Russian Premier League

The Russian Premier League (RPL; Russian: Российская премьер-лига, Rossiyskaya premyer-liga; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was established at the end of 2001 as the Russian Football Premier League (RFPL; Russian: Российская футбольная премьер-лига; РФПЛ) and was rebranded in 2018. From 1992 through 2001, the top level of the Russian league system was the Russian Football Championship (Russian: Чемпионат России по футболу, Chempionat Rossii po Futbolu).

There are 16 teams in the competition. As of the 2021/22 season, the league had two Champions League qualifying spots for the league winners and league runners-up, and two spots in the UEFA Conference League were allocated to the third- and fourth-placed teams. However, those have all been suspended due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with the national team's participation in international competitions. The last two teams are relegated to the Russian First League at the end of the season, while the 13th and 14th placed teams compete against the National League's 4th and 3rd teams respectively in a two-legged playoff.