Russian First League 1997 (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Russian First League 1997 was the 6th edition of the Russian First Division. The Russian Premier League (Russian: - ), currently called Rosgosstrakh Russian Football Championship (Russian: - ), due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition. The league has three Champion's League qualifying places given to teams who finish in the top three at the end of the season and two Europa League places to teams who finish fourth and fifth. Relegation to the Russian First Division are given to teams who finish bottom and second-bottom at the end of the season. The Russian Premier League was established in 2001 and succeeded the Top Division, the difference being that the Top Division was run by the Professional Football League of Russia, and the creation of the Premier League gave the clubs a greater degree of independence.