| Countries | Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Levels on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Ukrainian First League |
| Relegation to | None[1] |
| Domestic cup(s) | Ukrainian Cup League Cup |
| Current champions | MFK Mykolaiv (Group A) Olimpik Donetsk (Group B) (2010–11) |
| Website | Official site |
| 2011–12 Ukrainian Second League | |
The Ukrainian Second League (Ukrainian: Друга ліга, Druha Liha) is a professional football league in Ukraine which is part of the Professional Football League of Ukraine. The league is lower than the Ukrainian First League (Persha Liha) and the lowest level of professional football competitions in the country. Druha Liha is the third level of the football national competitions in Ukraine. The league's relegated teams loose their professional status and return to their regional associations.
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The third division of the Ukrainian championship originally was organized as the Transitional League due to numerous amateur clubs competing in it, while the regular amateur competition of fitness clubs (KFK) was taking place as well. For the second season (1992-93) the league was officially organized as the Second League, while the name of transitional league was passed to the newly formed fourth division. Thus, between seasons '93 and '95, there existed a fourth professional level (the Third League) of the football championship in Ukraine and lower than the Second League. From 1993 season to 1995 the Second League had a single group competition of over 20 clubs.
In 1996 the Ukrainian football witnessed major changes in its organization as the Professional Football League of Ukraine was established. The new organization took control of the competition of former non-amateur clubs that were given attestation of professional clubs and included all the leagues of the Ukrainian championship. Concurrently with this the Third League was disbanded and all clubs that were not in the "relegation zone" were invited to join the Second League. The Second League in its turn was split into two groups. Only in the very first season the teams in this league were divided somewhat randomly, while later becoming more of regional sub-leagues. From 1997 the league was divided into three groups (Druha Liha A (west), B (south), and C (east)).
In 1998 unlike other seasons the winners of the groups were not promoted automatically, instead a promotion-relegation tournament was organized involving four teams, three group winners and one of the weaker clubs of the First League. In 2006, the Ukrainian Professional Football League consolidated Druha Liha due to a shortage of teams and now the 3rd level of football professional competition is divided into 2 groups once again (A - West and B - East).
Throughout its history the Second League has had some supplementary tournaments which include the Second League Cup as well as the Ukrainian Cup qualification tournament called the 2009–10 Ukrainian League Cup.
The league suffers from a chronic club withdrawals during almost every season since 1994 when on May 5 FC Elektron Romny became the first club that officially withdrew from the Third League just a few games short of the end setting the well established precedent of today. The 1994-95 season was the first one with multiple withdrawals (four teams). The reorganization of the competition in 1996 also increased the number of clubs that discontinued their participation. For a couple of years after that there was relative stabilization, but for the 1998-99 season 10 teams (!) quit the league before the season started. During the 2002-03 season Ukrainian football saw the withdrawal of a Top League club for the first time (Polihraftekhnika Oleksandriya). Due to those withdrawals the Second League has suspended relegation of clubs since 2006-07, while there were some talks for the league to be discontinued.[2] An idea surfaced during the 2009-10 season to merge the league with the First League breaking the last into several groups, but it was abandoned. During the same season a new tournament was organized to add some games to the calendar of the Second League clubs which had thinned away substantially, this was called the 2009–10 Ukrainian League Cup.
Only the top 10 clubs that placed most often among the top three in every season are listed.
| Club | Winner | Runners-Up | 3rd Position | Seasons Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desna Chernihiv | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1996-97, 2005-06 |
| Obolon Kyiv | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1998-99, 2000-01 |
| Spartak Sumy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1994-95, 2001-02 |
| Dnipro Cherkasy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1992-93, 2005-06 |
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1999-00, 2009-10 |
| MFC Mykolaiv | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2005-06, 2010-11 |
| Tytan Armyansk | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2009-10 |
| Krystal Kherson | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1997-98 |
| Dynamo Khmelnytskyi | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1997-98 |
| Zorya Luhansk | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2002-03 |
| Ihroservice Simferopol | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2003-04 |
The following clubs have won the league at some point in time and were runner-ups in another season: FC Nyva Ternopil, FC Lviv, FC Boryspil, FC Nafkom Brovary, FC Systema-Borex, FC Polissya Zhytomyr, FC Borysfen Boryspil, FC Shakhtar Makiivka, FC Krasyliv.
The following list is of the clubs that are no longer professional yet participated in the competitions of the League.
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