Russian Amateur Football League

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Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) (Russian: Первенство России среди любительских футбольных клубов (III дивизион)) is the fifth overall tier of the Russian football league system. Sometimes it is called Amateur Football League, after the organization that holds the competition (Russian: Любительская Футбольная Лига). The league has amateur/semi-pro status. At the end of each season ten teams are promoted from the Amateur Football League to the fully-professional Second Division Division B, located one step above (even though often the winning teams voluntarily choose to stay in the AFL due to higher financial commitments in the Second Division). Bottom-ranked clubs in the first divisions of Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and Siberia may be or are relegated to the second (fifth tier). The league is divided into ten regional divisions. From 1994 to 1997 a professional fourth-level Russian Third League existed. Its teams moved back to amateur competition in 1998. For more details, see 1994 Russian Third League, 1995 Russian Third League, 1996 Russian Third League, 1997 Russian Third League. Current name: Russian Amateur Football Championship (LFK).