One of the main intrigues of the Pari League has been resolved – we now know which teams have officially secured direct promotion to the Russian Premier League. While the championship title remains undecided, congratulations are in order for Voronezh’s Fakel and Moscow’s Rodina. Fakel, who were relegated after the 2024/2025 season, made a swift return to the top flight. For Rodina, this is a historic milestone: Sergei Lomakin’s club, founded in 2015, will debut in the elite division for the first time. Let’s break down the journeys of both teams – there’s plenty to unpack.
Advanced statistical data provided by the technology service Yandex Sportech.
**Fakel – A Club with a Strong Fan Base**
The face of any football club is its fans. This may not hold for everyone, but for Fakel, it’s definitely true. In their first season in the RPL, they averaged an impressive 11,778 spectators per game – a strong figure for a league outsider – and ranked among the top five teams in attendance. After moving from the Central Stadium of Trade Unions (capacity 15,000) to the smaller Fakel Stadium (10,000), their average attendance dropped to 8,554, but it still exceeded that of Dynamo Makhachkala, Akron, Orenburg, Akhmat, and Khimki. Currently in the First League, only Rotor (9,142 vs. 15,325) surpasses them in attendance, thanks to inheriting a World Cup 2018 stadium. However, in terms of percentage, no club comes close to Fakel: their average stadium occupancy is 91%.
Moreover, Voronezh fans often provide the best away support. In the first half of the 2025/2026 season, two of the five largest away following belonged to Fakel. The match in Saratov was particularly notable, with 638 fans making the trip. Only Torpedo can compete – they took three of the top five spots, but Moscow clubs naturally have an easier time traveling than Voronezh.
Behind the club’s development and fan culture are CEO Roman Askhabadze (former Spartak director) and sporting director Kirill Kotov. Both executives have been with the club since the disastrous 2019/2020 season (Kotov joined in October of the following year), when Fakel finished 18th and avoided relegation only due to the dissolution of Armavir, Avangard, Luch, and Mordovia. In 2022, the team was promoted to the RPL under Oleg Vasilenko, only to be relegated last season. As we see, the break was brief.
Recently, another ex-Spartak player, Alexander Samedov, took over recruitment duties. Fakel enjoys greater resources compared to other First League clubs, giving the former Russia international plenty of room to maneuver in the market.
**Shalimov Built from Defense – and Paid the Price**
Fakel started the season under head coach Igor Shalimov, who had tried to save the team from RPL relegation – even taking a point off Spartak (0-0). But he failed to win any of his eight games and was sent directly to the “Best League in the World.” Shalimov didn’t get much time in the First League. At first glance, his dismissal seems hasty. In 12 matches under him, Fakel averaged two points per game – a promotion-winning pace. Over the previous three seasons, only two teams surpassed this mark: Rubin in 2022/2023 and Baltika in 2024/2025 (both averaging 2.03 points per game). However, a loss to Chaika sealed his fate.
“Shame!” and accusations of anti-football followed – one of the most controversial coaching dismissals in the First League.
Typically, RPL-relegated teams drop points early in the First League season due to a short summer break and major squad overhauls. Fakel was no exception: six of the top 10 players in terms of minutes from the previous season left, while center-back Maks Dziov was sidelined with a long-term injury. Essentially, they assembled an entirely new squad for the First League. Any team needs time to gel and find form, but Shalimov unexpectedly navigated this period successfully: six consecutive wins, five of them clean sheets. This created a false sense of security that Fakel…
