2003 Belarusian Premier League
Football league season
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The 2003 Belarusian Premier League was the 13th season of top-tier football in Belarus. The first round was postponed from April 11–12 to later dates due to heavy snowfall. The season finally started on April 18 and ended on November 9, 2003. BATE Borisov were the defending champions.
| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Gomel |
| Relegated | Lokomotiv Minsk Molodechno-2000 |
| Champions League | Gomel |
| UEFA Cup | Shakhtyor BATE |
| Intertoto Cup | Dinamo Minsk |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 621 (2.59 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Gennadi Bliznyuk, Sergei Kornilenko – (18) |
| Biggest home win | Shakhtyor 9–0 Zvezda-VA-BGU |
| Biggest away win | Slavia 0–7 Dinamo Minsk; Slavia 0–7 BATE |
| Highest scoring | Shakhtyor 9–0 Zvezda-VA-BGU; Belshina 4–5 Dnepr-Transmash |
← 2002 2004 → | |
Team changes from 2002 season
Due to Premiere League expansion from 14 to 16 teams, one lowest placed team in 2002 Lokomotiv-96 Vitebsk was replaced by three best teams from 2002 First League: Darida Minsk Raion, Naftan Novopolotsk and Lokomotiv Minsk. Torpedo-MAZ Minsk changed their name to Torpedo-SKA Minsk. Darida originally was registered in Minsk suburb Zhdanovichi, while playing their games in Kuntsevschina district in Minsk. The team was renamed to Darida-TDZh Zhdanovichi (due to sponsorship from shopping center Zhdanovichi) for a few weeks in early 2003. However, after shopping center cancelled their sponsorship, team's name was changed back to Darida and official location became Minsk Raion, while team's office and stadium locations remained the same.
Overview
Gomel won their 1st champions title and qualified for the next season's Champions League. The championship runners-up BATE Borisov and 2003–04 Cup winners Shakhtyor Soligorsk qualified for UEFA Cup. Teams finished on the last two places (Lokomotiv Minsk and Molodechno-2000) relegated to the First League.
Teams and venues
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Position in 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BATE | Borisov | City Stadium (Borisov) | 5,500 | 1 |
| Neman | Grodno | Neman Stadium[1] | 15,000 | 2 |
| Shakhtyor | Soligorsk | Stroitel Stadium | 5,000 | 3 |
| Torpedo-SKA | Minsk | Torpedo Stadium (Minsk) | 5,200 | 4 |
| Torpedo | Zhodino | Torpedo Stadium (Zhodino) | 5,000 | 5 |
| Gomel | Gomel | Luch Stadium[2] | 5,000 | 6 |
| Dinamo Minsk | Minsk | Dinamo Stadium | 40,000 | 7 |
| Belshina | Bobruisk | Spartak Stadium (Bobruisk) | 4,600 | 8 |
| Dnepr-Transmash | Mogilev | Spartak Stadium (Mogilev) | 6,775 | 9 |
| Dinamo Brest | Brest | OSK Brestskiy | 3,000 | 10 |
| Slavia | Mozyr | Yunost Stadium | 5,250 | 11 |
| Zvezda-VA-BGU | Minsk | Traktor Stadium | 17,000 | 12 |
| Molodechno-2000 | Molodechno | City Stadium (Molodechno) | 5,650 | 13 |
| Darida | Minsk Raion | Darida Stadium | 3,000 | First league, 1 |
| Naftan | Novopolotsk | Atlant Stadium | 6,500 | First league, 2 |
| Lokomotiv | Minsk | Lokomotiv Stadium | 860 | First league, 3 |
- ^
- ^ Gomel spent the season at Luch Stadium, as their regular stadium Central Stadium was closed for renovation.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gomel (C) | 30 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 56 | 12 | +44 | 74 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | BATE Borisov | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 70 | 21 | +49 | 66 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Dinamo Minsk | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 62 | 24 | +38 | 64 | Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round |
| 4 | Torpedo-SKA Minsk | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 54 | 20 | +34 | 64 | |
| 5 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 60 | 23 | +37 | 64 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Torpedo Zhodino | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 49 | |
| 7 | Neman Grodno | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 39 | |
| 8 | Naftan Novopolotsk | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 39 | 49 | −10 | 35 | |
| 9 | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 34 | |
| 10 | Belshina Bobruisk | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 32 | |
| 11 | Dinamo Brest | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 49 | −28 | 27 | |
| 12 | Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 64 | −41 | 25 | |
| 13 | Darida Minsk Raion | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 25 | |
| 14 | Slavia Mozyr | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 64 | −35 | 25 | |
| 15 | Lokomotiv Minsk (R) | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 42 | −26 | 24 | Relegation to Belarusian First League |
| 16 | Molodechno-2000 (R) | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 19 | 52 | −33 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Shakhtyor Soligorsk qualified for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round by winning the 2003–04 Belarusian Cup.
Results
Belarusian clubs in European Cups
| Round | Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup | |||||
| First round | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
8–1 |  Omagh Town |
1–0 | 7–1 |
| Second round | Shakhtyor Soligorsk |
3–5 |  Cibalia Vinkovci |
1–1 | 2–4 |
| 2003–04 UEFA Cup | |||||
| Qualifying round | Brøndby  |
5–0 | Dinamo Minsk |
3–0 | 2–0 |
| Neman Grodno |
1–1 (a) |  Steaua București |
1–1 | 0–0 | |
| 2003–04 UEFA Champions League | |||||
| First qualifying round | BATE Borisov |
1–3 |  Bohemians |
1–0 | 0–3 |
Top scorers
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gennadi Bliznyuk | Gomel | 18 |
| Sergei Kornilenko | Dinamo Minsk | 18 | |
| 3 | Anatoly Tikhonchik | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 17 |
| 4 | Pavel Byahanski | BATE Borisov | 16 |
| Yury Markhel | Torpedo Zhodino | 16 | |
| 6 |  Oleksandr Pyschur | Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev | 13 |
| 7 | Aleksey Denisenya | Belshina Bobruisk | 12 |
| 8 | Aleksandr Borisik | Belshina Bobruisk | 11 |
| 9 |  Suliko Kakabadze | Naftan Novopolotsk | 10 |
| Syarhey Kozak | Torpedo-SKA Minsk | 10 | |
| Syarhey Nikiforenka | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 10 |