ML VitebskML Vitebsk is one of the most unusual new sides in Belarusian football. Its history dates back to 1971, when the club was founded in Rahachow. Over the following decades it played under several names, including Dnepr, Rahachow and Maxline. In 2025, it adopted its current name, ML Vitebsk, after the club had moved its operations from Rahachow to Vitebsk. Despite the numerous organisational and naming changes, the club has retained continuity in its sporting history.
The major breakthrough came in the first half of the 2020s. In 2021, the team finished second in the second tier, while in 2024 it became First League runners-up and earned promotion to the top flight. Its debut in the Belarusian Premier League proved sensational. ML Vitebsk won the national championship in 2025, in its very first season at this level. The title was secured one round before the end with a 5–0 victory over Gomel, and the club finished the campaign with 67 points. It was the first Belarusian championship in the club's history.
The achievement was particularly remarkable because ML Vitebsk became champions as newly promoted side. The team stood out for both its attacking efficiency and defensive organisation, while also recording a run of 20 consecutive matches without defeat during the season. The championship earned the club its first-ever place in Champions League qualifying. In the 2026/27 season, it faced Romanian side Universitatea Craiova in the first qualifying round. The Romanian team won both matches, eliminating ML Vitebsk from the competition.
The move to Vitebsk gave the club a new dimension. Since 2025, it has played its home matches at the Vitebsky Central Sport Complex, a stadium holding more than 8,000 spectators. The ground was built on the site of the former Dinamo Stadium, whose history dates back to 1937. The move allowed the club to represent a major regional city, although Vitebsk is also home to the older and more established FC Vitebsk.
The traditional colours of ML Vitebsk are green and yellow. The club combines roots stretching back more than half a century with a modern sporting identity created after its move to Vitebsk. The combination of its Rahachow heritage, relocation to a larger city and remarkably rapid rise to the national title makes ML Vitebsk one of the most distinctive stories in contemporary Belarusian football.
