The Moscow club Rodina from the First Division clinched the right to take part in the playoff round that determines who will compete in the next season of the Russian Premier League (RPL). This development came to light when the RFU’s appeals committee upheld the decision, rejecting the protest filed by Alania Vladikavkaz over the RFU-1 license denial that would have granted Alania a seat in the RPL. The official announcement appeared on the Russian Football Union’s site, confirming the outcome.
Alania Vladikavkaz sits in third place in the First Division standings and, by the customary sporting principle, would ordinarily be required to contest a playoff against an RPL club. The license denial stemmed from criteria that the club did not meet. In particular, the Alania stadium in Vladikavkaz remains far from completion, and the team has been forced to host domestic league matches in venues outside their home city. As a result, Rodina Moscow, positioned fifth in the standings, will assume the playoff spot instead.
Earlier, Enisey Krasnoyarsk had already secured the playoff berth to be the Fourth-placed team in the final First Division table, having obtained the necessary RFS-1 license. This left a chain of negotiations and competitive moves in motion as other teams vied for the remaining playoff slot and the chance to be part of the top flight for the upcoming season.
The RPL contenders in the mix included Fakel, Wings of the Soviets, and Paris Nizhny Novgorod, all pursuing a place in the postseason transition rounds. It is worth recalling that the teams finishing 13th and 14th in the final standings of the higher division enter transition matches that determine their fate against Premier League clubs. The outcome of these matches will ultimately shape the composition of the top division next season and influence the overall trajectory of each club involved.
Meanwhile, prominent figures in Russian football, such as Zenit St. Petersburg and former national team striker Andrey Arshavin, have been watching closely as the transition games approach. The aim for these clubs and their supporters is to avoid facing Enisey Krasnoyarsk in the playoff process, a scenario that would complicate their bids to remain in or ascend to the Premier League. The unfolding sequence of decisions and matches underscores how licensing criteria, stadium readiness, and on-field performance intersect to determine which clubs compete at the highest level in Russia next year, and how the playoff mechanism can alter expectations even for teams county-wide that had initially seemed secure in their current divisions.