2003 Belarusian Premier League
| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Gomel |
| Relegated | Lokomotiv Minsk Molodechno-2000 |
| Champions League | Gomel |
| UEFA Cup | Shakhtyor BATE |
| Intertoto Cup | Dinamo Minsk |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 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 |
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← 2002
2004 →
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Belarusian Premier League 2003 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 showfall. The season finally started on April 18 and ended on November 9, 2004. BATE Borisov were the defending champions.
Contents
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 | 6,300 | 2 |
| Shakhtyor | Soligorsk | Stroitel | 5,000 | 3 |
| Torpedo-SKA | Minsk | Torpedo, Minsk | 5,200 | 4 |
| Torpedo | Zhodino | Torpedo, Zhodino | 3,020 | 5 |
| Gomel | Gomel | Central | 11,800 | 6 |
| Dinamo Minsk | Minsk | Dinamo, Minsk | 41,040 | 7 |
| Belshina | Bobruisk | Spartak, Bobruisk | 3,550 | 8 |
| Dnepr-Transmash | Mogilev | Spartak, Mogilev | 11,200 | 9 |
| Dinamo Brest | Brest | OSK Brestskiy | 10,080 | 10 |
| Slavia | Mozyr | Yunost | 5,500 | 11 |
| Zvezda-VA-BGU | Minsk | Traktor | 17,600 | 12 |
| Molodechno-2000 | Molodechno | City Stadium, Molodechno | 5,500 | 13 |
| Darida | Minsk Raion | Darida | 6,000 | First league, 1 |
| Naftan | Novopolotsk | Atlant | 6,500 | First league, 2 |
| Lokomotiv | Minsk | Lokomotiv | 800 | First league, 3 |
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 | 2004–05 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round |
| 2 | BATE Borisov | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 70 | 21 | +49 | 66 | 2004–05 UEFA Cup First qualifying round |
| 3 | Dinamo Minsk | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 62 | 24 | +38 | 64 | 2004 UEFA 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 | 2004–05 UEFA Cup First qualifying round |
| 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 First League |
| 16 | Molodechno-2000 (R) | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 19 | 52 | −33 | 16 |
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Belarusian clubs in Euporean 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 Bucureşti |
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 | Alexey 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 |
