Fr om 20 to 30 April, the third futsal competition of the year—the Russian Futsal Championship for Boys Under 22—was held in Stavropol. The tournament featured 12 youth teams, including, for the first time, a team from the Republic of Belarus. The teams were divided into two groups:

Group A:

1. Voronezh Oblast

2. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast

3. St. Petersburg

4. Republic of Crimea

5. Stavropol Krai

6. Republic of Belarus

Group B:

1. Moscow

2. Samara Oblast

3. Ulyanovsk Oblast

4. Kaluga Oblast

5. Luhansk People's Republic

6. Tula Oblast

Following the competition format, the teams first played a round-robin stage within their groups. Voronezh and Samara emerged as group leaders, completing this phase undefeated. The tournament then progressed to high-stakes knockout matches, including intense semi-finals and a thrilling final.

In the third-place match, Moscow secured a confident 6-3 victory over Samara. Earlier, the Muscovites had narrowly missed the final, falling to Voronezh in a penalty shootout (4-5) after a hard-fought battle.

The final between Voronezh and Belarus was a tense showdown, ending 1-1 in regulation. Ultimately, Voronezh prevailed in the shootout (4-2), clinching the title.

Final Standings:

1st place - Voronezh Oblast

2nd place - Republic of Belarus

3 place - Moscow

Individual Awards:

Best goalkeeper - Ivan Bolshakov (Moscow).

Best player - Dmitri Osmolovskii (Republic of Belarus).

Top scorer - Mark Krigin (Voronezh region - 20 goals).

RESULTS OF ALL MATCHES

Vyacheslav Gutko, head coach of the Russian national futsal team, shared his thoughts: “The championship was held at a high level. With 12 teams participating, half were not at the same level as the leaders, but it was valuable experience for the players—some will surely progress to the national team. The top contenders—Voronezh, Moscow, Samara, St. Petersburg, and Belarus (who made a strong debut)—delivered fierce competition. This is exactly what young players need: consistent, high-intensity matches. Ideally, they should play 35-40 such games per season—an area wh ere we still lag. But we’re working on it. Overall, the tournament was a success. Thank you to everyone involved!”

PHOTO ALBUM

Text: Maria Mazhenina, Nurlan Tazhigulov

Photo: Vladimir Cherniavskii

Translation: Daria Kudelina