FC Baltika Kaliningrad

The club was founded on 23 August 1954 as Pishchevik Kaliningrad. In 1958 the club was renamed Baltika. The team entered the Soviet League in 1957 and played in Class B (1957–1965), Class A, Group 2 (1966–1970), and Second League (1971–1991). The best result was achieved in 1984, when Baltika won the regional group tournament. In 1992 Baltika entered the Russian Second Division and won the regional tournament and promotion to the First Division. After a fourth-place finish in 1993 and third position in 1994 Baltika won the division in 1995. In 1996 Baltika achieved the best result in club's history, finishing 7th in the Top Division, the Russian Premier League. Baltika were relegated in 1998, spending a total of three seasons in the top flight. In 1998 Baltika participated in the Intertoto Cup and reached the third round. Since then, Baltika played in the First Division, except for the 2002 and 2005 seasons which they spent in the Second Division. In 2018–19 Russian Football National League, they finished 16th (a relegation spot). However, PFL zone East winners FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk did not apply for the FNL license, keeping Baltika in the league. On 19 May 2023, Baltika secured a promotion to the Russian Premier League for the first time in 25 years. In the 2023–24 Russian Cup, Baltika advanced to the Superfinal. Baltika finished 15th in the league season and was relegated back to second tier after one year in the Premier League. On 2 June 2024, Baltika lost the…