2001 Belarusian First League

Belarusian First League
Season2001
ChampionsTorpedo Zhodino
PromotedTorpedo Zhodino
Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk
RelegatedOrsha
Matches played210
Goals scored581 (2.77 per match)
← 2000
2002 →

2001 Belarusian First League was the 11th season of 2nd level football championship in Belarus. It started in April and ended in November 2001.

Team changes from 2000 season

Winners of last season (Molodechno) were promoted to Belarusian Premier League. They were replaced by the three teams that finished at the bottom of 2000 Belarusian Premier League table (Kommunalnik Slonim, Lida and Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev).

Four teams that finished at the bottom of 2000 season table (Traktor Minsk, Khimik Svetlogorsk, Veino-Dnepr and Polesye Kozenki) relegated to the Second League. They were replaced by two best teams of 2000 Second League (Darida Minsk Raion and Akadem-Slavia Minsk).

Luninets, who finished 2nd last season, disbanded during the off-season. Traktor Minsk were invited back to the First League to replace the team, but declined the offer. Khimik Svetlogorsk were invited instead and accepted invitation.

Before the start of the season, FC Rogachev changed their name to Rogachev-DUSSh-1, Svisloch-Krovlya Osipovichi to Svisloch Osipovichi and Akadem-Slavia Minsk were renamed to SKAF Minsk.

A week before the start of the season newly promoted SKAF Minsk withdrew back to the Second League, after their partnership with Slavia Mozyr (of whom they were previously a farm club) suddenly ended, along with the financial supply. No team was able to replace SKAF on a short notice and the league was reduced to 15 clubs for the season.

Teams and locations

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Location of teams in 2001 Belarusian First League
Team Location Position in 2000
Lida Lida Premier League, 14
Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev Premier League, 15
Kommunalnik Slonim Premier League, 16
Neman Mosty 3
Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk 4
Granit Mikashevichi 5
Keramik Bereza 6
Torpedo Zhodino 7
Svisloch Osipovichi 8
Orsha Orsha 9
Rogachev-DUSSh-1 Rogachev 10
Dinamo-Juni Minsk 11
ZLiN Gomel 12
Khimik Svetlogorsk 14
Darida Minsk Raion Second League, 1

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Torpedo Zhodino (P) 28 21 3 4 56 13 +43 66 Promotion to Belarusian Premier League
2 Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk (P) 28 19 5 4 74 21 +53 62
3 Darida Minsk Raion 28 19 4 5 49 22 +27 61
4 Khimik Svetlogorsk 28 17 6 5 56 24 +32 57
5 Torpedo-Kadino Mogilev 28 14 4 10 29 29 0 46
6 Granit Mikashevichi 28 13 5 10 47 26 +21 44
7 ZLiN Gomel 28 9 8 11 35 36 −1 35
8 Keramik Bereza 28 9 7 12 34 39 −5 34[a]
9 Lida 28 9 7 12 27 33 −6 34[a]
10 Kommunalnik Slonim 28 9 5 14 33 42 −9 32
11 Svisloch Osipovichi 28 9 4 15 34 59 −25 31
12 Orsha (R) 28 9 1 18 40 74 −34 28 Withdrew to amateur league
13 Dinamo-Juni Minsk 28 6 7 15 19 39 −20 25
14 Neman Mosty 28 5 4 19 21 57 −36 19
15 Rogachev-DUSSh-1 28 3 8 17 27 67 −40 17
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head (points, matches won, goal difference, goals scored); 4th goal difference; 5th goals scored
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Keramik Bereza placed above Lida by overall goal difference, having an equal head-to-head record (0–0, 1–1).

Top goalscorers

Rank Goalscorer Team Goals
1 Belarus Maksim Sukhoveyev Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk 28
2 Belarus Sergey Shevchik Torpedo Zhodino 21
3 Belarus Ashot Bagiryan Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk 14
4 Belarus Yuriy Nikitochkin Svisloch Osipovichi 13
Belarus Oleg Kuzmenok Darida Minsk Raion 13
Belarus Sergey Ulezlo Khimik Svetlogorsk 13

See also