Belarus - Second League

About Second League

Second League History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The Belarusian Second League is the third highest level of professional football in Belarus. It was founded in 1992, and has seen its structure - both layout and number of teams - change over the decades. In fact, there is no real strict number of teams or format for this league, and how many teams will be participating is determined at the start of each season depending on two main factors: the number of teams looking to take part and how many are able to meet strict licensing requirements.

However, despite its flexibility, the Belarusian Second League still does follow the pattern of many other leagues in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world, with a relegation-promotion system. At the end of each season, a set number of teams are promoted to the Belarusian First League (the second tier).

The number of clubs taking part in the Belarusian Second League has varied from as low as 12 (in 2003) to as high as 80-plus.

Since the start of the 21st century, media rights to the Belarusian First League in Belarus were first held by public TV broadcasters, namely Belsat TV. Paid-TV provider Baltcom TV acquired TV and live-streaming rights in the late 2010s, but opted not to renew its contract in the early 2020s.