Russian Second League 1996

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Russian Second League 1996 was the 5th edition of Russian Second Division. There were 3 zones with 60 teams starting the competition (2 were excluded before the end of the season). The Russian Second Division is the third level of Russian professional football. The division is run by the Russian Professional Football League. The Second Division is geographically divided into 5 zones: West (Northwestern European Russia), Centre (Northern and Eastern European Russia), South (Southern European Russia), Ural-Povolzhye (Southern Urals and Western Siberia), and East (Rest of Siberia). The number of clubs in each zone varies between years. At the start of the 2009 season, there were 81 clubs in the division. The winners of each zone are automatically promoted into the First Division. The bottom finishers of each zone lose professional status and are relegated into the Amateur Football League.