KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny

KAMAZ (Russian: Футбольный клуб КАМАЗ Набережные Челны) is a Russian football club based in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia. In the 2021–22 season, the club will play in the second-tier Russian Football National League. The club was founded on 11 November 1981 at the KAMAZ plant under the name Trud-PRZ. The team played in local tournaments until 1988, when they entered Soviet Second League. KAMAZ stayed in this league until 1992, when following the collapse of the Soviet Union they were entitled to play in the Russian First League. They won the Centre Zone tournament and were promoted into the Top League. The best result achieved by KAMAZ in the Top League was a 6th position in 1994. It allowed the club to participate in the Intertoto Cup, where KAMAZ reached the semifinals, defeating München 1860 in the group stage. KAMAZ stayed in the top flight from 1993 to 1997, when the financial troubles of their owner, KAMAZ plant, forced them into the First Division and into the Second Division a year later. The team played in the Ural Zone of the Second Division from 1999 to 2003, where they earned promotion. KAMAZ became one of the leaders of the First Division in the 2000s, finishing 4th in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2010 and 3rd in 2005 and 2008. They were relegated back to the third-tier at the end of the 2015–16 season. On 15 June 2021, the club secured first place in their PFL group and promotion back to FNL. The club has been known as Trud-PRZ (1981–1987), Torpedo (1988–1989), and KAMAZ-Chally (1995–2000).