2002 in Russian football was the first season of the Premier League, which was won by FC Lokomotiv Moscow (this was their first ever national title). The national team participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Russia national football team participated in the final tournament of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they finished third in Group H.
Rubin Kazan and Chernomorets Novorossiysk won the promotion from the First Division.
Vyacheslav Kamoltsev of Chernomorets became the top goalscorer with 20 goals.
The following clubs have earned promotion by winning tournaments in their respective Second Division zones:
The Russian Cup was won by CSKA Moscow, who beat Zenit Saint Petersburg 2âÂÂ0 in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium.
Lokomotiv Moscow participated in the third round of the 2001âÂÂ02 UEFA Cup, but were knocked out by Hapoel Tel Aviv FC who won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Krylya Sovetov Samara played in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup. After defeating Dinaburg FC in the second round they lost to Willem II Tilburg on away goals.
Lokomotiv Moscow's victory over Grazer AK ensured there are two Russian clubs in the group stage of the 2002âÂÂ03 UEFA Champions League. Lokomotiv finished second in the group with Club Brugge, Galatasaray, and the dominant FC Barcelona.
On the contrary, Spartak Moscow, the automatic qualifiers for the group stage, lost all their matches to Valencia CF, FC Basel, and Liverpool F.C., finishing with the goal differential of 1âÂÂ18.
Zenit Saint Petersburg set the record for aggregate score for the Russian teams, beating FC Encamp 13âÂÂ0 in the qualifying round of the 2002âÂÂ03 UEFA Cup and joining CSKA Moscow in the first round. Both Russian clubs lost in the first round, Zenit to Grasshopper Club Zürich (3âÂÂ4) and CSKA to Parma F.C. (3âÂÂ4).