Spartak Moscow Clinches First Football Title In 16 Years

Spartak MOscow fans are now celebrating their first Russian league title since 2001. (file photo)

The Spartak Moscow football team clinched the Russian Premier League championship on May 7 for the first time in 16 years when rival Zenit St. Petersburg was upset at home by Terek Grozny.

Zenit had needed a win to keep alive hopes of catching Spartak in the standings.

With three games left, Spartak has 63 points, 10 ahead of CSKA Moscow and 11 ahead of Zenit.

Spartak was the most successful team in the post-Soviet era, winning the Russian league nine times in the first 10 years after it was launched in 1992.

But its last title was in 2001.

CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit, and Rubin Kazan have all won championships in the years since.

Based on reporting by AFP, TASS, and Reuters