Kazakhstan Premier League

The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League  or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan. The League is controlled by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan and was set up in 1992. The League is fed into by the First Division and starts in spring and finishes in late autumn because of the low temperatures in the winter, with each championship corresponding to a calendar year. The majority of matches have been played at weekends in recent seasons.

Name changes

 * Top Division (1992–2001)
 * Super League (2002–2007)
 * Premier League (2008–present)

Current clubs
The following teams are competing in the 2024 season:

Soviet winners of republican level
Note that some teams such as Kairat Almaty participated in the upper leagues of the Soviet annual football competition. There was no solidly established independent Kazakh championship and the republican winner was conditionally picked by the Football Federation of Kazakh SSR. Since 1936 there was taken places republican football competition among sports societies and agencies and later among "collectives of physical culture" (CPhC → KFK). Since 1980 champion of the Soviet Kazakhstan was also awarded to "teams of masters" (professional teams) competing in football competitions of the Soviet Second League.


 * 1936 : Alma-Aty City
 * 1937 : Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * 1938 : Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * 1939–45 : No Championship
 * 1946 : Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * 1947 : Lokomotiv Jambul
 * 1948 : Trudovye Rezervy Alma-Ata
 * 1949 : Dinamo Karaganda
 * 1950 : Alma-Aty City
 * 1951 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1952 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1953 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1954 : Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * 1955 : Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * 1956 : Alma-Aty City
 * 1957 : Stroitel Alma-Ata
 * 1958 : Spartak Alma-Ata
 * 1959 : Spartak Alma-Ata
 * 1960 : Yenbek Guryev


 * 1961 : Avangard Petropavlovsk
 * 1962 : ADK Alma-Ata
 * 1963 : Tselinnik Semipalatinsk
 * 1964 : ADK Alma-Ata
 * 1965 : ADK Alma-Ata
 * 1966 : Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk
 * 1967 : Torpedo Kokchetav
 * 1968 : Gornyak Jezkangan
 * 1969 : Shakhtyor Saran'
 * 1970 : Stroitel Temir-Tau
 * 1971 : Yenbek Jezkangan
 * 1972 : Traktor Pavlodar
 * 1973 : Yenbek Jezkangan
 * 1974 : Gornyak Nikol'sky
 * 1975 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1976 : Khimik Stepnogorsk
 * 1977 : Khimik Stepnogorsk
 * 1978 : Trud Shevchenko
 * 1979 : Khimik Stepnogorsk

Zone 7 (3rd level, included teams from other republics) Zone 8 (3rd level) Zone 8 (4th level)
 * 1980 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1981 : Burevestnik Kustanay
 * 1980 : Traktor Pavlodar
 * 1981 : Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk
 * 1982 : Shakhtyor Karaganda
 * 1983 : Shakhtyor Karaganda
 * 1984 : Tselinnik Tselinograd
 * 1985 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1986 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1987 : Meliorator Chimkent
 * 1988 : Traktor Pavlodar
 * 1989 : Traktor Pavlodar
 * 1990 : Vostok Ust'-Kamenogorsk
 * 1991 : Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk

Sources:
 * Kazakhstan – List of Champions. RSSSF
 * The Kazakh SSR Football Championship (Чемпионат Казахской ССР). Footballfacts.
 * The Kazakh SSR Football Championship D2 (Чемпионат Казахской ССР D2). Footballfacts.

Best teams in republican competitions

 * 7 – Meliorator Chimkent (1951, 1952, 1953, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1987)


 * 5 – Dinamo Alma-Ata (1937, 1938, 1946, 1954, 1955)


 * 4 – Traktor Pavlodar (1972, 1980, 1988, 1989)


 * 2 – Alma-Ata {collective city team} (1936, 1950, 1956)
 * 3 – ADK Alma-Ata (1962, 1964, 1965)
 * 3 – Khimik Stepnogorsk (1976, 1977, 1979)
 * 3 – Yenbek Jezkangan (1968, 1971, 1973)
 * 3 – Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk (1966, 1981, 1991)


 * 2 – Spartak Alma-Ata (1958, 1959)
 * 2 – Shakhter Karaganda (1982, 1983)


 * 1 – Lokomotiv Jambul (1947)
 * 1 – Trudovye Rezervy Alma-Ata (1948)
 * 1 – Dinamo Karaganda (1949)
 * 1 – Stroitel Alma-Ata (1957)
 * 1 – Yenbek Guryev (1960)
 * 1 – Avangard Petropavlovsk (1961)
 * 1 – Tselinnik Semipalatinsk (1963)
 * 1 – Torpedo Kokchetav (1967)
 * 1 – Shakhter Saran (1969)
 * 1 – Stroitel Temir-Tau (1970)
 * 1 – Gornyak Nikol'sky (1974)
 * 1 – Trud Shevchenko (1978)
 * 1 – Tselinnik Tselinograd (1984)
 * 1 – Vostok Ust'-Kamenogorsk (1990)

Kazakhstan League Seasons
Notes:
 * Historical names shown in brackets according to the season.
 * Best Player Award by FFK (1992–2005, 2008, 2010–) and GOAL Journal (2006–2007, 2009).

List of champions

 * Notes:
 * Teams in bold currently compete in Premier League.
 * Italics identifies either defunct or teams that lost professional status.

League participation
Note: The tallies below include up to the 2024 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.


 * 33 seasons: Shakhter
 * 31 seasons: Kairat, Tobol
 * 29 seasons: Aktobe
 * 28 seasons: Irtysh, Taraz
 * 26 seasons: Kaisar, Zhetysu
 * 25 seasons: Ordabasy
 * 23 seasons: Atyrau, Okzhetpes
 * 20 seasons: Vostok
 * 18 seasons: Kyzylzhar, Zhenis
 * 16 seasons: Astana
 * 15 seasons: Ekibastuzets
 * 14 seasons: Akzhayik, Elimai
 * 9 seasons: Caspiy, Zhiger
 * 8 seasons: Shakhter-Bulat
 * 5 seasons: Alma-Ata, Tomiris
 * 4 seasons: CSKA Almaty, Gornyak, Yassy
 * 3 seasons: Turan, Ulytau
 * 2 seasons: Aksu, Azhar, Ekibastuz, Maktaaral
 * 1 season: Arman, BGS, Dinamo Alma-Ata, Dostyk, Kazakhmys, Megasport, Namys Almaty, Nasha Kampaniya, Sunkar, Yelimay

Soviet Top League participation

 * 24 seasons: Kairat