FC Fakel Voronezh () is a Russian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

. Founded in 1947, the club has played in the

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (), served as the top division (tier) of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The league's name was a conditional designation used for brevity since being completely owned and g ...

and the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

. The club will return to the

Russian First League The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Football in Russia#League system, Russian football league system. The Russian Professio ...

in the 2025–26 season. The club holds the record for fan attendance in Eastern Europe.

History

The club was founded in 1947 at a then classified airplane plant. For reasons of secrecy, the team was not officially given a name and was referred to as the Voronezh city team. In 1959 the team became a part of Trud sports society and was renamed ''Trud Voronezh''. In 1977 the team was renamed Fakel, meaning "Torch". The team played in the Soviet League since 1954: *1954–1960 in Class B *1961 in Class A (Soviet Top League) *1962 in Class B *1963–1970 in Class A, Group 2 *1971–1978 in Second League *1979–1984 in First League *1985 in

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

*1986–1987 in First League *1988 in Second League *1989–1991 in First League *

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

: 1961, 1985, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2023–24, 2024–25 * First League: 1993, 1995–1996, 1998–1999, 2002–2003, 2005–2006, 2011–2012, 2015–2022, 2025– * Second League: 1994, 2004, 2010, 2012–2015 *

Russian Amateur Football League Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) () is the fifth overall tier of the Russian football league system. Sometimes it is called Amateur Football League, after the organization that holds the competition (). The league ...

: 2007–2008 The best finish achieved by Fakel in the Premier League was 11th in the 2023–24 season. The club has won 3 Second Division titles. Fakel has also experienced several short-lived name changes: to ''Fakel-Profsoyuz'' in 1992, ''Voronezh'' in 2002 and ''Fakel-Voronezh'' in 2002–2003. Fakel and

FC Yelets FC Yelets () is a Russian football club from Yelets, founded in 1968. In 2009, it played in the Russian Second Division, which is the highest level it ever reached. In the past, the team was called Elta Yelets (1968–1969), Torpedo Yelets (1970� ...

were excluded from the

Russian Second Division The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional Association football, football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the :ru: ...

for attempts to bribe and threaten the referee on 18 July 2009. At the time of exclusion (21 August), Fakel were sixth with 31 points from 19 games, while Yelets were 16th with 9 points from 19 games. A new club called FC Fakel Voronezh technically independent from the club that played in 2009 as FC Fakel-Voronezh Voronezh was founded in 2010 and played in the

( FSA Voronezh failed licensing for 2010 and the new Fakel was the only Voronezh professional team for 2010). It employed the manager and 6 players from the 2009 FC Fakel-Voronezh roster. The reserve team FC Fakel-d Voronezh played in the

Amateur Football League Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) () is the fifth overall tier of the Russian football league system. Sometimes it is called Amateur Football League, after the organization that holds the competition (). The league ...

in 2010 ''(view – FC Fakel-M Voronezh)''. Before the 2011–12 season FC Saturn Moscow Oblast dropped out of

due to financial problems.

FC Krasnodar FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. They are the league's reigning champions. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Divis ...

replaced them in the Premier League, creating a vacancy in the

Russian First Division The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Russian football league system. The Russian Professional Football League (PFL) used to ...

. Despite only coming in 4th in their

zone in 2010, Fakel volunteered to take the First Division spot, and the Russian Football Union decided to promote the team. They were relegated back to the third level in the same 2011–12 season. They returned to the

Russian Football National League The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Russian football league system. The Russian Professional Football League (PFL) used t ...

in the 2015–16 season. Despite finishing in the relegation zone at the end of the 2017–18 season, the club was not relegated as other clubs ahead in the standings failed to obtain the league license for 2018–19. They finished in the relegation zone once again in the 2018–19 season, but due to failure of

FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk () was a Russian football club based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. The club was founded as FC Sakhalin-Tourist Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 2004 and changed their name to Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 2005. History The ...

and

FC Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional Association football, football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded in 1991, the club last competed in the third-tier Russian Footb ...

to acquire a 2019–20 license, they were not relegated. The 2019–20 season was abandoned due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Russia The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia was a part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Russia on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese citi ...

with Fakel once again in relegation spot. However, due to the pandemic, none of the teams, including Fakel, were relegated. Fakel finished 2nd in the 2021–22 Russian Football National League to secure promotion to the Russian Premier League for the first time since the 2001 season. The club's return to the top division was marked by high attendance levels at home matches, fiery support from the stands and loud crowd singing of the biggest hits of

Sektor Gaza ''Sektor Gaza'' (, in Russian related to ''Gaza Strip'') was a Soviet and Russian punk rock band from Voronezh, founded in 1987 by Yuri Klinskikh. History Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh by Yuri Klinskikh, also known as Yuri "Khoy". T ...

, a famous local punk rock band. Fakel came 3rd by average attendance in the

2022–23 Russian Premier League The 2022–23 Russian Premier League (known as the Mir Russian Premier League, also written as Mir Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 31st season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet ...

just behind

FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club p ...

and

. Fakel finished their first season upon return in 14th place, qualifying for relegation play-offs against

FC Yenisey Krasnoyarsk FK Yenisey Krasnoyarsk (ФК Енисей Красноярск) is a Russian football club based in Krasnoyarsk, in Krasnoyarsk Krai. The club plays in the Russian First League. History The club was founded in 1937 as ''Lokomotiv Krasnoyarsk'' ...

. They managed to keep their Premier League spot after defeating Yenisey 3–0 on aggregate. On 11 May 2025, Fakel lost chances of avoiding relegation to the

for the 2025–26 season.

Current squad

According to th
Premier League website
/ref>

Reserve squad

Fakel's reserve squad played professionally as FC Fakel-d Voronezh in the

Russian Third League Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

in 1997. It re-entered professional football as FC Fakel-M Voronezh for the 2020–21 season.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Fakel. ;Russia/USSR *

Viktor Losev Viktor Vasilyevich Losev (; born 25 January 1959) is a Russian football coach and a former player. Honours ;As a player * Olympic Champion: 1988 (team captain). * Soviet Top League runner-up: 1986. * Soviet Top League bronze: 1990. * Russ ...

* Valeri Shmarov *

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Aleksandr Filimonov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Filimonov (; born 15 October 1973) is a former association football goalkeeper from Russia. He won the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup with the Russia national beach soccer team. During his professional career, he wa ...

* Lyubomir Kantonistov *

Fyodor Kudryashov Fyodor Vasilievich Kudryashov ( rus, Фёдор Васильевич Кудряшов, p=ˈfʲɵdər vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kʊdrʲɪˈʂof; born 5 April 1987) is a Russian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a D ...

Ilya Lantratov Ilya Valeryevich Lantratov (; born 11 November 1995) is a Russian football player who plays for Lokomotiv Moscow and the Russia national team. Club career He made his professional debut in the Russian Professional Football League for FC Lokom ...

Arseniy Logashov Arseny Maksimovich Logashov (; born 20 August 1991) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or right-back. Club career Logashov made his professional debut in the Russian First Division in 2008 for Sportakadem ...

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* Yevgeny Morozov * Andrei Novosadov *

Maksim Osipenko Maksim Aleksandrovich Osipenko (; born 16 May 1994) is a Russian football defender who plays as a centre-back for Dynamo Moscow and the Russia national team. Club career Osipenko made his debut in the Russian Second Division for Irtysh Omsk ...

* Ivan Saenko * Roman Vorobyov * Valery Yesipov * Anton Zabolotny ;Europe *

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* Anton Amelchenko * Radaslaw Arlowski * Eduard Boltrushevich *

Andrei Kovalenko Andrei Nikolaevich Kovalenko (; born 7 June 1970) is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flye ...

Vitali Lanko Vital Alyaksandravich Lanko (, , ''Vitali Aleksandrovich Lanko''; born 4 April 1977) is a former professional Belarusian footballer. Career International career He made his debut for the national side on 19 February 2004, in friendly match aga ...

* Yuri Shukanov *

Ihar Tarlowski Ihar Tarlowski (; ; born 21 September 1974) is a Belarusian professional football coach and former player. Playing career He made his professional debut in the Belarusian Premier League in 1993 for FC Dinamo-93 Minsk. Honours Dinamo-93 Minsk *B ...

Oļegs Aleksejenko Oļegs Aleksejenko (born 12 June 1961) is a former Latvia international football midfielder. Aleksejenko started playing football in the Riga football school under Krišs Maisītājs, his first football club was Progress Rīga where he played ...

Oļegs Karavajevs Oļegs Karavajevs (13 February 1961 – 6 October 2020) was a Latvian professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was the goalkeeper who made the most appearances for the Latvia ...

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Raimonds Laizāns Raimonds Laizāns (born 5 August 1964) is a former Latvian football goalkeeper who played for the Latvia national football team in the 1990s. Club playing career Raimonds Laizāns started playing football at the Daugava sports school in Riga at ...

Ivans Lukjanovs Ivans Lukjanovs (born 24 January 1987) is a Latvian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger. Club career Lukjanovs was born in Daugavpils, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. As a youth p ...

Aivaras Laurišas Aivaras Laurišas (born 15 April 1977) is a Lithuanian football forward, who plays for FK Tauras Tauragė. He obtained three caps for the Lithuania national football team, scoring no goals. Laurišas also played as a professional in Russia and ...

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* Andrius Jokšas * Pavelas Leusas * Andrius Sriubas *

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Nemanja Pejčinović Nemanja Pejčinović (, ; born 4 November 1987) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as a centre-back. A former Serbia U21 international, Pejčinović made three appearances for Serbia at full level between 2008 and 2016. In 2019, he was ...

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;Asia * Valeriy Gorbach * Andrey Akopyants *

Igor Kichigin Igor Kichigin (; born 23 November 1969) is an Uzbekistani football coach and a former player who is the manager of Latvian club FK Ventspils. Honours ;Nuravshon Bukhara *Uzbek League runner-up: 1994 ;Neftchi *Uzbek League champion: 1995 ...

Vladimir Shishelov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Shishelov (; born 8 November 1979) is an Uzbekistani-Russian retired football forward. Career His first professional club was Qizilqum Zarafshon he began to play in 1996. In 1997-1999 he played for ''Zarafshon Navoi''. ...

Coaching staff

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fakel Voronezh, FC Association football clubs established in 1947 Football clubs in Russia Sport in Voronezh 1947 establishments in Russia Soviet Top League clubs Works association football clubs in Russia