Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR
The Championship of the Belarusian SSR in football – First League (Belarusian: Першая ліга чэмпіянату БССР па футболе, Pershaja Liha chempijanatu BSSR pa futbole) was a top competition of association football in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922-91.
| Founded | 1922 (unofficial) 1934 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1991 (reformed) |
| Country | Belarusian SSR |
| Level on pyramid | Soviet football: 4-5 Belarusian (republican) football: 1-2 |
| Relegation to | Regional competitions (in regions of Belarus) (Football Championship of the Byelorussian SSR – Druhaja Liha) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Football Cup of the Byelorussian SSR |
| Last champions | Metalurh Maladzechna (1st title) (1991) |
| Most championships | 8 - SKA Minsk (Belarusian Military District) |
The first unofficial republican competition took place in 1922. Six years after (1928) as part of the Belarusian Spartakiade there took place the next unofficial football competitions of the republic. Since 1934 the competitions take place regularly on annual basis. Throughout its history there were 55 winners of the tournament. For some time there also existed second division of the competition.
In the system of leagues of the Soviet football, the Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR had a status as competitions of "collective of physical culture" (amateurs, the other status was "teams of masters").
Winners of the competition qualified for "super cup" format competition known as the Season's Cup and was played between a winner of the republican championship and a republican cup holder.