Country Uzbekistan League cup(s) AFC Champions League Number of teams 16 Levels on pyramid 1 | Level on pyramid 1 Current champion Lokomotiv Tashkent FK Date founded 1992 | |
Relegation to Uzbekistan First League Current champions Lokomotiv Tashkent
(2016) Most championships Pakhtakor Tashkent (11) Confederation Asian Football Confederation (Asia) Domestic cups Uzbekistan Cup, Uzbekistan Super Cup Teams FC Bunyodkor, Pakhtakor Tashkent FK, Lokomotiv Tashkent FK, FC Nasaf, FC Neftchi Fergana | ||
The Uzbekistan Professional Football League (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Professional Futbol Ligasi; also the Uzbek Oliy League, Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Oliy Ligasi), is the top division of football in Uzbekistan, and is operated under the auspices of the Uzbekistan Professional Football League and Uzbekistan Football Federation. It was founded in 1992 and is contested by 16 teams (since 2015). The top three teams get a chance to compete in the AFC Champions League, while the two last ranked teams are relegated to the Uzbekistan First League.
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History
The Uzbek League was founded in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and it's domestic league, the Soviet Top League. The league is known locally as the Higher League with relegation to the First League.
17 clubs took part in the inaugural campaign. Before the league was formed, there was a domestic competition, but top club sides playing in the Soviet Union league system did not take part and therefore could not be crowned Uzbek champions.
The first season in 1992 saw the title shared by Pakhtakor Tashkent and Neftchi.
League winners between 1992 and 2011 were invited to play in the Russian hosted Commonwealth of Independent States Cup. League champions also qualified for the AFC Champions League from the 1994–95 Asian Club Championship onwards. This competition from 2008 on would feature the Uzbekistan Cup winners and possibly more teams from the league system depending on the allocation granted by the Asian Football Confederation at the time. This also had the possibility that members club could play in the AFC Cup which is generally a competition for developing nations. Participation in the Asian Cup Winner's Cup was also played between 1993 and the last competition in 2001–02.
Thus far, only Nasaf Qarshi have won any silverware, winning the 2011 AFC Cup in which they also hosted the final. Pakhtakor Tashkent did however win the IFA Shield when invited by India in 1993 and also later went on to win the 2007 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup, the first and only victory for a club side from Uzbekistan.
League System
The league is generally played between March to November in the calendar year and has occasionally had the Super Cup as a curtain raiser to the domestic campaign. Teams play each other on a home and away basis. Two or three teams can be relegated depending on the number of sides participating which has in the past been between 17 and 14 sides. Occasionally no sides would be promoted from the First League, due to reserve teams winning the championships. Reserve clubs are not allowed to feature in the top flight but can play at any level up to First League. On these occasions, clubs can be relegated without any promoted sides making the next campaign feature less sides than before.
League winners enter the next edition of the AFC Champions League along with the winners of the Uzbekistan Cup.
Performance by club
* Both teams were awarded with the title.
All-time table
All-time table of league, as of end of the 2016 season