The surprise from Europe! They took the title in their first year of promotion and will play in the Champions League
Article by Romeo Ene – Published Monday, November 24, 2025, 5:55 p.m. / Updated Monday, November 24, 2025, 5:56 p.m.
Huge surprise in the Belarusian championship! ML Vitebsknewly promoted team, won the title of champion, one stage before the end of the season. It defeated Gomel on Sunday without the right to appeal, score 5-0, and won the first championship in history.
The team coached by Mikhail Martinovich (46 years old) was promoted to the first league in 2024. It has 67 points, 5 more than Dinamo Minsk, the 2nd place holder, with one stage before the end of the season,
PHOTO. ML Vitebsk, the surprise champion from Belarus
Dinamo Minsk will finish in 2nd place, with 62 points, as it cannot be reached by Slavia Mozyr, who has 54.
Founded in 1983, it managed to win the first trophy in history. The small team was bought in 2021 by Maxline, a betting company run by the Russian tycoon
He named it Maxline, after the name of the company, and in 2023 he moved the team to Vitebsk, in northern Belarus. Last year he changed his name after graduating. The reason? Belarusian regulation does not allow clubs to bear the name of bookmakers.
The lot of the Belarusian champion is worth only 7.38 million euros, according to the specialized website Transfermarkt. The most valuable player is the striker Aleksandar Mesarovic, who is quoted at 800,000 euros.
In the summer of 2026, ML Vitebsk will represent Belarus in the Champions League qualifiers.
Dinamo Minsk will play in the Conference League preliminaries. Molodechno and Slutsk were relegated, while Naftan will play in a play-off.
Russian forward Nikita Glushkov, with seven goals and five decisive assists, is the team's most effective footballer. ML Vitebsk will travel in the last stage to Dinamo Minsk's field, on November 29.
Another competition in Belarus, the Cup, continues instead. The finals will take place in early December.
