Ukrainian Premier League

Premier League
Current sport.svg EpiCentre Ukrainian Championship 2008-09
PFL UA.jpg
Founded
1991
Nation
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
Relegation To
Ukrainian First League
Number of Teams
16
European Qualification
Champions League
UEFA Cup
Intertoto Cup
Cups
Ukrainian Cup
Current Champions (2007-08)
Shakhtar Donetsk
Website
[1]

The Ukrainian Premier League (Ukrainian: "Прем'єр-Ліга", Premier-Liha) is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. The league was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. 2007-08 is the league's 17th season. Up until now the league was subsidized by the government and from the economical point of view was not a profitable organization. On April 17, 2008 the new Premier-League[1] was formed. The main sponsor of the League became the national network of the construction supermarkets EpiCentre. The new organization is a completely independent entity and consists of 16 football club organizations under the guidance of the Football Federation of Ukraine. [2]

The format of the League will stay the same. The changes that were made are exclusively administrative. The teams that reach the top of the competition table at the end of a season, will gain a chance to represent Ukraine internationally in several prestigious tournaments. Also at the end of the season, the bottom two clubs are relegated to the Persha Liha and replaced by the two top clubs from that league.

As of 2008, FC Shakhtar Donetsk is the reigning Ukrainian Premier League champion. SC Tavriya Simferopol won the first championship, and all subsequent titles have gone to either Dynamo or FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Only 5 teams, Dynamo, Shakhtar, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Tavria, and Metalurh Zaporizhia have participated in all 16 Ukrainian Vyscha Liha competitions.

The league cooperates with the Professional Football League (PFL) of Ukraine which governs the lower divisions. The PFL is an association that represents 67 Ukrainian professional football clubs, which are represented by 78 teams (a few clubs have more than one team, which play in different divisions)[3]. The professional league was organized in 1996 and until 2008 was resposible for the competitions at the Top division as well. Before that, Vyscha Liha was governed solely and directly by the Football Federation of Ukraine.

Contents

History

See also: Soviet Top League
See also: Ukrainian Soviet competitions

The league emerged and was established after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics following the example of other former soviet republics. Creation of such a league was guaranteed that Ukrainian footballers would be able compete at the European level without having to qualify through Soviet competition. The Ukrainian Premier League mostly consisted of teams from top three Soviet divisions. The other teams were combined into the Ukrainian First and Second League. After 15 years most of those teams disappeared through the financial difficulties, but have since been reestablished.

Until the creation of the independent competition, the Ukrainian republican championship had taken place in the Soviet Second League or in Soviet amateur level competition (in earlier years). About three to ten of the best Ukrainian clubs competed in the Soviet top leagues and were considered to be competitive on the interrepublican level; therefore, the Ukrainian champion was mostly a team that has won the Ukrainian republican group which was part of Soviet lower leagues.

Before the establishment of a consistent Soviet football competition in 1936, the Ukrainian SSR had its own football competition from 1921 to 1936. This competition was on a volunteer basis and were not held regularly. These football competitions were a continuation of the imperial football competitions that started at the beginning of the 20th century in the Russian Empire.

Calendar

Clubs play each other twice (once at home and once away) to make up the 30-match season. The league begins in mid-July and ends in mid-June. After 15 rounds of fixtures, there is a winter break that lasts for three months (from early December to early March). Thus, the winter break is significantly longer than the interval between seasons. Such organization accounts for climatic conditions and matches that of most European leagues in terms of the beginning and the end of the season.

The first season of the League in 1992 was exceptional as it lasted for only half a year. This was because the last Soviet league season ended in autumn of 1991, and the Football Federation of Ukraine decided to shift the calendar from “spring-fall” to “fall-spring” football seasons. In the premiere season, 20 clubs were divided into two 10-team groups. In both groups, each club played each other twice, and the championship was decided by a play-off match between the group winners, in which Tavriya beat Dynamo.

After the first season, in each of the following seasons each team played each other team in the League twice. The number of participating teams fluctuated between 14 and 18, stabilizing for the last five seasons at 16.

As of the 2005-06 season, the golden match rule was introduced. According to the rule, if the first two teams obtain the same number of points, the championship is to be decided by an additional "golden" match between the two teams. In fact, in that season Dynamo and Shakhtar had earned the same number of points and Shakhtar won the championship by winning the golden match (2:1 after extra time).

Players

Prior to 2000, only several foreign players represented Ukrainian clubs, and even those players were mostly from countries that were once a part of the Soviet Union. However, in 2000-01, the number of foreign players participating in the Vyscha Liha had tallied more than 30 players and by 2003-04 season, the figure had increased to 37% of the league's players.[4] Only 2 players from Ukraine's domestic leagues competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, while at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the Vyscha Liha was the 6th-most represented league with 25 players in the competition, including 17 of the 23 players in Ukraine's squad.

As a result of this increase in foreign-born players, clubs in the Vyscha Liha are allowed to field no more than seven foreigners at one time from this season and this limit is expected to be lowered to six foreigners. In addition, clubs are subject to a $15,000 fine upon acquiring a foreign player. One of the biggest proponents of the foreigner limit was the ex-national team coach Oleg Blokhin (2003-2007), who threatened to quit the national team if the limit was not made stricter.[5]

The clubs mainly affected by this rule include the few clubs that participate annually in European competitions. They argue that the foreigner limit is detrimental to the development of Ukrainian football in general. However, as a result of this limit, these clubs have had to increase their efforts finding and training Ukrainian talent that is good enough to represent these teams.

The foreigner limit itself has also been recently contested by several cases, but primarily by one filed by a Georgian national Georgi Demetradze, who argued that the limit impeded on his working rights and is illegal under the Ukrainian constitution. The courts however argued that no case exists, such that players are not guaranteed first-team football, and subsequently the limit is not considered a violation of trade.[6]

Presidents

Sponsors

The other official sponsors of the championship are: Chernihivske, Umbro, the Russian-based newspaper Sport-Express (in Ukraine) as the mass-media, and MorskiE as the sposor of the TV broadcasting.

Ukrainian Premier League 2008-09

Home cities of 2008-09 teams

In the 2008-09 season, the Ukrainian Premier League consisted of the following teams:

  • Arsenal Kyiv
  • Chornomorets Odessa
  • Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
  • Dynamo Kyiv
  • Illichivets Mariupol
  • Karpaty Lviv
  • FC Kharkiv[1]
  • Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
  • FC Lviv
  • Metalist Kharkiv
  • Metalurh Donetsk
  • Metalurh Zaporizhzhya
  • Shakhtar Donetsk
  • Tavriya Simferopol
  • Vorskla Poltava
  • Zorya Luhansk

FC Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka and FC Zakarpattia Uzhhorod, the two of the least successful teams in the league in 2007-08, were relegated to the Ukrainian First League. Illichivets Mariupol and FC Lviv were promoted to take their place.

Broadcasting

Free-to-air live matches from the Ukrainian Premiere League will be broadcasted on Saturdays and Sundays on satellite channel Inter+ (Sirius 5E).[2]

UEFA Ranking

UEFA Club Ranking for club seeding in 2008-09 European football season (Previous year rank in italics, UEFA Club Coefficients in parentheses)[7]

Note: Since 1999 country index (coefficient) indicates the lowest possible value for any team of that country to qualify for ranking. It's no less then 9.932 for Ukraine.

UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2008-09 European football season (Previous year rank in italics) [8]

Champions and top goalscorers

Season Champion Runner-Up 3rd Position Top Goalscorer
2008-09
2007-08 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalist Kharkiv Flag of Serbia Marko Dević (Metalist Kharkiv 19 goals)
2006-07 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Metalist Kharkiv Flag of Ukraine Oleksandr Hladky (FC Kharkiv 13 goals)
2005-06 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odessa Flag of Brazil Brandão (Shakhtar Donetsk, 15 goals)
Flag of Nigeria Emmanuel Okoduwa (Arsenal Kyiv, 15 goals)
2004-05 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalurh Donetsk Flag of Ukraine Oleksandr Kosyrin (Chornomorets Odessa, 14 goals)
2003-04 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Flag of Georgia (country) Georgi Demetradze (Metalurh Donetsk, 18 goals)
2002-03 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Metalurh Donetsk Flag of Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh (Dynamo Kyiv, 22 goals)
2001-02 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalurh Donetsk Flag of Ukraine Serhiy Shyschenko (Metalurh Donetsk, 12 goals)
2000-01 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Flag of Ukraine Andriy Vorobei (Shakhtar Donetsk, 21 goals)
1999-00 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Flag of Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh (Dynamo Kyiv, 20 goals)
1998-99 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Flag of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko (Dynamo Kyiv, 18 goals)
1997-98 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Karpaty Lviv Flag of Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov (Dynamo Kyiv, 22 goals)
1996-97 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Vorskla Poltava Flag of Ukraine Oleh Matviiv (Shakhtar Donetsk, 21 goals)
1995-96 Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odessa Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Flag of Ukraine Timerlan Huseinov (Chornomorets Odessa, 20 goals)
1994-95 Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odessa Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Flag of Tajikistan Arsen Avakov (Torpedo Zaporizhzhya, 21 goals)
1993-94 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Chornomorets Odessa Flag of Ukraine Timerlan Huseinov (Chornomorets Odessa, 18 goals)
1992-93 Dynamo Kyiv Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Chornomorets Odessa Flag of Ukraine Serhiy Husyev (Chornomorets Odessa, 17 goals)
1992 Tavriya Simferopol Dynamo Kyiv Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Flag of Ukraine Yuri Hudymenko (Tavriya Simferopol, 12 goals)

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-Up 3rd Position Seasons Won
Dynamo Kyiv 12 5 0 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2006-07
Shakhtar Donetsk 4 9 0 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08
Tavriya Simferopol 1 0 0 1992
Chornomorets Odessa 0 2 3
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 0 1 5
Metalurh Donetsk 0 0 3
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 0 0 2
Metalist Kharkiv 0 0 2
Vorskla Poltava 0 0 1
Karpaty Lviv 0 0 1

Top scorers

All-time Vyscha Liha scorers
Player Games Goals
1 Serhiy Rebrov 252 122
2 Maksim Shatskikh [9] 209 96
3 Oleksandr Haidash 259 95
4 Serhiy Mizin [9] 336 89
5 Andriy Vorobei [9] 245 87
6 Timerlan Huseinov 215 85
7 Oleh Matviiv 213 81
8 Oleksandr Palyanytsia 260 79
9 Valentyn Poltavets [9] 315 75
10 Serhiy Atelkin 113 67
= Ivan Hetsko 118 67
= Viktor Leonenko 210 67
Data through 2006-07 season.
Active Vyscha Liha scorers [10]
Player Games Goals
1 Serhiy Rebrov 252 122
2 Maksim Shatskikh 209 96
3 Andriy Vorobei 245 91
4 Serhiy Mizin 336 89
5 Oleksandr Kosyrin 202 80
6 Valentyn Poltavets 315 75
7 Serhiy Zakarlyuka 285 69
8 Konstantin Babych 280 65
9 Hennady Zubov 254 63
10 Vasyl Gigiadze 152 53
Data through 2006-07 season.
Further information: UPL Individual Records

Ex-Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv striker Serhiy Rebrov holds the record for most UPL goals with 122, despite winning the top single season scorer title only once. The all-time runner-up with 95 goals, Oleksandr Haidash, has never won a single season scorer title.

Since the first UPL season in 1992, 15 different players have won or shared the top scorer's title. No player has won the title in consecutive seasons and only two players have won the title more than once, Timerlan Huseinov and Maksim Shatskikh. Serhiy Rebrov and Maksim Shatskikh hold the record for most goals in a season (22) and are the only two players to score at least 20 goals twice. The most prolific career and single season scorers are Ivan Hetsko and Andriy Vorobei, respectively attaining 0.59 and 0.88 goals per game.

Dynamo Kyiv became the first and only team to have scored 1,000 goals in the UPL after Diogo Rincon scored, in a 1:1 draw against Metalurh Donetsk, in the 2006–07 season.








Notable foreign players

  • Flag of Albania Debatik Curri
  • Flag of Albania Armend Dallku
  • Flag of Albania Elvin Beqiri
  • Flag of Armenia Ara Hakobyan
  • Flag of Armenia Yegishe Melikyan
  • Flag of Azerbaijan Samir Aliyev
  • Flag of Azerbaijan Tarlan Akhmedov
  • Flag of Azerbaijan Mahmud Gurbanov
  • Flag of Belarus Valiantsin Bialkevich
  • Flag of Belarus Aliaksandr Khatskevich
  • Flag of Belarus Vladimir Korytko
  • Flag of Belarus Sergei Kornilenko
  • Flag of Belarus Artem Chelyadinsky
  • Flag of Belarus Nikolai Kashevsky
  • Flag of Brazil Brandão
  • Flag of Brazil Matuzalem
  • Flag of Brazil Fernandinho
  • Flag of Brazil Jádson
  • Flag of Brazil William Batista
  • Flag of Brazil Anderson Ribeiro
  • Flag of Brazil Edmar
  • Flag of Brazil Elano
  • Flag of Brazil Willian
  • Flag of Brazil Corrêa
  • Flag of Brazil Diogo Rincón
  • Flag of Brazil Kléber
  • Flag of Bulgaria Predrag Pažin
  • Flag of Bulgaria Georgi Peev
  • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire Venance Zézé
  • Flag of Croatia Jerko Leko
  • Flag of Croatia Goran Sablić
  • Flag of Croatia Darijo Srna
  • Flag of Croatia Ivica Pirić
  • Flag of Croatia Stipe Pletikosa
  • Flag of the Czech Republic Tomáš Hübschman
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Vasyl Gigiadze
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Georgi Demetradze
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Kakha Kaladze
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Lasha Jakobia
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Tariel Kapanadze
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Avtandil Kapanadze
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Shalva Abhazava
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Dato Kvirkvelia
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Gocha Jamarauli
  • Flag of Georgia (country) Malkhaz Asatiani
  • Flag of Latvia Māris Verpakovskis
  • Flag of Morocco Badr El Kaddouri
  • Flag of the Netherlands Antilles Sendley Sidney Bito
  • Flag of Nigeria Isaac Okoronkwo
  • Flag of Nigeria Julius Aghahowa
  • Flag of Nigeria Emmanuel Okoduwa
  • Flag of Nigeria Samson Godwin
  • Flag of Nigeria Harrison Omoko
  • Flag of Nigeria Michael Chidi Alozi
  • Flag of Nigeria Lucky Idahor
  • Flag of Peru Andrés Mendoza
  • Flag of Peru Paolo de la Haza
  • Flag of Poland Mariusz Lewandowski
  • Flag of Poland Seweryn Gancarczyk
  • Flag of Poland Maciej Nalepa
  • Flag of Romania Florin Cernat
  • Flag of Romania Marian Aliuţă
  • Flag of Romania Răzvan Raţ
  • Flag of Romania Flavius Stoican
  • Flag of Romania Tiberiu Ghioane
  • Flag of Romania Ciprian Marica
  • Flag of Romania Daniel Florea
  • Flag of Russia Oleg Salenko
  • Flag of Russia Viktor Onopko
  • Flag of Russia Gennadiy Nizhegorodov
  • Flag of Russia Ilia Tsymbalar
  • Flag of Russia Andrei Fedkov
  • Flag of Russia Yuri Nikiforov
  • Flag of Russia Andrei Karyaka
  • Flag of Russia Rolan Gusev
  • Flag of Senegal Papa Gueye
  • Flag of Senegal Assane N'Diaye
  • Flag of Serbia Zvonimir Vukić
  • Flag of Serbia Goran Gavrančić
  • Flag of Serbia Marko Dević[11]
  • Flag of Serbia Aleksandar Trišović
  • Flag of Serbia Igor Duljaj
  • Flag of Serbia Milan Obradović
  • Flag of Tajikistan Arsen Avakov
  • Flag of Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh

Notable foreign coaches

  • Flag of Belarus Oleh Kononov
  • Flag of Belgium Jos Daerden
  • Flag of Bulgaria Nikolay Kostov
  • Flag of Germany Bernd Stange
  • Flag of Germany Bernd Schuster
  • Flag of Italy Nevio Scala
  • Flag of Latvia Jannis Skredelis
  • Flag of the Netherlands Wim Vrosch
  • Flag of the Netherlands Co Adriaanse
  • Flag of the Netherlands Ton Kaanen
  • Flag of Romania Mircea Lucescu
  • Flag of Russia Vitaliy Shevchenko
  • Flag of Russia Yuri Semin
  • Flag of Russia Anatoly Byshovets
  • Flag of Russia Oleg Dolmatov
  • Flag of Russia Vladimir Salkov
  • Flag of Serbia Ivan Golac
  • Flag of Serbia Slavoljub Muslin
  • Flag of Spain Ángel Alonso

Top 10 managers

Managers in bold are active. - Managers that have past away.

Rating Name Club(s) Points 1st 2nd 3rd
1 Flag of Ukraine Valery Lobanovsky FC Dynamo Kyiv 25 5 - -
2 Flag of Romania Mircea Lucescu FC Shakhtar Donetsk 21 3 2 -
3 Flag of Ukraine Oleksiy Mykhailychenko FC Dynamo Kyiv 13 2 1 -
= Flag of Ukraine Yozhef Sabo FC Dynamo Kyiv 13 2 1 -
5 Flag of Ukraine Valery Yaremchenko FC Shakhtar Donetsk 12 - 4 -
6 Flag of Ukraine Mykola Pavlov FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
FC Dynamo Kyiv
9 1 1 1
7 Flag of Ukraine Anatoliy Demyanenko FC Dynamo Kyiv 8 1 1 -
= Flag of Ukraine Viktor Prokopenko FC Chornomorets Odessa
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
8 - 2 2
9 Flag of Ukraine Leonid Buriak FC Chornomorets Odessa 6 - 2 -
10 Flag of Italy Nevio Scala FC Shakhtar Donetsk 5 1 - -
= Flag of Ukraine Mykhailo Fomenko FC Dynamo Kyiv 5 1 - -
= Flag of Ukraine Anatoliy Zayaev SC Tavriya Simferopol 5 1 - -

This rating is of the best managers in the League since its foundation in 1991. It is based on the following factors:
1st place - 5 points,
2nd place - 3 points,
3rd place - 1 point.
There are over 20 managers who brought their teams to the top of the League over its history. [12] Other noteble coaches are Myron Markevych (Karpaty, Metalist) - three bronze medals, Anatoliy Byshovets (Shakhtar) - a silver medal, Anatoliy Puzach (Dynamo) - a silver medal, and Yuri Semin (Dynamo) - a silver medal.

All-time participants

The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons. All figures are correct through the 2008-09 season. For the all-time table click here.

1992 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09
Teams 20 16 18 18 18 16 16 16 16 14 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
Arsenal Kyiv [13]         4 11 10 7 10 6 12 5 9 9 12 14 6 v
Borysfen Boryspil                         7 16        
Bukovyna Chernivtsi 10 12 17                              
Chornomorets Odessa 5 3 3 2 2 7 15   15     8 5 6 3 6 7 v
Dynamo Kyiv 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 v
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 12 11 3 6 4 3 4 6 4 4 v
Illychivets Mariupol             14 5 8 4 10 10 8 5 4 15   v
Karpaty Lviv 13 6 5 8 8 5 3 4 9 10 8 7 15     8 10 v
FC Kharkiv                             13 12 14 v
Kremin Kremenchuk 14 9 15 10 9 15                      
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih   8 6 6 14 12 8 3 3 11 9 12 10 13 14 10 13 v
FC Lviv                                   v
Metalist Kharkiv 6 5 18         6 5 9 5 16   11 5 3 3 v
Metalurh Donetsk             7 14 7 5 3 3 4 3 9 9 12 v
Metalurh Zaporizhzhya 11 7 16 9 5 8 9 8 6 8 4 15 11 10 8 7 9 v
Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka 16                               15  
Nyva Ternopil 7 14 7 12 13 9 6 13 12 14                
Nyva Vinnytsia 15   10 14 15 16                        
Obolon Kyiv                       14 6 15        
Olexandria                     13 13            
Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk 17     11 11 13 13 15 14                  
SC Mykolaiv 18     13 16     16                    
SCA Odessa 20                                  
Shakhtar Donetsk 4 4 2 4 10 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 v
Stal Alchevsk                   13         11 16    
Tavriya Simferopol 1 10 8 5 12 6 12 9 13 7 7 9 12 7 7 5 5 v
Temp Shepetivka 19   9 17                            
Torpedo Zaporizhzhya 8 13 13 7 7 14 16                      
Veres Rivne   16 11 18                            
Volyn Lutsk 9 11 12 15 17             6 13 8 15      
Vorskla Poltava           3 5 10 4 12 11 11 14 14 10 13 8 v
Zakarpattia Uzhhorod                     14     12 16   16  
Zirka Kirovohrad         6 10 11 11 16       16          
Zorya Luhansk 12 15 14 16 18                     11 11 v

Stadia

Rank Stadium Capacity [14] Club Notes
1 NSC Olimpiysky 83,450 None at the moment Currently undergoing renovations in preparation for EURO 2012.
Dynamo Kyiv plays its major European matches on this ground, and usually it is the annual venue for the Ukrainian Cup final
2 Donbas Arena 50,000 Shakhtar Donetsk The venue is scheduled to be opened in 2009
3 Tsentralnyi-Chornomorets Stadium 34,362 Chornomorets Odessa Currently undergoing renovations in preparation for EURO 2012
4 Shakhtar Stadium 31,718 Metalurh Donetsk Loaned to Metalurh by Shakhtar for the European competitions.
5 Dnipro Stadium 31,003 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Moved from the old arena. Inauguration's on September 14, 2008.
6 Metalist Stadium 30,133 Metalist Kharkiv While upgrades are taking place, max capacity is at 22,757 (planned capacity is 42,000+)
7 Metalurh Stadium 29,783 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
8 Ukraina Stadium 28,051 Karpaty Lviv
FC Lviv[15]
Plans to upgrade to ~40,000 seats in prep for Euro 2012
9 RSK Olimpiyskiy 25,831 Shakhtar Donetsk Moving to new UEFA 5-star 50,000-seat venue in 2008
10 Yuvileiny Stadium (Sumy) 25,830 [3] Kharkiv FC Kharkiv are currently leasing this stadium
11 Vorskla Stadium 25,000 Vorskla Poltava
12 Stadium Meteor 24,381 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Moving to new 31,003-seat arena. Inauguration's on September 14, 2008.
13 Avanhard Stadium 22,320 Zorya Luhansk
14 Lokomotiv Stadium 19,978 Tavriya Simferopol
15 Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium 16,873 Dynamo Kyiv
Arsenal Kyiv
Arsenal Kyiv is temporarily playing at this stadium
16 Illychivets Stadium 12,680 Illychivets Mariupol
17 Slavutych Arena 11,983 Metalurh Zaporizhia
18 Dinamo Stadium 9,000 FC Kharkiv FC Kharkiv leased the the stedium in Sumy after signing a contract with Dinamo
19 Metalurh Stadium 3,555 Metalurh Donetsk
See also: List of football (soccer) stadiums by country#Ukraine

League attendance

All attendance figures are correct through 07/08 season. [16]

Season Att Per Match Total Att Highest Att By Team (Att By Team) Highest Home Att By Team (Att By Team)
1992 5,650 1,028,270 Dynamo Kyiv (8,630) Nyva Ternopil (11,133)
1992-93 5,835 1,400,480 Dynamo Kyiv (7,682) Nyva Ternopil (10,725)
1993-94 5,887 1,801,520 Dynamo Kyiv (8,674) Veres Rivne (11,059)
1994-95 5,557 1,694,980 Dynamo Kyiv (8,009) SC Mykolaiv (9,600)
1995-96 5,878 1,787,050 Dynamo Kyiv (8,924) Zirka Kirovohrad (12,324)
1996-97 6,332 791,550 Vorskla Poltava (9,703) Vorskla Poltava (12,300)
1997-98 5,879 1,405,050 Karpaty Lviv (9,937) Karpaty Lviv (13,767)
1998-99 7,588 1,821,100 Dynamo Kyiv (12,040) Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (15,960)
1999-00 8,112 1,947,000 Shakhtar Donetsk (13,333) Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (16,233)
2000-01 9,302 1,692,950 Shakhtar Donetsk (20,190) Shakhtar Donetsk (24,462)
2001-02 9,712 1,767,607 Shakhtar Donetsk (18,688) Shakhtar Donetsk (25,615)
2002-03 7,415 1,779,525 Shakhtar Donetsk (16,332) Shakhtar Donetsk (20,833)
2003-04 7,725 1,854,060 Shakhtar Donetsk (14,922) Shakhtar Donetsk (17,931)
2004-05 7,302 1,737,777 Shakhtar Donetsk (16,555) Shakhtar Donetsk (19,956)
2005-06 7,919 1,908,424 Shakhtar Donetsk (15,875) Shakhtar Donetsk (19,358)
2006-07 9,052 2,163,490 Shakhtar Donetsk (16,966) Shakhtar Donetsk (19,193)
2007-08 8,546 2,042,390 Shakhtar Donetsk (17,372) Shakhtar Donetsk (20,080)

References

  1. Official website of the Ukrainian Premier League
  2. Formation of Ukrainian Premier League - Ratified 27 May, 2008 (Ukrainian)
  3. "Professional Football League of Ukraine". PFL. Retrieved on May 31, 2007.
  4. "Foreigners: limit or blasphemy?". Komanda Newspaper. Retrieved on May 21, 2007.
  5. "Foreigner limit is worsened in Ukraine". Terrikon. Retrieved on May 21, 2007.
  6. "Courts back Ukrainian quotas". UEFA. Retrieved on May 21, 2007.
  7. "UEFA Team Ranking 2009". Bert Kassies. Retrieved on December 3, 2008.
  8. "UEFA Country Ranking 2007". Bert Kassies. Retrieved on May 30, 2007.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Currently active on a Premier League team's roster
  10. "Ukrainian Football Database Spreadsheet (To access, copy link location directly to your URL bar)". User:Palffy. Retrieved on July 4, 2007.
  11. Marko accepted the Ukrainian citizenship in 2008. In this roster he is listed as the Ukrainian.
  12. Rating of coaches from Komanda - May 20, 2008
  13. FC Arsenal Kyiv was renamed from FC CSKA Kyiv in 2001, the original FC CSKA Kyiv was recreated in the Ukrainian First Division
  14. "Attendance figures for the 17th season of Ukrainian Premier League". UA Football. Retrieved on August 3, 2007.
  15. "FC Lviv relocates to Ukraina". FC Karpaty. Retrieved on July 9, 2008.
  16. "Ukrainian Soccer Net". UkrainianSoccer.Com. Retrieved on Jul 4, 2008.

See also

External links