Football in the Soviet Union

See also: Football in Imperial Russia and Football in post Soviet Russia

Football in Soviet Union
CountrySoviet Union
Governing bodyFootball Federation of USSR
National team(s)Soviet Union national football team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Football was a popular sport in the Soviet Union, with the national football championships being one of the major annual sporting events.[1][2][3][4] Youth and children competitions as a regular event started after the war and each team of masters (official designation for professional team) in the top two tiers were fielding its youth squad in separate competition. Women official competitions started only 1990, just before dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Football in the Soviet Union existed in realities of the economy and law of the Soviet Union, where the state owned all big industry and professional sports were prohibited. Instead of being professionals, athletes were made employees of either a state enterprise or a state government department, to which a sports society belonged or assigned. Therefore, in the Soviet Union existed two statuses for footballers: amateur and non-amateur.

  1. ^ Stark, Harrison (28 May 2014). "The USSR Was a Soccer Powerhouse. Why Isn't Russia?". Slate. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Host Mexico Opposes Soviet Union Today in World Cup Soccer Opener". The New York Times. 31 May 1970. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  3. ^ Victor; Louis, Jennifer (22 October 2013). Sport in the Soviet Union. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483155913. Retrieved 23 November 2017 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport. Rowman & Littlefield. 7 May 2014. ISBN 9781442234741. Retrieved 23 November 2017 – via Google Books.