The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga (Turkmen: Ýokary liga futbol klublarynyň arasyndaky futbol boýunça Türkmenistanyň çempionaty), is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, operated by the Turkmenistan Football Federation. It was founded in 1992. Nine clubs participate in the Higher League of the Turkmenistan National Championship. The season runs between April and November. There are 9 teams in the competition. As of the 2024 season, the league had one AFC Champions League Two qualifying spot for the league winner league. Since the introduction of the Turkmenistan Higher League in 1992, Altyn Asyr (8 times), Köpetdag (6 times), Nebitçi (4 times), Nisa (4 times), Ýedigen (4 times), Arkadag (2 times), Aşgabat (2 times), Ahal (1 time) and Şagadam (1 time) have won the title. FC Arkadag are the current champions (2024) for the second time.

History

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, starting in 1992, each former Soviet republic organized an independent national championship. FC Kopetdag won the first four titles. Nisa Aşgabat was the only team which managed to break Kopetdag's dominance, winning the top division title in 1996. In 2022, FC Ahal won the title for the first time in their history in Turkmenistan professional football.

Competition

The league traditionally used to run from April to November. As of the 2022 season, the champions qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage. The runner-up qualifies for the AFC Cup group stage. If the winner of Turkmenistan Cup ends in first or second in the championship in same season, then the third-place team qualifies to AFC Cup group stage.

Current clubs

A total of 9 teams will contest the league. The following teams are competing in the 2024 season:

Soviet era champions

Seasons summary

Performance by club

League participation

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

Youth championship

The Youth League, also known as Youth teams championship full name Youth football championship of Turkmenisatn among teams of clubs of the Higher League , is a league that runs in parallel to the Ýokary Liga and includes the youth or reserve teams of the Turkmenistan Higher League teams. The number of players a team can have on the pitch at a time that are over 21 years of age or without a Turkmenistan citizenship is limited. 8 teams participate in the league. Matches are commonly played a day before the match of the senior teams of the respective teams.

Youth championship winners (since 2019)