Premier League |
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Founded |
1991 |
Nation |
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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.
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.
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).
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]
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.
In the 2008-09 season, the Ukrainian Premier League consisted of the following teams:
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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.
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 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]
Season | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Position | Top Goalscorer |
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2008-09 | ||||
2007-08 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv | Metalist Kharkiv | ![]() |
2006-07 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Metalist Kharkiv | ![]() |
2005-06 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv | Chornomorets Odessa | ![]() ![]() |
2004-05 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv | Metalurh Donetsk | ![]() |
2003-04 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | ![]() |
2002-03 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Metalurh Donetsk | ![]() |
2001-02 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv | Metalurh Donetsk | ![]() |
2000-01 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | ![]() |
1999-00 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | ![]() |
1998-99 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | ![]() |
1997-98 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Karpaty Lviv | ![]() |
1996-97 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Vorskla Poltava | ![]() |
1995-96 | Dynamo Kyiv | Chornomorets Odessa | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | ![]() |
1994-95 | Dynamo Kyiv | Chornomorets Odessa | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | ![]() |
1993-94 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Chornomorets Odessa | ![]() |
1992-93 | Dynamo Kyiv | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Chornomorets Odessa | ![]() |
1992 | Tavriya Simferopol | Dynamo Kyiv | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | ![]() |
Club | Winners | Runners-Up | 3rd Position | Seasons Won |
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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 |
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. |
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. |
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.
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Managers in bold are active. † - Managers that have past away.
Rating | Name | Club(s) | Points | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
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1 | ![]() |
FC Dynamo Kyiv | 25 | 5 | - | - |
2 | ![]() |
FC Shakhtar Donetsk | 21 | 3 | 2 | - |
3 | ![]() |
FC Dynamo Kyiv | 13 | 2 | 1 | - |
= | ![]() |
FC Dynamo Kyiv | 13 | 2 | 1 | - |
5 | ![]() |
FC Shakhtar Donetsk | 12 | - | 4 | - |
6 | ![]() |
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk FC Dynamo Kyiv |
9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
7 | ![]() |
FC Dynamo Kyiv | 8 | 1 | 1 | - |
= | ![]() |
FC Chornomorets Odessa FC Shakhtar Donetsk |
8 | - | 2 | 2 |
9 | ![]() |
FC Chornomorets Odessa | 6 | - | 2 | - |
10 | ![]() |
FC Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 1 | - | - |
= | ![]() |
FC Dynamo Kyiv | 5 | 1 | - | - |
= | ![]() |
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.
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 | |
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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 |
Rank | Stadium | Capacity [14] | Club | Notes |
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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 |
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) |
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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) |
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Ukrainian Premier League seasons
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