The Russian Premier League's calendar change has seen it drop to 53rd in the annual rankings of the world's strongest football championships, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.

      The country ranked 11th in 2011, but this year the league switched from a summer to a winter calendar, and the 15-month transition season meant games were spread out too far for teams to receive points quickly enough. The place is counted depending on the results of the five best-placed clubs of each league in all the competitions.

      Fifty-third place places the Russian championship, which supplied teams that reached the Champions League knockout stages, below Mali, Vietnam, Qatar and Yemen.

      Spain is on the top of the IFFHS rankings, with Argentina replacing England in second place and Brazil in third. England is down to fourth while Italy move from seventh to fifth.

      The list of the strongest football leagues, according to the IFFHS:

      1.Spain - 761 points

      2.Argentina - 613

      3.Brasil - 590

      4.England - 470

      5.Italy - 469

      6.Germany - 445

      7.Chile - 411

      8.Paraguay - 384

      9.France - 372

      10.the Netherlands - 368

      53.Russia - 165

Sources: championat.com eurosport.ru rosbalt.ru Image: soccer365.ru