Ýokary Liga Explained

Turkmenistan Higher League
Organiser:	Turkmenistan Football Federation
Country:	Turkmenistan
Confed:	AFC
Teams:	9^[1]
Relegation:	Turkmenistan First League
Levels:	1
Domest Cup:	Turkmenistan Cup Turkmenistan Super Cup
Confed Cup:	AFC Champions League Two
Champions:	FK Arkadag (1st title)
Season:	2023
Most Champs:	Altyn Asyr (8 titles)
Top Goalscorer:	Mämmedaly Garadanow (175 goals)
Tv:	Turkmenistan Sport
Current:	2024

The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga (Turkmen: Ýokary liga futbol klublarynyň arasyndaky futbol boýunça Türkmenistanyň çempionaty),^[2] is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, operated by the Turkmenistan Football Federation.

It was founded in 1992. Nine clubs participate in the Higher League of the Turkmenistan National Championship. The season runs between April and November.

There are 9 teams in the competition. As of the 2024 season, the league had one AFC Champions League Two qualifying spot for the league winner league.^[3]

Since the introduction of the Turkmenistan Higher League in 1992, FC Altyn Asyr (8 times), FC Kopetdag (6 times), FC Nebitchi (4 times), FC Nisa (4 times), FC Yedigen (4 times), FC Ashgabat (2 times), FC Ahal^[4] (1 time), FC Arkadag and FC Shagadam (1 time) have won the title. FC Arkadag are the current champions for the first time.^[5]

History

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, starting in 1992, each former Soviet republic organized an independent national championship.

FC Kopetdag won the first four titles. Nisa Aşgabat was the only team which managed to break Kopetdag's dominance, winning the top division title in 1996.

In 2022, FC Ahal won the title for the first time in their history in Turkmenistan professional football.^[6]

Competition

The league traditionally used to run in summer, from April to November.^[7]

As of the 2022 season, the champions qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage. The runners-up qualifies for the AFC Cup group stage. If the winner of Turkmenistan Cup ends in first or second in the championship in same season, then the third-place team qualifies to AFC Cup group stage.^[8] ^[9]

Current clubs

A total of 9 teams will contest the league.^[1] The following teams are competing in the 2024 season:

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Coach	Kit sponsor
^[10] ^[11]	Arkadag	Nusaý Stadium ^[12]	5,000
	Änew	Ashgabat Stadium (Auxiliary field)	500	Hojaahmet Arazow	Nike
	Ashgabat	Büzmeýin Sport Complex^[13]	10,000	Ýazguly Hojageldiýew	Puma
	Ashgabat	Ashgabat Stadium (Auxiliary field)	500	Said Seýidow	Adidas
	Balkanabat	Balkanabat Sport Complex	10,000	Amanmyrat Meredow	Jako^[14]
	Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy, Mary Region	Energetik stadiony	1,000	Rahmanguly Baýlyýew	Nike
Köpetdag Aşgabat	Ashgabat	Köpetdag Stadium	26,000	Tofik Şükürow	Kappa
	Mary	Mary Sport Complex	10,000	Magtymguly Begenjew	Nike
	Türkmenbaşy	Şagadam Stadium	5,000	Aleksandr Klimenko	Nike

Soviet era champions

^[15]

1937–38: Lokomotiw Aşgabat
1938: Dinamo Aşgabat
1939–45: no championship
1946: Dinamo Aşgabat
1947: Spartak Aşgabat
1948: Dinamo Aşgabat
1949: Lokomotiw Aşgabat
1950: Spartak Aşgabat
1951: DOSA Aşgabat
1952: DOSA Aşgabat
1953: Dinamo Aşgabat
1954: Combined team of Mary Oblast
1955: Combined team of Aşgabat
1956: Gyzyl Metallist Aşgabat
1957: Combined team of Aşgabat Oblast
1958: Combined team of Aşgabat
1959: Combined team of Nebitdag
1960: Combined team of Çärjew
1961: Energetik Nebitdag
1962: Energetik Nebitdag
1963: Gurluşykçy Mary
1964: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1965: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1966: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1967: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1968: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1969: Serhetçi Aşgabat
1970: Garagum Mary
1971: Maýak Çärjew
1972: Energogurluşykçy Mary
1973: Sementçi Büzmeýin
1974: Awtomobilist Aşgabat
1975: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1976: Energetik Mary
1977: Şatlyk Mary
1978: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1979: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1980: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1981: Gurluşykçy Nebitdag
1982: Lokomotiw Aşgabat
1983: Obahojalyktehnika Çärjew
1984: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1985: Lokomotiw Aşgabat
1986: Nebitçi Krasnowodsk
1987: SKIF Aşgabat
1988: Ahal Aşgabat Raýon
1989: Medik Nebitdag
1990: Awtomobilist Aşgabat
1991: Sel'khoztekhnika Aşgabat

Seasons summary

Season	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Top scorer (Team) – Goals
1992	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Nebitçi Nebitdag	Ahal Akdaşaýak	Sergei Kazankow (TSHT Aşgabat) – 41
1993	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Büzmeýin	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Berdimyrat Nurmyradow (Köpetdag Aşgabat) – 25
1994	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Nisa Aşgabat	Merw Mary	Berdimyrat Nurmyradow (Köpetdag Aşgabat) – 13
1995	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Nisa Aşgabat	Nebitçi Nebit-Dag	Rejepmyrat Agabaýew (Nisa Aşgabat) – 41
1996	Nisa Aşgabat	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Ekskawatorçy Çärjew	Rejepmyrat Agabaýew (Nisa Aşgabat) – 28
1997–98	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Dagdan Aşgabat	Nisa Aşgabat	Rejepmyrat Agabaýew (Nisa Aşgabat) – 17
1998–99	Nisa Aşgabat	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Dagdan Aşgabat	Rejepmyrat Agabaýew (Nisa Aşgabat) – 16 Şarafutdin Jumanyýazow (Turan Daşoguz) – 16 Didargylyç Urazow (Nisa Aşgabat) – 16
2000	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat		Amandurdy Annadurdyýew (Köpetdag Aşgabat) – 13
2001	Nisa Aşgabat	Köpetdag Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Didargylyç Urazow (Nisa Aşgabat) – 32
2002	Şagadam Türkmenbaşy	Nisa Aşgabat	Garagum Turkmenabat	Rustam Sadykow (Şagadam Türkmenbaşy) – 20
2003	Nisa Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Şagadam Türkmenbaşy	Daýançgylyç Urazow (Nisa Aşgabat) – 21
2004	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Nisa Aşgabat	Merw Mary	Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 19
2005	HTTU Aşgabat	Gazçy Gazojak	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 30
2006	HTTU Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	FC Aşgabat	Hamza Allamow (Turan Daşoguz) – 22
2007	FC Aşgabat	HTTU Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 16
2008	FC Aşgabat	HTTU Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Mämmedaly Garadanow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 12 Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 12
2009	HTTU Aşgabat	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Merw Mary	Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 18
2010	FC Balkan	Altyn Asyr	FC Lebap	Berdi Şamyradow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 11
2011	FC Balkan	HTTU Aşgabat	FC Aşgabat	Mämmedaly Garadanow (HTTU Aşgabat) – 24
2012	FC Balkan	Merw	HTTU Aşgabat	Aleksandr Boliyan (Şagadam) – 23
2013	HTTU Aşgabat	FC Balkan	Altyn Asyr	Mämmedaly Garadanow (FC Balkan) – 26
2014	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Şagadam	Mämmedaly Garadanow (Şagadam – 28)
2015	Altyn Asyr	FC Balkan	FC Aşgabat	Myrat Ýagşyýew (FC Balkan) – 31
2016	Altyn Asyr	FC Balkan	Energetik Türkmenbaşy	Süleýman Muhadow (Altyn Asyr) – 30
2017	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Şagadam	Myrat Ýagşyýew (Altyn Asyr) – 28^[16]
2018	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Energetik Türkmenbaşy	Altymyrat Annadurdyýew (Altyn Asyr) – 19
2019	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Şagadam	Didar Durdyýew^[17] (Ahal) – 14
2020	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Şagadam	Altymyrat Annadurdyýew (Altyn Asyr) – 35^[18]
2021	Altyn Asyr	Ahal	Şagadam	Elman Tagaýew (Ahal) – 10
2022	Ahal	Altyn Asyr	Merw	Didar Durdyýew (Ahal) – 27
2023	Arkadag			Didar Durdyýew (Arkadag) – 26

Performance by club

Team	Champions	Runners-up	Third place
Altyn Asyr	8 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)	3 (2010, 2022, 2023)	1 (2013)
Köpetdag Aşgabat	6 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997–98, 2000)	3 (1996, 1998–99, 2001)	–
Nebitçi	4 (2004, 2010, 2011, 2012)	8 (1992, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016)	7 (1993, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2023)
Nisa Aşgabat	4 (1996, 1998–99, 2001, 2003)	4 (1994, 1995, 2002, 2004)	2 (1997–98, 2000)
Ýedigen	4 (2005, 2006, 2009, 2013)	3 (2007, 2008, 2011)	1 (2012)
Aşgabat	2 (2007, 2008)	–	3 (2006, 2011, 2015)
	1 (2022)	6 (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)	1 (1992)
Şagadam	1 (2002)	–	6 (2003, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Arkadag	1 (2023)	–	–
Merw	–	1 (2012)	4 (1994, 2004, 2009, 2022)
Dagdan Aşgabat	–	1 (1997–98)	1 (1998–99)
Büzmeýin	–	1 (1993)	–
Gazçy Gazojak	–	1 (2005)	–
Bagtyyarlyk-Lebap	–	–	3 (1996, 2002, 2010)
Energetik Mary	–	–	2 (2016, 2018)

League participation

Note: The tallies below include up to the 2024 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.

32 seasons: Merw, Nebitçi
30 seasons: Şagadam
24 seasons: Ahal, Köpetdag Aşgabat
23 seasons: Turan
19 seasons: Aşgabat
17 seasons: Altyn Asyr, Bagtyyarlyk-Lebap
13 seasons: Ýedigen
12 seasons: Nisa Aşgabat
10 seasons: Energetik Mary
7 seasons: Talyp Sporty
6 seasons: Büzmeýin
3 seasons: Dagdan Aşgabat, Galkan Aşgabat, Gazçy Gazojak
2 seasons: Arkadag, Asudalyk Aşgabat, Balkan Nebitdag, Gara Altyn, Kolhozçy Türkmengala, TSHT Aşgabat
1 season: Arkaç Gyzylarbat, Babadayhan Babadayhansky Etrap, Bereket Tejen, Hazyna, Hlopkovik Çärjew, Jeýhun Seýdi, Pakhtachi Çärjew, SMM+ Karatamak, Umyt Baýramaly

Youth championship

The Youth League (Turkmen: Ýaşlar liga), also known as Youth teams championship (Turkmen: Ýaşlar arasyndaky birinjilik) full name Youth football championship of Turkmenisatn among teams of clubs of the Higher League (Turkmen: Ýokary liganyň futbol klublarynyň ýaşlar düzümleriniň gatnaşmagyndaky futbol boýunça Türkmenistanyň birinjiligi), is a league that runs in parallel to the Ýokary Liga and includes the youth or reserve teams of the Turkmenistan Higher League teams. The number of players a team can have on the pitch at a time that are over 21 years of age or without a Turkmenistan citizenship is limited. 8 teams participate in the league.^[19] Matches are commonly played a day before the match of the senior teams of the respective teams.

Youth championship winners (since 2019)

2019: FC Altyn Asyr-2 ^[20]
2020: FC Altyn Asyr-2
2021: FC Altyn Asyr-2
2022: FC Altyn Asyr-2^[21]

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 2 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502174503/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/60010/start-chempionata-turkmenistana-po-futbolu-perenesen-na-14-aprelya . live .
Web site: 30-njy futbol çempionatymyz . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507114901/http://tff.com.tm/news/444 . live .
Web site: Определились все участники клубных турниров АФК от Туркменистана в сезоне-2023/2024 . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507115543/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/55815/ . live .
Web site: Завершился чемпионат Туркменистана по футболу сезона-20222 . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507120941/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/55813/zavershilsya-chempionat-turkmenistana-po-futbolu-sezona202 . live .
https://turkmenportal.com/blog/70819/arkadag-dosrochno-stal-chempionom-turkmenistana-po-futbolu «Аркадаг» досрочно стал чемпионом Туркменистана по футболу
Web site: Футбольный клуб «Ахал» впервые в истории стал чемпионом Туркменистана . 7 May 2023 . 19 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219064028/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/55280/futbolnyi-klub-ahal-vpervye-v-istorii-stal-chempionom-turkmenistana . live .
Web site: Чемпионат Туркменистана по футболу стартует 14 апреля . 4 April 2023 . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507120301/https://orient.tm/ru/old/post/50372/chempionat-turkmenistana-po-futbolu-startuet-14-aprelya . live .
Web site: «Мерв» завоевал бронзу чемпионата Туркменистана и право выступить в Кубке АФК . 23 December 2022 . 7 May 2023 . 16 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230116000335/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/68870/merv-zavoeval-bronzu-chempionata-turkmenistana-i-pravo-vystupit-v-kubke-afk . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 29 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230129145914/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/55803/merv-v-chetvertyi-raz-stal-bronzovym-prizerom-chempionata-turkmenistana-po-futbolu . live .
Web site: Футбольный клуб «Аркадаг» включили в состав Федерации футбола Туркменистана . 7 May 2023 . 1 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230501214634/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/59995/futbolnyi-klub-arkadag-vklyuchili-v-sostav-federacii-futbola-turkmenistana . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 1 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230501214634/http://tff.com.tm/news/1022 . live .
Web site: «Аркадаг» дебютировал с победы в чемпионате Туркменистана по футболу . 19 April 2023 . 7 May 2023 . 1 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230501220137/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/71628/arkadag-debyutiroval-s-pobedy-v-chempionate-turkmenistana-po-futbolu . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220112204226/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/42642/altyn-asyr-nagradili-chempionskim-kubkom . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 19 May 2023 . 19 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519112057/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/62020/nebitchi-s-minimalnym-schetom-obygral-ahal . live .
Web site: Turkmenistan – List of Champions. RSSSF. 20 August 2011. 11 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220811121618/https://www.rsssf.org/tablest/turkmchamp.html. live.
Web site: Федерация Футбола Туркменистана подвела итоги 2017 года . 10 December 2019 . 10 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191210213712/http://www.tff.com.tm/ru/news/%25D1%2584%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B4%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D1%2586%25D0%25B8%25D1%258F-%25D1%2584%25D1%2583%25D1%2582%25D0%25B1%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B0-%25D1%2582%25D1%2583%25D1%2580%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BC%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D1%2582%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0-%25D0%25BF%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B4%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B0-%25D0%25B8%25D1%2582%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B3%25D0%25B8-2017-%25D0%25B3%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B4%25D0%25B0 . live .
Web site: Нападающий «Ахала» Дидар Дурдыев стал лучшим бомбардиром чемпионата Туркменистана-2019 . 10 December 2019 . 11 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200911145900/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/23713/napadayushchii-ahala-didar-durdyev-stal-luchshim-bombardirom-chempionata-turkmenistana2019 . live .
Web site: Высшая лига . tff.com.tm/ . Football Federation of Turkmenistan . https://web.archive.org/web/20210325075206/http://tff.com.tm/ru/chempionat . 25 March 2021. 25 March 2021 .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507121429/http://tff.com.tm/news/1067 . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507121839/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/22344/altyn-asyr-dosrochno-stal-chempionom-molodezhnogo-pervenstva-turkmenistana-po-futbolu . live .
Web site: Archived copy . 7 May 2023 . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507121836/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/54824/altyn-asyr-stal-chempionom-molodezhnogo-pervenstva-turkmenistana-po-futbolu . live .