Minsk | Dnepr Mogilev | Maycon (Gomel) (15) |
| 2010 | BATE Borisov (7) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Minsk | Renan Bressan (BATE Borisov) (15) |
| 2011 | BATE Borisov (8) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Gomel | Renan Bressan (BATE Borisov) (13) |
| 2012 | BATE Borisov (9) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Dinamo Minsk | Dzmitry Asipenka (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) (14) |
| 2013 | BATE Borisov (10) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Dinamo Minsk | Vitali Rodionov (BATE Borisov) (14) |
| 2014 | BATE Borisov (11) | Dinamo Minsk | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Mikalay Yanush (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) (15) |
| 2015 | BATE Borisov (12) | Dinamo Minsk | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Mikalay Yanush (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) (15) |
| 2016 | BATE Borisov (13) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Dinamo Minsk | Vitali Rodionov (BATE Borisov) (16) Mikhail Gordeichuk (BATE Borisov) (16) |
| 2017 | BATE Borisov (14) | Dinamo Minsk | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Mikhail Gordeichuk (BATE Borisov) (18) |
| 2018 | BATE Borisov (15) | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Dinamo Minsk | Pavel Savitski (Dinamo Brest) (15) |
| 2019 | Dynamo Brest (1) | BATE Borisov | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Ilya Shkurin (Energetik-BGU Minsk) (19) |
| 2020 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk (2) | BATE Borisov | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | Maksim Skavysh (BATE Borisov) (19) |
| 2021 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk (3) | BATE Borisov | Dinamo Minsk | Dembo Darboe (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) (19) |
| 2022 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | Energetik-BGU Minsk | BATE Borisov | Bobur Abdikholikov (Energetik-BGU Minsk) (26) |
| 2023 | Dinamo Minsk (8) | Neman Grodno | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | Vladislav Morozov (Dinamo Minsk) (16) |
| 2024 | Dinamo Minsk (9) | | | |

## Performances
### Performance by club

| Teams | Champion | Runner-up | Third place |
| BATE Borisov | 15 (1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) | 7 (1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2019, 2020, 2021) | 2 (2001, 2022) |
| Dinamo Minsk | 9 (1992, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2023, 2024) | 9 (1996, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017) | 7 (2000, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021) |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 3 (2005, 2020, 2021) | 6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018) | 8 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Slavia Mozyr | 2 (1996, 2000) | 2 (1995, 1999) | – |
| Gomel | 1 (2003) | 1 (2007) | 2 (1999, 2011) |
| Belshina Bobruisk | 1 (2001) | 1 (1997) | 2 (1996, 1998) |
| Dnepr Mogilev | 1 (1998) | 1 (1992) | 1 (2009) |
| Dynamo Brest | 1 (2019) | – | 1 (1992) |
| Vitebsk | – | 2 (1992–93, 1994–95) | 2 (1993–94, 1997) |
| Neman Grodno | – | 2 (2002, 2023) | – |
| Dinamo-93 Minsk | – | 1 (1993–94) | 3 (1992–93, 1994–95, 1995) |
| Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | – | – | 2 (2020, 2023) |
| Partizan Minsk | – | – | 2 (2005, 2008) |
| Minsk | – | – | 1 (2010) |

## All-time table

    As of end of 2023 season.
| Club$^1$ | Seasons | Debut | Last Season | Pld$^2$ | W | D | L | Goals | Points$^3$ | Best Result |
| Dinamo Minsk | 33 | 1992 | — | 939 | 560 | 202 | 177 | 1701–794 | 1882 | 1st (1992, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2023, 2024) |
| BATE Borisov | 26 | 1998 | — | 758 | 496 | 157 | 105 | 1493–598 | 1645 | 1st (1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 33 | 1992 | — | 939 | 467 | 222 | 252 | 1413–921 | 1578 | 1st (2005, 2020, 2021)(2022) |
| Neman Grodno | 33 | 1992 | — | 940 | 349 | 243 | 348 | 1080–1115 | 1290 | 2nd (2002, 2023) |
| Dinamo Brest | 33 | 1992 | — | 939 | 333 | 232 | 374 | 1179–1235 | 1231 | 1st (2019) |
| Gomel | 27 | 1992 | — | 739 | 290 | 167 | 282 | 1043–929 | 1037 | 1st (2003) |
| Vitebsk | 27 | 1992 | 2022 | 761 | 271 | 201 | 289 | 859–933 | 1014 | 2nd (1992–93, 1994–95) |
| Dnepr Mogilev | 26 | 1992 | 2022 | 737 | 264 | 179 | 284 | 934–962 | 971 | 1st (1998) |
| Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 24 | 1992 | — | 689 | 260 | 182 | 247 | 822–789 | 962 | 3rd (2020, 2023) |
| Belshina Bobruisk | 23 | 1993–94 | 2023 | 666 | 233 | 151 | 282 | 876–952 | 839 | 1st (2001) |
| Slavia Mozyr | 21 | 1995 | — | 596 | 217 | 143 | 246 | 826–878 | 764 | 1st (1996, 2000) |
| Naftan Novopolotsk | 22 | 1996 | — | 643 | 196 | 136 | 311 | 744–1002 | 719 | 4th (2009) |
| Minsk | 16 | 2007 | — | 474 | 161 | 121 | 191 | 566–609 | 605 | 3rd (2010) |
| Torpedo Minsk | 15 | 1992 | 2019 | 428 | 158 | 115 | 155 | 481–475 | 589 | 4th (2002, 2003) |
| Dinamo-93 Minsk | 7 | 1992–93 | 1998 | 181 | 99 | 43 | 39 | 296–157 | 340 | 2nd (1993–94) |
| Slutsk | 10 | 2014 | — | 293 | 86 | 74 | 133 | 284–394 | 332 | 7th (2017) |
| Isloch Minsk Raion | 8 | 2016 | — | 236 | 92 | 53 | 91 | 292–313 | 329 | 4th (2023) |
| Molodechno-2000 | 12 | 1992 | 2003 | 323 | 80 | 80 | 163 | 339–490 | 320 | 4th (1994–95) |
| Partizan Minsk | 7 | 2004 | 2010 | 198 | 80 | 42 | 76 | 288–281 | 282 | 3rd (2005, 2008) |
| Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev | 10 | 1992 | 2000 | 271 | 64 | 76 | 131 | 266–444 | 268 | 7th (1992) |
| Energetik-BGU Minsk | 9 | 2002 | 2023 | 258 | 71 | 58 | 129 | 305–451 | 248 | 2nd (2022) |
| Gorodeya | 5 | 2016 | 2020 | 149 | 44 | 50 | 55 | 162–184 | 182 | 7th (2019) |
| Vedrich-97 Rechitsa | 8 | 1992 | 2001 | 208 | 46 | 44 | 118 | 167–327 | 182 | 8th (1992) |
| Darida Minsk Raion | 6 | 2003 | 2008 | 168 | 44 | 38 | 86 | 165–252 | 170 | 8th (2006) |
| Bobruisk | 5 | 1992 | 1995 | 122 | 44 | 34 | 44 | 119–145 | 166 | 4th (1992) |
| Lida | 7 | 1992 | 2000 | 182 | 38 | 46 | 98 | 144–289 | 160 | 8th (1994–95) |
| Granit Mikashevichi | 4 | 2008 | 2016 | 112 | 31 | 35 | 46 | 112–161 | 128 | 5th (2015) |
| Smorgon | 5 | 2007 | — | 139 | 28 | 38 | 73 | 112–239 | 124 | 8th (2008) |
| Ataka Minsk | 3 | 1995 | 1997 | 75 | 29 | 16 | 30 | 86–93 | 103 | 4th (1995) |
| Rukh Brest | 2 | 2020 | 2021 | 59 | 26 | 21 | 12 | 106–66 | 99 | 5th (2021) |
| Lokomotiv Minsk | 4 | 2003 | 2008 | 112 | 23 | 25 | 64 | 100–187 | 94 | 11th (2005) |
| Lokomotiv Vitebsk | 4 | 1992 | 1994–95 | 107 | 22 | 27 | 58 | 82–181 | 93 | 10th (1993–94) |
| Kommunalnik Slonim | 3 | 1997 | 2000 | 89 | 15 | 17 | 57 | 66–191 | 62 | 11th (1997) |
| Stroitel Starye Dorogi | 3 | 1992 | 1993–94 | 77 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 48–117 | 60 | 14th (1992, 1992–93) |
| Krumkachy Minsk | 2 | 2016 | 2017 | 60 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 50–86 | 58 | 11th (2016) |
| Smolevichi | 2 | 2018 | 2020 | 59 | 8 | 14 | 37 | 48–111 | 38 | 15th (2018) |
| Transmash Mogilev | 1 | 1997 | 1997 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 30–52 | 28 | 14th (1997) |
| Dnyapro Mogilev | 1 | 2019 | 2019 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 29–42 | 25 | 14th (2019) |
| Luch Minsk | 1 | 2018 | 2018 | 30 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 24–44 | 24 | 13th (2018) |
| Arsenal Dzerzhinsk | 1 | 2022 | 2022 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 18–42 | 23 | 14th (2022) |
| Savit Mogilev | 1 | 2008 | 2008 | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 28–61 | 21 | 15th (2008) |
| Svisloch-Krovlya Osipovichi | 1 | 1999 | 1999 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 24–74 | 16 | 15th (1999) |
| Sputnik Rechitsa | 1 | 2021 | 2021 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 12–37 | 7 | 16th (2021) |
* For clubs that have been renamed, their name at the time of their most recent season in the Premier League is given. The current members are listed in bold.
* Includes 2002 championship play-off, 2004 relegation play-off, 14 games of Dinamo-93 in 1998 season, 15 games of Torpedo Minsk in 2019 season, and 15 games of Sputnik Rechitsa in 2021 season.
* For the purposes of this table, each win is worth 3 points. The three-points system was adopted in fall 1995 season.

## Player of the year

Belarusian Premier League Player of the year is an annual award given by a sports newspaper Pressball.
| Season | Player | Club |
| 1992 | Valyantsin Byalkevich | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1992–93 | Sergey Gotsmanov | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1993–94 | Yury Shukanov | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1994–95 | Valyantsin Byalkevich | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1995 | Valyantsin Byalkevich | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1996 | Alyaksandr Kulchy | MPKC Mozyr |
| 1997 | Andrei Lavrik | Dinamo Minsk |
| 1998 | Oleg Kononov | Torpedo Minsk |
| 1999 | Dmitri Karsakov | Slavia Mozyr |
| 2000 | Aleksandr Lisovskiy | BATE Borisov |
| 2001 | Vitali Kutuzov | BATE Borisov |
| 2002 | Dzmitry Likhtarovich | BATE Borisov |
| 2003 | Timofei Kalachev | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
| 2004 | Andrey Razin | Dinamo Minsk |
| 2005 | Vital Valadzyankow | Dinamo Minsk |
| 2006 | Oleg Strakhanovich | MTZ-RIPO Minsk |
| 2007 | Raman Vasilyuk | Gomel |
| 2008 | Vitali Rodionov | BATE Borisov |
| 2009 | Sergey Krivets | BATE Borisov |
| 2010 | Renan Bressan | BATE Borisov |
| 2011 | Renan Bressan | BATE Borisov |
| 2012 | Stanislaw Drahun | Dinamo Minsk |
| 2013 | Alexander Hleb | BATE Borisov |
| 2014 | Ihar Stasevich | Dinamo Minsk |
| 2015 | Ihar Stasevich | BATE Borisov |
| 2016 | Ihar Stasevich | BATE Borisov |
| 2017 | Mikhail Gordeichuk | BATE Borisov |
| 2018 | Ihar Stasevich | BATE Borisov |
| 2019 | Ihar Stasevich | BATE Borisov |

## Reserves League

An annual league competition is organized for the reserve teams of Premier League clubs since 2001. This tournament was won by the reserves of Dinamo Minsk (9 titles), Gomel (2 titles), Shakhtyor Soligorsk (2 titles), BATE Borisov (1 title), Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (1 title) and Dnepr Mogilev (1 title).