The Football Federation of the USSR () was a governing body of

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 ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and since 1972 the main governing body of football in the country. The Federation was created in late 1934 by the decision of the '' Supreme Council of Physical Culture'' of the USSR (, VSFK) as its sports section governing specifically football. It was the only organization that obtained recognition of FIFA in 1946.

History

After the establishment of the Soviet regime in the former

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

all its former affiliations abroad were discontinued. Football life in the country however did not stop. In July 1920, the first championship of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

took place, won by the collective city team of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The general government and organization of sports in Soviet Union was intended to be conducted by the

All-Union Council of Physical Culture The Physical Culture and Sports Committee under the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (, earlier known as the All-Union Council on Physical Culture and Sports () was a main body of Soviet executive power in physical culture and sports origin ...

(VSFK) that was formed in 1920. In September 1923, the first championship of the Soviet Union took place which was won also by the Moscow team over a

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

team. With appointed of Nikolai Semashko as chairman of VSFK, a conflict ensued between him and the chairman of Red Sportintern Nikolay Podvoisky. Later this argument joined couple of other groups among which were

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

that was in opposition to Podvoisky since 1922 (at times of

Vsevobuch Vsevobuch ( rus, всевобуч, p=fsʲɪˈvobʊtɕ), a portmanteau for "Universal Military Training" (), was a system of compulsory military training for men practiced in the Russian SFSR governed by the Chief Administration of Universal Militar ...

) and various trade unions. In August 1928, the first

Spartakiad The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

took place in

(not to be confused with the

Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR The Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR (, Spartakiada narodov SSSR; ; ) were mass multi-event competitions in the Soviet Union in 1956–1991, descendants of the 1928 All-Union Spartakiad that took place in Moscow. The competitions were designed t ...

) which included a football tournament. On 27 May 1934, the "Distinguished Master of Sports" achievement award was established, and given to eight footballers that same year. On 27 December 1934, the

(VSFK) of the

Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union The Central Executive Committee of the USSR (), which may be abbreviated as the CEC (), was the supreme governing body of the USSR in between sessions of the All-Union Congress of Soviets from 1922 to 1938. The Central Executive Committee elec ...

(TsIK USSR) established a special public organization – the Football Section of the USSR – to take charge of football events in the country. In addition, there was also the Football Directorate of the Soviet Sports Committee, subordinated directly to the Soviet government.

First memorable exhibition games

On 30 August 1935, the Ukrainian SSR national team beat

Red Star Olympique Red Star Football Club (), known as Red Star FC or simply Red Star, is a French professional football club founded in Paris in 1897, and is the fourth oldest French football club, after Standard AC of Paris, Le Havre AC and Girondins de Borde ...

(from France) 6:1. Goals were scored by Shylovsky (3), Parovyshnikov (2), Shchehodsky. Team squad of UkrSSR (): # Trusevych # K. Fomin (captain) # Kirillov # M. Fomin # V. Fomin # Hreber # Makhynia # Parovyshnikov # Shchehodsky # Laiko # Shylovsky Next month a collective team of Prague visited the Soviet Union playing against team of Leningrad, Moscow, and UkrSSR. In January 1936 the Moscow team consisting of players from

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

and

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

visited

Racing Paris Racing Club de France Football, commonly known as Racing Club de France (), is a French Association football, football club based in the Paris suburb of Colombes. The club was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline sports club, and is one of ...

to which they lost 1:2. A single goal for the Soviets was scored by Yakushyn. Team squad of Moscow (): # Akimov # Al. Starostin (captain) # Korchebokov # Ryomin # And. Starostin # Leuta # Lapshyn (Stepanov, 46) # Yakushyn #

Smirnov Smirnov (masculine, ) or Smirnova (feminine, ) is one of the two most common surnames in Russia. ''Smirnov'' () is derived from an adjectival nickname (; in archaic form , ), meaning 'quiet, still, peaceful, gentle'. Smirnov * Aleksandr Smirnov ...

# Pavlov (Velichkin, 86) #

Ilyin Ilyin or Ilin () is a Russian masculine surname that is derived from the male given name Ilya and literally means ''Ilya's''. its feminine counterpart is Ilyina or Ilina. It may refer to * Aleksandr Ilyin (disambiguation), several people * Alekse ...

all coached by

Konstantin Kvashnin Konstantin Pavlovich Kvashnin (; 27 December 1898 – 2 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Russian association football, football player and manager who managed FC Dynamo Moscow to a championship in the first ever Soviet Top League com ...

and

Nikolai Starostin Nikolai Petrovich Starostin (Cyrillic: Никола́й Петро́вич Ста́ростин; 26 February 1902 – February 17, 1996) was a Soviet footballer and ice hockey player, and founder of Spartak Moscow. Early life and Spartak Moscow ...

Later history

In 1936, the Section of Football of USSR established 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 ...

as a championship among teams of Volunteer Sports Sovcieties (DSO) and agencies introducing four hierarchal groups (leagues) of eight teams. On 22 July 1937, for the first time TsIK USSR given awards to 38 best Soviet sportsmen among which were 12 football players. The first recipient of

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

among football players became

. The

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

received Alexander Starostin and Sergei Ilyin, other nine players received

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

. During parts of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1941–1944), the main football events were suspended, but there were several regional competitions. When the Soviet Union was liberated from the occupation of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in August 1944, the next national cup competition took place as the first official post-war football event. In July 1946, the Football Section of the USSR was admitted to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

on the proposition of delegates from Soviet

satellite state A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbiting a larger ob ...

s of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, and on 27 September 1947 the USSR was awarded a permanent seat of the vice-president of FIFA which was taken by Valentin Granatkin. The main national football team of the Soviet Union, however, did not enter the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

until 1958. The first coach appointed was Boris Arkadiev who in 1952 led the team to the Olympic Games in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Later, he and several other football specialists were accused by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

of sabotaging the team that was eliminated in the tournament's round of 16. In January 1957, the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

of the USSR awarded the

Vsevolod Bobrov Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov ( rus, Все́волод Миха́йлович Бобро́в, p=ˈfsʲevələd bɐˈbrof; 1 December 1922 – 1 July 1979) was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is conside ...

and

Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990) was a Soviet professional footballer considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the sport. He was the first and only goalkeeper to win a Ballon d'Or, a feat whi ...

to commemorate their achievements in sport. In May 1959, the Football Section of the USSR was reorganized as the Football Federation of the USSR. In 1960, the Soviet Union national team won the first continental championship beating the Yugoslavia national team 2–1 in extra time. In 1963, Lev Yashin became the first Soviet player to be awarded the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

. For the first time in the 1965–66 season, Soviet football clubs debuted in the European international football competitions. In 1972, the Football Federation of the USSR became a government agency of the State Committee of Sports (Goskomsport). However, because Granatkin continued to chair the Football Federation, that reorganization did not draw much attention from FIFA.

Dynamo Kiev The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

became the first Soviet club to win a European club trophy, when they defeated Ferencvaros 3–0 in the 1975 European Cup Winners' Cup final. On 8 February 1992, the federation was recognized as the parent association of the newly established

Russian Football Union The Russian Football Union (, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow, it organizes Russian amateur and professional football, includi ...

(RFS). In July of the same year, the executive committee of FIFA confirmed the succession of the Soviet federation as the Russian Football Union and readmitted it under the new name and statute.

Regional Federations

* Football Federation of the Ukrainian SSR (1959?), succeeded by the

Football Federation of Ukraine The Ukrainian Football Association (, ; UAF) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019, it was known as the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU; ). As a subject of the International Olympic Movement, UAF is a member of the Nation ...

in December 1991 * Football Federation of the Byelorussian SSR, succeeded by the

Football Federation of Belarus The Football Federation of Belarus (BFF; ; ), also known as Belarusian Football Federation, is the governing body of football, beach soccer and futsal in Belarus. It organizes the Belarusian Premier League, Belarusian national football team an ...

in 1989 * Football Federation of the Kazakh SSR (1959), succeeded by the

Football Federation of Kazakhstan The Kazakhstan Football Federation (KFF, ; ) is the governing body of Football (soccer), football in Kazakhstan. It organizes the football league, the Kazakhstan Premier League, and the Kazakhstan national football team. It is based in Astana. P ...

in 1989 * Football Federation of the Georgian SSR (1936), succeeded by the

Georgian Football Federation The Georgian Football Federation ( GFF; ka, საქართველოს ფეხბურთის ფედერაცია, ''sakartvelos pekhburtis pederatsia'') was founded in 1936. Based in Tbilisi, it was part of the Football Fede ...

in February 1990 * Football Federation of the Uzbek SSR (1946), succeeded by the

Uzbekistan Football Federation The Uzbekistan Football Association () is the governing body of football in Uzbekistan, controlling the Uzbekistan national team. History Uzbekistan Football Federation was founded in 1946, while Uzbekistan was still under Soviet rule, and has ...

* Football Federation of the Tajik SSR (1936), succeeded by the

Tajikistan Football Federation The Tajikistan Football Federation (TFF) is the governing body of football in Tajikistan. The federation was founded in 1936 in the Tajikistan SSR as a sub-federation of the Football Federation of USSR, Soviet Football Federation. It was not unti ...

Chairmen

Source: *

Vyacheslav Koloskov Vyacheslav Ivanovich Koloskov (; born June 15, 1941, Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian and Soviet sport functionary, vice-president of FIFA (1980–1996). Career He was a football player but without remarkable achievements. During his man ...

(January 1990 – 1991) * Lev Lebedev (May 1989 – January 1990) * Boris Topornin (December 1980 – May 1989) * Boris Fedosov (March 1973 – December 1980) * Valentin Granatkin (June 1968 – March 1973) * Leonid Nikonov (January 1968 – June 1968) * Vladimir Moshkarkin (July 1967 – January 1968) * Nikolai Riashentsev (January 1964 – July 1967)Николай Николаевич Ряшенцев
(in Russian) * Valentin Granatkin (6 May 1959 – January 1964)

Chairmen of Football Section of the USSR (27 December 1934 – 6 May 1959)

* Valentin Granatkin (1950 – 6 May 1959) * Mikhail Kozlov (1937 – 1950) * Aleksei Sokolov (27 December 1934 – 1937)

The first team coaches

* Boris Arkadyev 1952 Olympics (qualifying and final tournaments) * Gavriil Kachalin 1956 Olympics (qualifying and final tournaments), 1958 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments), 1960 Olympics (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify), 1960 European Championship (qualifying and final tournaments), 1962 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments) *

Nikita Simonyan Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan (, , 12 October 1926) is a Soviet and Russian former Association football, football Forward (association football), striker and coach of Armenians, Armenian descent. He was born in Armavir, Russia, Armavir. As of 2021 ...

(acting) *

Konstantin Beskov Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov (; 18 November 1920 – 6 May 2006) was a Soviet/Russian footballer and coach. Beskov was born in Moscow. He played for Dynamo Moscow as forward, scoring 126 goals, and after finishing his playing career he became ...

1964 Olympics (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify), 1964 European championship (qualifying and final tournaments) * Nikolai Morozov 1966 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments) *

Mikhail Yakushin Mikhail Iosifovich Yakushin (Russian: Михаил Иосифович Якушин; 15 November 1910 – 3 February 1997) was a Russian football and field hockey player, later a manager of Dynamo Moscow and the USSR. Playing career Yakushin play ...

1968 Olympics (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify), 1968 European championship (qualifying and final tournaments) * Gavriil Kachalin 1970 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments) * Valentin Nikolayev 1972 European championship (qualifying tournament) *

Aleksandr Ponomarev Oleksandr Ponomariov (; ; 23 April 1918 – 7 June 1973) was a Soviet football player and manager. Career Ponomarev was born in Horlivka near Donetsk, Ukrainian People's Republic. As a player, in the course of his career, he won the Soviet ...

1972 European championship (final tournament), 1972 Olympics (final tournament) *

Yevgeny Goryansky Yevgeny Ivanovich Goryansky (; 28 February 1929 – 13 July 1999) was a Russian football striker and football coach. Career In 1945, he began his career in junior football for FC Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Moscow. Then for three years he served in ...

1974 World Cup (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify) *

(replaced by Valeriy Lobanovsky) 1976 European championship (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify), 1976 Olympics (final tournament) *

(replaced by

) 1978 World Cup (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify), 1980 European Championship (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify) *

1982 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments) * Valeriy Lobanovsky 1984 European championship (qualifying tournament, failed to qualify) *

Eduard Malofeyev Eduard Vasilyevich Malofeyev ( rus, Эдуа́рд Васи́льевич Малофе́ев, p=məlɐˈfʲeɪf, ; born 2 June 1942) is a Soviet and Belarusian football coach and former international player of Russian origin. Despite being born ...

1986 World Cup (qualifying tournament) * Valeriy Lobanovsky 1986 World Cup (final tournament), 1988 European championship (qualifying and final tournaments), 1990 World Cup (qualifying and final tournaments) *

Anatoliy Byshovets Anatoliy Fyodorovich Byshovets (, ; born 23 April 1946) is a Soviet and Russian football manager of Ukrainian origin and former Soviet international striker. He played his entire professional career with club side Dynamo Kyiv. He won Olympic g ...

1992 European championship (qualifying and final tournaments)

References

External links

Russia (USSR) National Football Team
* {{Sports governing bodies in the Soviet Union

Football in Russia Football in the Soviet Union 1934 establishments in the Soviet Union 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union

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 ...

Sports organizations established in 1934 Sports organizations disestablished in 1991