# 1981 in Soviet football

The 1981 Soviet football championship was the 50th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union. Dinamo Kiev won the Top League championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the tenth time.

## Honours

| Competition | Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| Top League | Top League | Dinamo Kiev (10) | Spartak Moscow |
| First League | First League | Metallist Kharkov (1) | Torpedo Kutaisi |
| Second League | Finals 1 | Daugava Riga | Kotayk Abovian |
| Second League | Finals 2 | Dynamo Kirov | Krivbass Krivoi Rog |
| Second League | Finals 3 | Rotor Volgograd | Dinamo Barnaul |
| Soviet Cup | Soviet Cup | SKA Rostov-na-Donu (1) | Spartak Moscow |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Soviet Union football championship
### Top League

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dynamo Kyiv (C) | 34 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 53 | Qualification for European Cup first round |
| 2 | Spartak Moscow | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 70 | 40 | +30 | 46 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 35 | +27 | 42 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dynamo Moscow | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 40 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Torpedo Moscow | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 6 | CSKA Moscow | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 37 | |
| 7 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 34 | |
| 8 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 32 | |
| 9 | Dinamo Minsk | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 32 | |
| 10 | Neftchi Baku | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 32 | |
| 11 | Chornomorets Odessa | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 31 | |
| 12 | Kairat Alma-Ata | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 30 | |
| 13 | Kuban Krasnodar | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 29 | |
| 14 | Ararat Yerevan | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 29 | |
| 15 | Zenit Leningrad | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 28 | |
| 16 | SKA Rostov-on-Don (R) | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 26 | Relegation to First League |
| 17 | Tavria Simferopol (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 23 | Relegation to First League |
| 18 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 34 | 58 | −24 | 19 | |
* ↑ 4 points deducted (10 draw limit)
* ↑ 3 points deducted (10 draw limit)
* 1 2 2 points deducted (10 draw limit)
* ↑ Pakhtakor Tashkent avoided relegation as it received a three year guarantee of no relegation after the 1979 airplane crash.

### First League

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Metalist Kharkiv (C, P) | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 62 | Promotion to Top League |
| 2 | Torpedo Kutaisi (P) | 46 | 26 | 4 | 16 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 56 | Promotion to Top League |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 54 | |
| 4 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 52 | |
| 5 | Kolos Nikopol | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 68 | 53 | +15 | 51 | |
| 6 | Žalgiris Vilnius | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 46 | |
| 7 | Iskra Smolensk | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 46 | |
| 8 | Nistru Kishinev | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 46 | |
| 9 | Pamir Dushanbe | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 45 | |
| 10 | Fakel Voronezh | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 44 | |
| 11 | Karpaty Lvov | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | |
| 12 | Spartak Kostroma | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 44 | |
| 13 | Metallurg Zaporozhia | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 44 | |
| 14 | Guria Lanchkhuti | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 44 | |
| 15 | Zarya Voroshilovgrad | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 44 | |
| 16 | SKA Odessa | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 44 | |
| 17 | SKA Kiev | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 59 | 71 | −12 | 42 | |
| 18 | Buston Dzhizak | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 41 | |
| 19 | SKA Khabarovsk | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 40 | |
| 20 | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk (R) | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 21 | Spartak Ordjonikidze (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 22 | Kuzbass Kemerovo (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 23 | Dinamo Stavropol (R) | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 38 | Relegation to Second League |
| 24 | Traktor Pavlodar (R) | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 36 | Relegation to Second League |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 There was a draw limit for the draws earned, 12. Only twelve draws earn a point, in contrast, over the limit draws earn no points.
* ↑ Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk was called Spartak.

### Finals 1

| Pos | Rep | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | LVA | Daugava Riga | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 6 | Promoted |
| 2 | ARM | Kotaik Abovyan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | |
| 3 | UZB | Neftyanik Fergana | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |

### Finals 2

| Pos | Rep | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | RUS | Dinamo Kirov | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 6 | Promoted |
| 2 | UKR | Krivbass Krivoi Rog | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | KAZ | Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0 | |

### Finals 3

| Pos | Rep | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | RUS | Rotor Volgograd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Promoted |
| 2 | RUS | Dinamo Barnaul | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 3 | RUS | Textilshchik Ivanovo | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |

### Top goalscorers

Top League
* Ramaz Shengelia (Dinamo Tbilisi) – 23 goals
First League
* Ravil Sharipov (Metallurg Zaporozhye) – 26 goals