1997 Belarusian First League
1997 Belarusian First League was the seventh season of 2nd level football championship in Belarus. It started in April and ended in November 1997.
Team changes from 1996 season
Two best teams of 1996 Belarusian First League (Transmash Mogilev and Kommunalnik Slonim) were promoted to Belarusian Premier League. They were replaced by two lowest-placed teams of 1996 Premier League (Obuvshchik Lida and Vedrich Rechitsa).
No teams relegated to lower level by league position due to required league expansion back to 16 clubs. Three clubs were initially promoted from the
Dnepr Rogachev
as a winner of additional play-offs between group runners-up).
Dnepr Rogachev
).
Before the start of the season Obuvshchik Lida were renamed to
Kommunalnik Svetlogorsk, Stroitel Bereza to FC Bereza and newcomers FC Beloozyorsk to Belenergostroy Beloozyorsk
.
Overview
Two best teams of the season (
Lokomotiv Vitebsk and Stroitel Starye Dorogi were relegated to the Second League
.
Teams and locations
Dnepr
| Team | Location | Position in 1996 |
|---|---|---|
| Lida | Lida | Premier League, 15 |
| Vedrich-97 | Rechitsa
|
Premier League, 16 |
Kommunalnik
|
Svetlogorsk
|
3 |
| Gomel | Gomel | 4 |
| Pinsk-900 | Pinsk | 5 |
| Dinamo-Juni | Minsk | 6 |
| Torpedo | Zhodino
|
7 |
| Orsha | Orsha | 8 |
Lokomotiv
|
Vitebsk | 9 |
| Kardan-Flyers | Grodno | 10 |
| Bereza | Bereza
|
11 |
| Stroitel | Starye Dorogi | 13 |
| BATE | Borisov | Second League, Group A, 1 |
| Veino | Mogilev Raion
|
Second League, Group B, 1 |
| Belenergostroy | Beloozyorsk
|
Second League, Group A, 2 |
Dnepr
|
Rogachev
|
Second League, Group B, 2 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gomel (P) | 30 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 83 | 9 | +74 | 82 | Promotion to Belarusian Premier League |
| 2 | BATE Borisov (P) | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 92 | 15 | +77 | 78 | |
| 3 | Lida | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 59 | 24 | +35 | 65 | |
| 4 | Bereza | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 51 | |
| 5 | Torpedo Zhodino | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 50 | |
| 6 | Vedrich-97 Rechitsa | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 46 | |
| 7 | Kommunalnik Svetlogorsk
|
30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 43 | 42 | +1 | 45 | |
| 8 | Pinsk-900 | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 44 | |
| 9 | Dinamo-Juni Minsk | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 43 | |
| 10 | Kardan-Flyers Grodno | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 34 | |
| 11 | Veino Mogilev Raion | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 27 | 53 | −26 | 31 | |
| 12 | Belenergostroy Beloozyorsk | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 27 | |
| 13 | Dnepr Rogachev
|
30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 30 | 63 | −33 | 26 | |
| 14 | Orsha | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 34 | 61 | −27 | 24 | |
| 15 | Lokomotiv Vitebsk (R)
|
30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 17 | 50 | −33 | 22 | Relegation to Belarusian Second League |
| 16 | Stroitel Starye Dorogi (R) | 30 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 14 | 81 | −67 | 5 |
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head (points, matches won, goal difference, goals scored); 4th goal difference; 5th goals scored
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head (points, matches won, goal difference, goals scored); 4th goal difference; 5th goals scored
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Goalscorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mikalay Ryndzyuk
|
BATE Borisov | 30 |
| 2 | Ihar Fralow
|
Gomel | 19 |
| 3 | Andrey Yusipets
|
Gomel | 18 |
| 4 | Vitaly Shimko
|
BATE Borisov | 14 |
| 5 |  Zviad Burdzenidze
|
Lida | 13 |
| Alyaksandr Davidovich
|
Kardan-Flyers Grodno | 13 |