Most people’s knowledge of Belarus extends to Viktoria Azarenka playing tennis, the national football team not being very good and the country being located somewhere near to Russia, probably, although I’m willing to bet you haven’t checked.
It also explains why the Belarussian Premier League is still running, the only league in Europe at present that is doing so, and why it has started to gain a rather large following of football fans, who are following the exploits of teams like FC Slutsky (which sounds like a team of Russian brothel workers) and Vitebsk amongst others. Sites like bet365 Sport have reported a surge of betting interest in the league as a result.
If you are a fan of football betting then the Belarussian Premier League is about your best option but of course, it isn’t going to be top of your list when it comes to knowledge of the world game. You won’t find Lionel Messi donning the colours of Slavia Mozyr anytime soon that is for sure.
So to help you get in the mood for a flutter on Belarussian football, we are bringing you a brief guide to the game in Belarus, some of the countries top teams and star players, both past and present, as well as how things stand in the first few weeks of action in the top league in Belarus.
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A History of the Belarus Premier League
The first Belarus Premier League was contested back in 1992, just a year after the country was granted independence from the Soviet Union. The league plays its season from March through to the autumn, due to the winters being particularly brutal in this part of the world.
Although BATE Borisov have been the most famous team in recent years to qualify for the top UEFA Competitions in Europe, once famously beating Bayern Munich, the most popular team in the country is the capital-based Dinamo Minsk, however they have had to play second fiddle to BATE for many years due to Borisov’s dominance of the league.
BATE had won 13 successive league titles up until last season when Dynamo Brest managed to take the title for the first time in their history. The current league comprises of 16 teams and after the games played this past weekend, the table looks as follows:
Belarus Premier League Table (as of 8th March 2020)
| Pos | Team | Played | Points |
| 1 | Torpedo Zhodino | 4 | 9 |
| 2 | Energetic-BGU Minsk | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | FC Slutsk | 4 | 7 |
| 4 | Dinamo Brest | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | FC Vitebsk | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | BATE Borisov | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Slavia Mozyr | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | Isloch | 4 | 6 |
| 9 | FK Gorodeya | 4 | 6 |
| 10 | FC Minsk | 4 | 6 |
| 11 | Neman Grodno | 4 | 5 |
| 12 | Shakhter Soligorsk | 4 | 5 |
| 13 | RK Ruh Brest | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | Dinamo Minsk | 4 | 3 |
| 15 | Smolevichi | 4 | 2 |
| 16 | Belshina Bobruisk | 4 | 1 |
The game between Ruh Brest and Slavia Mozyr takes place Monday afternoon on the 13th April. After this another weekend of games kicks off on Thursday April 16th with the following matches:
- Energetic-BGU Minsk v FK Gorodeya
- Dinamo Minsk v Neman.Grodno
- Belshina Bobruisk v Smolevichi
- Shakhter Soligorsk v FC Slutsk
- FK Ruh Brest v FC Minsk
- Isloch v Slavia Mozyr
- FC Vitebsk v Dinamo Brest
- BATE Borisov v Torpedo Zhodino
The last of these games seems to be the most exciting prospect with BATE Borisov, the long-time dominate force in this league, taking on the current league leaders Torpedo Zhodino.
You can find the latest betting one ach of these games available right now at bet365 Sport, and you can also tune in to watch the games via Live Streaming also at bet365 Sports, provided that you have made a bet in the preceding 24 hours, or have a credit balance on your account with the site.
Who are the Stars of the Belarus League? Past and Present
In truth, there are no really big names plying their trade in the Belarussian League at the moment, with a large number of home-grown players the norm on each team, alongside a smattering of professionals from other leagues, most notably Brazil, China, Ukraine, Russia and a smattering of other countries from Europe and the rest of the world.
Arguably the most famous Belarussian player in history is the ex VFB Stuttgart, Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Aleksander Hleb, who retired from playing at the end of the 2019 season when he played for Isloch. He earned 80 caps for his country. The other big star of Belarussian football retired in 2012 and that was Vitali Kutuzov who had a good career in Italy in Serie A and Serie B, playing for such clubs as AC Milan, Sampdoria, Parma and Bari, as well as Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
Who do the bookies think will win the Belarus Premier League?
The good news is that bet365 Sport are offering odds on which team will eventually land the league title when the competition ends later this year. BATE Borisov are the 6/5 favourites to win the title, unsurprisingly since they have won 13 of the last 14 runnings of the championship.
Dinamo Brest, the current holders, are 7/4, with Shakhter Soligorski 9/2. Outside of those three teams the odds tail away dramatically with current league leaders Torpedo Zhodino and Dinamo Minsk both 25/1, Isloch are 66/1, with FC Slutsk, Neman Grodno, Slavia Mozyr and Energetic-BGU Minsk all rated 100/1. Outside of this the odds range from 150/1 to 2500/1 for the remaining teams.
My tip would be a predictable one here and I’d back BATE Borisov to reclaim the title this year that they lost last season, even though they have got off to a somewhat indifferent start this season.
So if you fancy a flutter on the football, then at least you know a little more about the Belarussian league to help inform your betting.
