Uzbekistan Super League

Uzbekistan Super League
Ўзбекистон Суперлигаси
Organising bodyUzbekistan Professional Football League
Founded1992 (1992)
CountryUzbekistan
ConfederationAFC
Number of clubs16
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toUzbekistan Pro League
Domestic cup(s)Uzbekistan Cup
Uzbekistan Super Cup
League cupUzbekistan League Cup
International cup(s)AFC Champions League Elite
AFC Champions League Two
Current championsNeftchi (6th title)
(2025)
Most championshipsPakhtakor (16 titles)
Broadcaster(s)Sport TV (Uzbekistan)
Futbol TV (Uzbekistan)
Sponsor(s)Artel Electronics
Website
Current: 2026 Uzbekistan Super League

Uzbekistan Super League (Uzbek: Ўзбекистон Суперлигаси), known as Artel Super League due to sponsorship reasons (Uzbek: Artel Superligasi) is the top division of professional football in Uzbekistan. It is operated under the auspices of the Uzbekistan Professional Football League. It was founded in 1992 and currently has 16 teams. The top team qualifies to the group stage of the AFC Champions League.

History

Uzbek League was founded in 1992. In 2018, was renamed to Uzbekistan Super League.[1][2]

On 21 November 2017 according to the UzPFL management decision the Uzbek League was officially renamed to Uzbekistan Super League starting from 2018 season. The number of teams playing in top division is 16.[3] Famous personnels like Rivaldo, Eren Derdiyok, Zico, Luiz Felipe Scolari have contributed to the league so far.

The U19 and U21 Championship was established in 2020. Starting in 2021, it will be held between clubs from Uzbekistan Super League and Pro League footballers under 19 and 21 years old.[4]

League system

The league is generally played between March and 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 fourteen and seventeen 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.[5]

The final match of the U19 and U21 Championship will also be held the day after the first team match in the Super League.

AFC ranking

As of June 2025, Uzbekistan Super League is ranked ninth in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) national league table (an analogue of the UEFA coefficient table). A ninth-place ranking for the Uzbekistan Championship gives one participant from the Uzbekistan Super League one guaranteed place in the AFC Champions League Elite group stage and one additional place in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off round.

For 2025[6].

Rank Country Points
1 Saudi Arabia 119.957
2 Japan 107.663
3 South Korea 90.982
4 Qatar 74.466
5 Iran 72.018
6 United Arab Emirates 64.129
7 Thailand 54.873
8 China 54.682
9 Uzbekistan 49.821
10 Australia 40.420
11 Malaysia 40.039
12 Iraq 39.280
13 Jordan 39.205
14 Vietnam 35.038
15 Singapore 29.405
16 Bahrain 27.333
17 Oman 26.069
18 Indian Super League 24.958
19 Hong Kong Premier League 24.436
20 Turkmenistan Higher League 24.211

Clubs

The most decorated team among Uzbek clubs is Pakhtakor Tashkent. Pakhtakor has currently won the tournament 16 times. The winners of Uzbekistan Super League participate in the Asian Champions League. Specifically, the Uzbekistan champion and the winner of the Uzbekistan Cup directly qualify for Asian Champions League group stage, while the silver and bronze medalists of the Super League advance to the Champions League through qualifying matches. Currently, the best result for Super League teams in the continental Champions League is reaching the semi-finals. In some years, Uzbek clubs have also participated in the AFC Cup, the second most prestigious tournament in Asia. Nasaf, for example, won the 2011 AFC Cup final.

Foreign Players limit in the Super League

To participate, a club can register up to five foreign players. One (or all) of these players must be citizens of an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member country, meaning Uzbekistan has a four-player limit. If a foreign player from an AFC member country is unavailable, the club cannot include more than four foreign players in its roster (players registered with a farm club also count).

Super League player records

The Uzbekistan Super League has featured numerous renowned domestic and international footballers. Brazilian Rivaldo, for example, played for Bunyodkor from 2008 to 2010. In 2009, Rivaldo became the top scorer in the Uzbekistan Championship with 20 goals. Anvar Berdiev holds the record for most goals in the Super League. A longtime player for Neftchi, he scored 225 goals in the history of the Uzbekistan Championship. Asror Alikulov holds the record for most matches played. This renowned defender played a total of 520 matches.[7][8]

Season Winners

At the end of each season, three Super League winners are determined, along with the teams that finish in last place and are relegated to the Uzbekistan Pro League.[9]

Champions and top scorers

See also: Uzbekistan Super League Top Scorer and Uzbekistan SSR Championship
Key
* League champions also won the Uzbekistan Cup, i.e. they completed the domestic Double.

As Uzbekistan Oliy Liga

Season Champions Runner-up Third place Top scorer
1992 Pakhtakor and Neftchi Sogdiana Valeriy Kechinov (Pakhtakor, 24 goals)
1993 Neftchi (2) Pakhtakor Navbahor Rustam Durmonov (Neftchi, 24 goals)
1994 Neftchi (3) * Bukhara Navbahor (2) Ravshan Bozorov (Neftchi, 26 goals)
1995 Neftchi (4) MHSK Navbahor (3) Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals)
1996 Navbahor Neftchi MHSK Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 23 goals)
Oleg Shatskikh (Navbahor, 23 goals)
1997 MHSK Neftchi (2) Navbahor (4) Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 34 goals)
1998 Pakhtakor (2) Neftchi (3) Navbahor (5) Mirjalol Kasymov (Pakhtakor, 22 goals)
Igor Shkvyrin (Pakhtakor, 22 goals)
1999 Dustlik Neftchi (4) Navbahor (6) Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 24 goals)
Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (Andijon, 24 goals)
2000 Dustlik (2) * Neftchi (5) Nasaf Jafar Irismetov (Dustlik, 45 goals)
2001 Neftchi (5) Pakhtakor (2) Nasaf (2) Umid Isoqov (Neftchi, 28 goals)
2002 Pakhtakor (3) * Neftchi (6) Qizilqum Bakhtiyor Hamidullaev (Andijon, 22 goals)
2003 Pakhtakor (4) * Neftchi (7) Navbahor (7) Marsel Idiatullin (Qizilqum, 26 goals)
2004 Pakhtakor (5) * Neftchi (8) Navbahor (8) Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev (Navbahor, 31 goals)
2005 Pakhtakor (6) * Mashʼal Nasaf (3) Anvar Soliev (Pakhtakor, 29 goals)
2006 Pakhtakor (7) * Neftchi (9) Nasaf (4) Pavel Solomin (Traktor, 21 goals)
2007 Pakhtakor (8) * Kuruvchi Mashʼal Ilhom Moʻminjonov (Kuruvchi, 21 goals)
2008 Bunyodkor * Pakhtakor (3) Neftchi Server Djeparov (Bunyodkor, 19 goals)
2009 Bunyodkor (2) Pakhtakor (4) Nasaf (5) Rivaldo (Bunyodkor, 20 goals)
2010 Bunyodkor (3) * Pakhtakor (5) Nasaf (6) Alisher Kholiqov (Neftchi, 13 goals)
Nosirbek Otakuziev (AGMK, 13 goals)
2011 Bunyodkor (4) Nasaf Pakhtakor Miloš Trifunović (Bunyodkor, 17 goals)
2012 Pakhtakor (9) Bunyodkor (2) Lokomotiv Anvar Berdiev (Neftchi, 19 goals)
2013 Bunyodkor (5) * Lokomotiv Nasaf (7) Oleksandr Pyschur (Bunyodkor, 19 goals)
2014 Pakhtakor (10) Lokomotiv (2) Nasaf (8) Artur Gevorkýan (Nasaf, 18 goals)
2015 Pakhtakor (11) Lokomotiv (3) Nasaf (9) Igor Sergeev (Pakhtakor, 23 goals)
2016 Lokomotiv * Bunyodkor (3) Nasaf (10) Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov (Lokomotiv, 22 goals)
2017 Lokomotiv (2) * Nasaf (2) Pakhtakor (2) Marat Bikmaev (Lokomotiv, 26 goals)

As Uzbekistan Super League

Season Champions Runner-up Third place Top scorer
2018 Lokomotiv (3) Pakhtakor (6) Navbahor (9) Tiago Bezerra (Pakhtakor, 17 goals)
2019 Pakhtakor (12) * Lokomotiv (4) Bunyodkor Dragan Ćeran (Pakhtakor, 23 goals)
2020 Pakhtakor (13) * Nasaf (3) AGMK Dragan Ćeran (Pakhtakor, 21 goals)
2021 Pakhtakor (14) Sogdiana AGMK (2) Dragan Ćeran (Pakhtakor, 16 goals)
2022 Pakhtakor (15) Navbahor Nasaf (11) Dragan Ćeran (Pakhtakor, 20 goals)
2023 Pakhtakor (16) Nasaf (4) Navbahor (10) Dragan Ćeran (Pakhtakor, 13 goals)
2024 Nasaf AGMK Navbahor (11)
2025 Neftchi (6) Pakhtakor Nasaf Igor Sergeev (Pakhtakor, 20 goals)

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Third Place Winning seasons
Pakhtakor 16 7 2 1992*, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Neftchi 6 9 1 1992*, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2025
Bunyodkor 5 3 1 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
Lokomotiv 3 4 1 2016, 2017, 2018
Dustlik 2 - - 1999, 2000
Nasaf 1 4 12 2024
Navbahor 1 1 11 1996
MHSK 1 1 1 1997
AGMK - 1 2
Mashʼal - 1 1
Sogdiana - 1 1
Bukhara - 1 -
Qizilqum - - 1

* Both teams were awarded with the title.
Defunct teams marked in Italics.

All-time table

All-time table of league, as of end of the 2024 season[10]

Pos Team Seasons Points Played Won Drawn Lost G.F. G.A. 1 2 3 Best
1 Pakhtakor 33 2058 968 651 159 158 2128 820 16 6 2 1
2 Neftchi 30 1672 890 504 160 226 1667 942 5 9 1 1
3 Navbahor 33 1506 968 450 209 309 1556 1114 1 1 11 1
4 Nasaf 28 1494 816 443 175 198 1398 847 1 4 11 1
5 Bukhara 29 1121 864 325 146 393 1128 1314 0 1 0 2
6 Sogdiana 29 1047 856 293 168 395 1081 1341 0 1 1 2
7 Bunyodkor 18 1004 508 299 111 100 870 435 5 3 1 1
8 Andijon 28 945 818 256 177 385 1066 1329 0 0 0 5
9 Metallurg 27 930 782 253 171 358 925 1169 0 0 0 5
10 Dinamo 25 895 758 253 136 369 912 1119 0 0 0 4
11 Qizilqum 25 890 722 252 161 309 851 1022 0 0 1 3
12 Lokomotiv 17 877 486 254 115 169 836 633 3 4 1 1
13 Mash'al 19 744 538 214 102 223 673 725 0 1 1 2
14 AGMK 17 669 478 189 102 183 678 650 0 1 2 2
15 Kokand 1912 17 634 516 180 94 252 670 872 0 0 0 5
16 Traktor 16 621 490 178 87 225 684 814 0 0 0 4
17 Surkhon 18 572 530 158 98 263 605 945 0 0 0 6
18 Dustlik 11 559 346 169 52 125 669 532 2 0 0 1
19 Shurtan 12 381 340 109 54 177 393 566 0 0 0 4
20 MHSK 7 362 216 106 44 66 420 335 1 1 1 1
21 Khorazm 8 230 248 62 44 142 281 518 0 0 0 7
22 Zarafshon Navoiy 6 217 196 60 37 99 236 355 0 0 0 9
23 Yangiyer 7 205 216 56 37 123 266 385 0 0 0 10
24 Orol 5 155 164 44 23 97 171 329 0 0 0 11
25 Kosonsoy 5 145 156 40 25 91 171 305 0 0 0 8
26 Guliston 5 119 154 34 17 103 142 340 0 0 0 14
27 Atlaschi 4 118 124 34 16 74 149 280 0 0 0 7
28 Chirchiq 4 103 122 26 25 71 130 240 0 0 0 14
29 Tupalang-Sariosiyo 3 96 86 28 12 46 103 146 0 0 0 9
30 Kimyogar-Chirchiq 3 96 104 25 21 58 113 193 0 0 0 14
31 Olympik 3 91 78 21 28 29 79 98 0 0 0 6
32 Akademiya Toshkent 1 59 34 16 11 7 72 45 0 0 0 5
33 Semurg Angren 2 57 72 15 12 45 99 200 0 0 0 12
34 Turon 2 33 52 6 15 31 32 88 0 0 0 13
35 Sementchi 1 31 30 8 7 15 39 64 0 0 0 15
36 Chilonzor 1 30 34 8 6 20 51 70 0 0 0 16
37 Shakhrikhon 1 28 32 7 7 18 25 67 0 0 0 15
38 Obod 1 24 30 6 6 18 25 51 0 0 0 14
39 Vobkent 1 15 30 3 6 21 23 70 0 0 0 16
40 Uz-Dong-Ju. 1 13 30 2 7 21 17 65 0 0 0 16
Competing in Super League
Competing in Pro League (2nd tier)
Competing in First League (3rd tier)
Club disappeared

Soviet Top League participation

Pos Team Seasons Points Played Won Drawn Lost G.F. G.A. 1 2 3 Best
15 Pakhtakor 22 629 722 212 211 299 805 1035 - - - 6

Players records

Main article: Gennadi Krasnitsky club

List of winners and top scorers by season

In the first season, Valeriy Kechinov became the top scorer with 24 goals. In the 2000 season, Jafar Irismetov became the top scorer for the "Dustlik" team, scoring 45 goals, a result that is still considered a record for a single season.[13]

Season Champions Runners-up Third places
1992 1 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Sogdiana
1993 Neftchi Fergana Pakhtakor Navbahor Namangan
1994 Neftchi Fergana Nurafshon Bukhara Navbahor Namangan
1995 Neftchi Fergana MHSK Navbahor Namangan
1996 Navbahor Namangan Neftchi Fergana MHSK
1997 MHSK Neftchi Fergana Navbahor Namangan
1998 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Navbahor Namangan
1999 Dustlik Neftchi Fergana Navbahor Namangan
2000 Dustlik Neftchi Fergana Nasaf Qarshi
2001 Neftchi Fergana Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi
2002 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Qizilqum Zarafshon
2003 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Navbahor Namangan
2004 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Navbahor Namangan
2005 Pakhtakor Mash'al Mubarek Nasaf Qarshi
2006 Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana Nasaf Qarshi
2007 Pakhtakor Kuruvchi Mash'al Mubarek
2008 2 Bunyodkor Pakhtakor Neftchi Fergana
2009 FC Bunyodkor Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi
2010 FC Bunyodkor Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi
2011 FC Bunyodkor Nasaf Qarshi Pakhtakor
2012 Pakhtakor FC Bunyodkor Lokomotiv Tashkent
2013 FC Bunyodkor Lokomotiv Tashkent Nasaf Qarshi
2014 Pakhtakor Lokomotiv Tashkent Nasaf Qarshi
2015 Pakhtakor Lokomotiv Tashkent Nasaf Qarshi
2016 Lokomotiv Tashkent Nasaf Qarshi FC Bunyodkor
2017 Lokomotiv Tashkent Nasaf Qarshi Pakhtakor
2018 Lokomotiv Tashkent Pakhtakor Navbahor Namangan
2019 Pakhtakor Lokomotiv Tashkent FC Bunyodkor
2020 Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi AGMK
2021 Pakhtakor Sogdiana AGMK
2022 Pakhtakor Navbahor Namangan Nasaf Qarshi
2023 Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi Navbahor Namangan
2024 Nasaf Qarshi AGMK Navbahor Namangan
2025 Neftchi Fergana Pakhtakor Nasaf Qarshi
1Oliy League tournament

2Uzbekistan Professional Football League tournament

3Super League tournament

Sponsorship

See also: Uzbekistan Professional Football League § Sponsors

From 1992 to 2017, the Uzbekistan Super League had no title sponsorship rights with any companies. Only starting from 2018 Uzbekistan Super League have got title League sponsor. On 4 April 2018 Uzbekistan Football Association vice-president Umid Akhmadjonov and IBT, the official PepsiCo bottler, reached an agreement that PepsiCo would become the official League sponsor for the 2018 season.[14]

Period Sponsor Name
1992–2017 No sponsor Oliy Liga
2018 Pepsi Pepsi Uzbekistan Super League
2019–2023 Coca-Cola Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League
2024–present Artel Artel Uzbekistan Super League

See also

References

  1. ^ kunu.uz. "O'zbekistonda Superliga tashkil etiladi". Kun.uz (in Uzbek). Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Oliy liga endi "O'zbekiston Superligasi" deb ataladi, format ham o'zgaradi". CHAMPIONAT.asia (in Uzbek). Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Высшая и Первая лиги Узбекистана сменят названия" (in Russian). Gazeta.uz. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. ^ "O`zbekiston Chempionati U21".
  5. ^ "PFL.UZ". pfl.uz. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  6. ^ "AFC Ranking". the-AFC. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  7. ^ ПФЛ / Лига хақида, archived from the original on 13 June 2011, retrieved 1 June 2011
  8. ^ "Олий лига РЕТРО: Чемпион бўла олмаган юлдузларнинг рамзий терма жамоаси". Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Uzbekistan Super League all time topscoreres (as of 10 December 2018)". Championat.asia. 10 December 2018.
  10. ^ 25 та Ўзбекистон чемпионатининг умумий жадвали Archived 26 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, 30 November 2016 (in Uzbek)
  11. ^ "Uzbekistan Super League all time topscoreres (as of 10 December 2018)". Championat.asia. 10 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Uzbekistan Super League most appearances (9 December 2018)" (in Uzbek). Championat.asia.
  13. ^ "Суперлига по футболу представила своего первого титульного спонсора". Nuz.uz. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Суперлига по футболу представила своего первого титульного спонсора". Nuz.uz. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
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