Ukrainian Premier League

Ukrainian Premier League
Country Ukraine
Confederation UEFA
Founded 1991 (Vyshcha Liha)
2008 (Premier League)
Number of teams 14
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to Ukrainian First League
Domestic cup(s) Ukrainian Cup
Ukrainian Super Cup
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
Current champions Dynamo Kyiv (14th title)
(2014–15)
Most championships Dynamo Kyiv (14 titles)
Website Official website
2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League

The Ukrainian Premier League (Ukrainian: "Прем'єр-ліга") is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha (Supreme League) it was formed in 1991 upon discontinuation of the Soviet championship and included the Ukrainian-based clubs that competed in the Soviet competitions. In 1996 along with all the professional football leagues of Ukraine, the Supreme League became a member of the Professional Football League of Ukraine.

In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of both the Professional League and the Football Federation of Ukraine, officially changing its name to the current one. Its rank was 8th highest in Europe as rated by UEFA as of 2014.

Among Ukrainian fans the most popular Ukrainian clubs are Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.[1] Far behind those two are trailing Metalist Kharkiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Karpaty Lviv and Chornomorets Odesa.[1]

Overview

The season 2015–16 is the league's eighth after the break-away from the Professional Football League (PFL) in 2008 and 25th season from the break-up of the Soviet Top League. Until 2007 the league was subsidized by the government and from an economic point of view was not a profitable organization. To solve that issue, the League have tried to attract a few sponsors since the 2007 season: Soyuz-Viktan(2007) and Biolaa(2008). On 15 April 2008 the new Premier-League was formed. Since its formation the title sponsor of the League became the national network of the construction supermarkets EpiCentre K. The new sports organization is a completely independent entity and consists of 14 football club organizations under the guidance of the Football Federation of Ukraine.

With the new reorganization the format of the League was preserved, while the changes that were made were exclusively administrative. The teams that reach the top of the competition table at the end of each season as always gain the chance to represent Ukraine internationally in several prestigious tournaments (continental club tournaments). Also at the end of the season, the bottom two clubs are relegated to the First League (supervised by the Professional Football League) and replaced by the two top clubs from that league. All the participants of the Premier League enter the National Cup competition at the round of 32 (1/16th of the final) stage. Also the winner of the League at the beginning of every next season plays against the winner of the National Cup for the Ukrainian Super Cup.

As of 2015, Dynamo Kyiv is the reigning Ukrainian Premier League champion. To summarise, Tavriya Simferopol won the first championship, while all the subsequent titles have gone to either Dynamo Kyiv or Shakhtar Donetsk. Only 3 teams, Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have participated in all 25 Ukrainian Vyshcha Liha competitions.

The league cooperates with the Professional Football League of Ukraine which governs the lower divisions. The PFL is an association that represents 43 Ukrainian professional football clubs, which are represented by 44 teams (only 1 club now has more than one team which plays in a different division). The professional league was organized in 1996 and until 2008 was responsible for the competitions in the Top division as well. Before that, Vyshcha Liha was governed solely and directly by the Football Federation of Ukraine.
^a). Note: Biola is a beverage making and bottling company and is the general sposor of Dnipro.

Emblem

The emblem depicts a football that is wrapped around by the blue-yellow stripe (the national colors of Ukraine) on the blue background. Across the top and around the ball there are 16 stars that represent the league's participants (although in 2014 the league was shortened up to 14 teams th emblem was not changed). On the bottom the script says "Premier-League - Union of Professional Football Clubs of Ukraine".

Season regulations

Season regulations is one of the two most important documents (other being the competition calendar) that are adopted by the Premier League prior to each season.

Premier League directly organizes and conducts competitions among member clubs. Competitions are conducted on principle of "Fair play" and according to competitions calendar which is approved by the Premier League General Assembly and the FFU Executive Committee 30 days before start of competitions. Until 2019 all advertisement, commercial rights and rights on TV and radio broadcasting of games of championship and cup belong to the club that hosts them (except for the Ukrainian Cup final, the Super Cup of Ukraine, and the "Gold game"). All advertisement, commercial rights and rights on TV and radio broadcasting of the Ukrainian Cup final belong to the Football Federation of Ukraine, while the game of Super Cup and the "Gold game" - to the Premier League.

There are 14 club members of the league. All participants get approved by the Premier League General Assembly. Each club fields each team for senior competitions, and competitions for under 21 and under 19 teams (three teams). A club is required to have a stadium (registered with FFU) and an education and training facility (or center). A club also obligated to finance its own youth sports institution and a complex scientific-methodical group as well as to own and finance number of youth teams. A Premier League club needs to ensure participation of at least four youth teams (ages groups between 14 and 17) in the Youth Football League of Ukraine. A club cannot field more than one team for a certain competition.

All club's staff members (coaches, physicians, massage specialists) have to be contracted and be UEFA licensed. All coaches should have A-diploma, while head coaches - PRO-diploma. Football players are listed in "A" and "B" rosters. "A" roster contains no more than 25 players, while "B" roster has unlimited number of players no older than 21 who have professional contracts or agreements for sports training. The 25-players "A" roster includes the number of slots allotted for players developed by the club.

During breaks in competitions in summer and winter there are two periods for registering players.

A championship is conducted after the round robin system in two cycles "fall-spring" with one game at home and another at opponent's field with each participant. A competition calendar is formed after a draw that is conducted based on the Premier League club rankings. The calendar of the second cycle repeats the first, while hosting teams are switched. There should be no less than two calendar days between official games of a club. All games take place between 12:00 and 22:00 local time. Any game postponement is allowed only in emergencies and on decision of the Premier League Administration (Dyrektsiya). Game forfeitures are controlled by technical win/loss nominations and fines, followed by additional sanctions of the FFU Control-Disciplinary Committee, and possible elimination from the league.

History

Prior to 1992, the championship of Ukraine was conducted by the Football Federation of the Ukrainian SSR. There were two championships, the championship among the masters' teams (Ukrainian: Першість серед команд майстрів) and among the fitness clubs (Ukrainian: Першість КФК (Клубів ФізКультури)).

The first decade (1992–2000)

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the inaugural independent championship took place hastily at the start of spring 1992 after the creation of the Ukrainian Supreme League (Ukrainian: Вища Ліга, Vyshcha Liha). The League was created out of the six teams that took part in the Soviet Top League, two teams from the Soviet First League, and nine out of the eleven Ukrainian teams from the Soviet Second League. The other two of that eleven were placed in the Ukrainian First League as they were to be relegated anyway. The two best teams of the Soviet Second League B of the Ukrainian Zone were also placed in the Supreme League along with the winner of the 1991 Ukrainian Cup which finished ninth in the same group (Soviet Second League B).

The 20 participants were split into two groups with the winners playing for the championship title and the runners-up playing for third place. Three teams from each group were to be relegated. As expected, the five favorites, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Shakhtar Donetsk, Chornomorets Odesa, and Metalist Kharkiv finished at the top of each group. In the championship play-off game in Lviv, a sensation took place as Tavriya Simferopol beat Dynamo Kyiv 1–0. The Crimeans earned the first Ukrainian title (thus far their only one), losing only once to Temp Shepetivka.

After being stunned in the first championship by the tragedy in Lviv, Dynamo Kyiv were anxious to earn their first title at the second opportunity. In the second Ukrainian championship, which had a regular League format of 16 teams, the main rivals of the Kyivians were Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, who were top after the first half of the season. By the end of the season both teams were neck and neck and at the end they finished with the same number of points. The championship title was awarded to Dynamo Kyiv as they had a better goal difference. Neither the Golden match, nor the fact that Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk had a better head-to-head record was considered.

The next seven years were known as the total domination of Dynamo Kyiv. During this period 'the main Soviet protagonists' had changed as some of the best teams were facing a crisis. After the 1993–94 season Metalist Kharkiv were surprisingly relegated to the First League. In the 1995–96 season Shakhtar Donetsk had the worst year in the club's history, coming tenth. Chornomorets Odesa were relegated twice during that first decade after which manager Leonid Buryak was sacked. A few newly created teams have since emerged such as Arsenal Kyiv and Metalurh Donetsk, as well as Vorskla Poltava, who surprisingly came third in the club's first season at the Top Level in the 1997.

The decade of Kyiv–Donetsk stand-off (2001–2010). The Ukrainian derby

Main article: Ukrainian derby

The next decade was marked by fierce competition between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. Since 2000, Shakhtar Donetsk has proved to be the real challengers to Kiev's dominance. In 2000 Shakhtar earned their first qualification to the Champions League earning a place in the Group stage. Nonetheless, Dynamo Kyiv is still considered to be the benchmark of excellence in the country and the primary feeder to the Ukrainian national football team. 2002 became the real cornerstone in the miners history when they earned their first national title under the management of the newly appointed Italian specialist, Nevio Scala, who managed to secure the Ukrainian Cup title as well. Since that time the issue of foreign players has become particularly acute and brought a series of court cases. The FFU and PFL worked together to solve that issue, coming up with a plan to force the transitional limitation of foreign players over time.

The clubs such as Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Chornomorets Odesa, who were recent contenders for the title, had to put up a fierce fight against the newly established contenders Metalurh Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv to qualify for the European competitions. Metalist Kharkiv shone brightly in the late 2000s (decade) by consistently finishing right behind Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk in third place. Their most remarkable feat was their participation in the 2009 European season when they had to face Dynamo Kyiv to earn a place in the quarter-finals of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, but lost on the away goals rule. That same 2008–09 UEFA Cup competition was won for the first time by Shakhtar Donetsk, the first club of independent Ukraine to win the title. It was also the last UEFA cup title before it changed its name to the Europa league.

In the 2008-2009 season the league earned the highest UEFA league coefficient in Europe for that season. On the political side of the League it was transformed on 15 April 2008 into an autonomous entity, parting away from the PFL. The Premier League has been split since the moment it was created in regards to its president. The dispute went as far as even canceling the 13th round of 2009–10 season and moving it to the spring half, while having the 14th round still playing in the fall. The representatives of five clubs: Arsenal Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, and Metalist Kharkiv have been boycotting most of the League meetings, not complying with its financial obligations and giving the broadcasting rights to TV-channels other than the League official supplier. They justified their actions due to what they deem to be the illegal election of the Premier League president. The representatives of the above-mentioned clubs did not recognize the election in 2008 of Vitaliy Danilov as the president and believed that the elections should have been won by Vadim Rabinovich.

To resolve this conflict Vitaliy Danilov instigated the re-election of the Premier League president in September 2009, and on 1 December 2009 won the election again with 11 clubs voting for his candidature, 3 were against, 1 abstained, and 1 was absent. This time most club presidents of the Premier League of Ukraine acknowledged Vitaliy Danilov legality. In the subsequent elections on 9 December 2011 Vitaliy Danilov was challenged by Andriy Kurhanskyi (through the proposal of Karpaty Lviv). The other available candidates, Miletiy Balchos (president of the Professional Football League of Ukraine) and Yuriy Kindzerskyi, were not picked by any members of the Premier League. Vitaliy Danilov managed to retain his seat with nine votes for him.

Recent history

Because of the Ukrainian crisis in the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk the number of teams participating in the league was cut from 16 in the 2013–14 season to 14 in the following seasons.[2] In June 2015 the Football Federation of Ukraine announced plans to expand the league back to 16 teams for the 2016–17 season.[2]

International relations

In 2009 The Ukrainian Premier League joined the European Professional Football Leagues.[3] Also in 2009 the league signed a partnership with IMG of which during the first month of cooperation sold broadcasting rights for the Ukrainian Cup to Poland and Armenia. On its own initiative the Ukrainian Premier League sold broadcasting rights to Romania and Russia as well.

Competition calendar

Clubs play each other twice (once at home and once away) in the 26-match season. The league begins in mid-July and ends in mid-June. After 13 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. This schedule 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 an exception, as it lasted only half a year. This was because the last Soviet league season ended in the autumn of 1991, and the Football Federation of Ukraine decided to shift the calendar from “spring-fall” to “fall-spring” football seasons. In the inaugural 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 Simferopol surprised the pre-season favorite Dynamo Kyiv.

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 since 2002–03 season at 16. After the unlawful Russian annexation of Crimea this number was changed to 14 as Tavriya and Sevastopol were coerced by the Russian authorities into dissolving.[4] UEFA plans to administer Crimea as a special zone.[5]

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 Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk 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 a handful of 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 Vyshcha Liha tallied more than 30 players and by 2003–04 season, the figure had increased to 37% of the league's players. Only 2 players from Ukraine's domestic leagues competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, while at the 2006 FIFA World Cup the Vyshcha 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 Vyshcha 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 national team coach Oleh Blokhin, who threatened to quit the national team if the limit was not made stricter.[6]

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 in 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 Giorgi Demetradze, who argued that the limit impeded his working rights and is illegal under the Constitution of Ukraine. The courts however argued that no case exists due to the fact that players are not guaranteed first-team football, and subsequently the limit is not considered a violation of trade.

Status regulations and transfers

Status and transfer policy of football players and staff in Ukraine is regulated by the Football Federation of Ukraine which primarily follows Article 5 of the FIFA statute, other respective regulations of FIFA, and the laws of Ukraine (see FFU regulations of player's status and transfer, 2010 edition[7]).

Player status

Any footballer that takes part in FFU competition has either the status of amateur or professional. A professional footballer is considered to be a player that has a written contract with a club and receives a salary for his services that surpasses his virtual expenditures. The professional status of footballer prevents him from competing at amateur level. The footballer receives a professional status and the respective rights and obligations according to the following conditions:

The footballer who does not receive the above-mentioned salary and does not have a contract with a professional club is considered an amateur. A player that is registered as a professional cannot obtain an amateur status within 30 days of his last official game as a professional. A club cannot request compensation for a player from the club where the player obtained amateur status. However, each professional player after the expiration of his contract with a certain professional club is still registered for 30 months with that club which may apply for compensation. The 30-month term is defined from the time of his last official game for that club.

Each coach of a professional club team is required to receive a respective attestation organized by FFU. Each sports doctor and masseur of a professional club are required to receive a certificate from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health with the specialization "Sport doctor" and "Specialist in sport massage".

Contracts

A player is allowed to sign his first contract at 15 years of age with parental consent of no more than three years. A regular contract cannot be for more than five years.

Transfers

A football player that is registered with other associations than FFU cannot take part in any competitions in Ukraine until he is registered with the Football Federation of Ukraine. A football player of a foreign association and aged 12 years or older is required to submit an International transfer certificate in order to be registered with FFU. Registration and transfers are conducted during one of the two "registration periods" (transfer window): one is after the conclusion of a season and start of the next not exceeding a twelve-week period, and another in mid-season of no more than a four-week period. There are no set dates for the registration periods.

Presidents

Directors

2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League

In the 2015–16 season, the Ukrainian Premier League consists of the following teams:

Broadcasting

Free-to-air live matches from the Ukrainian Premier League will be broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays on satellite channel 2+2 (Sirius 5E). This is a list of television broadcasters which provide coverage of the Ukrainian Premier League, which is Ukrainian football's top level of competition.

International broadcasters

Europe (UEFA)

Country Language Broadcasters
Andorra French Ma Chaine Sport
Armenia Armenian 12 TV
Azerbaijan Azerbaijani CBC Sport
Belgium French Ma Chaine Sport
Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian SportKlub
Croatia Croatia SportKlub
France French Ma Chaine Sport
Greece Greek Action 24
Luxembourg French Ma Chaine Sport
Macedonia Macedonian SportKlub
Monaco French Ma Chaine Sport
Montenegro Serbian SportKlub
Poland Polish Polsat Futbol
Romania Romanian Dolce Sport
Russia Russian Futbol
Serbia Serbian SportKlub
Slovenia Slovenian SportKlub
Switzerland French Ma Chaine Sport
Turkey Turkish -
Ukraine Ukrainian Kanal Futbol,2+2

Africa (CAF)

Country Language Broadcasters
Algeria French Ma Chaine Sport
Morocco French Ma Chaine Sport
Tunisia French Ma Chaine Sport

UEFA ranking

Club Seeding

UEFA Club Ranking for club seeding in 2015–16 European football season.

Current
Ranking		 Movement Last Season
Ranking		 Teams Coefficient
23 (18) Shakhtar Donetsk 67.376
26 (27) Dynamo Kyiv 64.376
34 (36) Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 54.876
52 (43) Metalist Kharkiv 38.376
106 Steady (106) Chornomorets Odesa 17.376
150 (155) Vorskla Poltava 11.376
150 (154) Zorya Luhansk 11.376
159 (155) Metalurh Donetsk 10.376
165 (143) Karpaty Lviv 9.876
172 (168) Arsenal Kyiv 9.376

Note: Since 1999 the country index (coefficient) indicates the lowest possible value any team of that country will get in the ranking. Currently it's 8.376 for Ukraine.

Teams in italics have either been eliminated or will not be participating in the 2015–16 European football season.[10]Last Updated:11 December 2015.

Country ranking

UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2015–16 European football season

Current
Ranking		 Movement Last Season
Ranking		 League Coefficient
6 Steady (6) France Ligue 1 52.416
7 Steady (7) Russia Russian Premier League 50.498
8 (9) Ukraine Ukrainian Premier League 40.966
9 (8) Netherlands Eredivisie 40.979
10 Steady (10) Belgium Belgian Pro League 37.200

Last Updated: 5 August 2015.[11]

Champions and top goalscorers

Season Champion Runner-up Third Place Top Goalscorer Rank
1992 Tavriya Simferopol Dynamo Kyiv Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine Yuriy Hudymenko (Tavriya Simferopol, 12 goals) N/A[12]
1992–93 Dynamo Kyiv Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Chornomorets Odesa Ukraine Serhiy Husyev (Chornomorets Odesa, 17 goals) 28/39
1993–94 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Chornomorets Odesa Ukraine Tymerlan Huseinov (Chornomorets Odesa, 18 goals) 24/44
1994–95 Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odesa Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Tajikistan Arsen Avakov (Torpedo Zaporizhya, 21 goals) 24/47
1995–96 Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odesa Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine Tymerlan Huseinov (Chornomorets Odesa, 20 goals) 19/48
1996–97 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Vorskla Poltava Ukraine Oleh Matveyev (Shakhtar Donetsk, 21 goals) 22/48
1997–98 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Karpaty Lviv Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov (Dynamo Kyiv, 22 goals) 17/49
1998–99 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko (Dynamo Kyiv, 18 goals) 15/50
1999–00 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh (Dynamo Kyiv, 20 goals) 12/50
2000–01 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine Andriy Vorobey (Shakhtar Donetsk, 21 goals) 13/51
2001–02 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalurh Donetsk Ukraine Serhiy Shyshchenko (Metalurh Donetsk, 12 goals) 13/51
2002–03 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Metalurh Donetsk Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh (Dynamo Kyiv, 22 goals) 14/52
2003–04 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Georgia (country) Giorgi Demetradze (Metalurh Donetsk, 18 goals) 14/52
2004–05 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalurh Donetsk Ukraine Oleksandr Kosyrin (Chornomorets Odesa, 14 goals) 15/52
2005–06 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Chornomorets Odesa Brazil Brandão (Shakhtar Donetsk, 15 goals)
Nigeria Emmanuel Okoduwa (Arsenal Kyiv, 15 goals)		 13/52
2006–07 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine Oleksandr Hladkyi (FC Kharkiv, 13 goals) 11/52
2007–08 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Bronze stripped * Serbia Marko Dević* (Metalist Kharkiv, 19 goals) 12/53
2008–09 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine Oleksandr Kovpak (Tavriya Simferopol, 17 goals) 7/53
2009–10 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine Artem Milevsky (Dynamo Kyiv, 17 goals) 7/53
2010–11 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine Yevhen Seleznyov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, 17 goals) 8/53
2011–12 Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine Yevhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar Donetsk, 14 goals)
Brazil Maicon (Volyn Lutsk, 14 goals)		 9/53
2012–13 Shakhtar Donetsk Metalist Kharkiv Dynamo Kyiv Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Shakhtar Donetsk, 25 goals) 7/53
2013–14 Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Metalist Kharkiv Brazil Luiz Adriano (Shakhtar Donetsk, 20 goals) 9/54
2014–15 Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Brazil Alex Teixeira (Shakhtar Donetsk, 17 goals)
Romania Eric Bicfalvi (Volyn Lutsk, 17 goals)		 8/54

Notes:

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Third Place Winning Years
Dynamo Kyiv 14 8 1 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2014–15
Shakhtar Donetsk 9 11 - 2001–02, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
Tavriya Simferopol 1 - - 1992
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk - 2 6
Chornomorets Odesa - 2 3
Metalist Kharkiv - 1 6
Metalurh Donetsk - - 3
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih - - 2
Vorskla Poltava - - 1
Karpaty Lviv - - 1

Post season play-offs

Golden Matches

Relegation play-offs

Third place match

Honored teams

A representative star is placed above the team's badge to indicate 10 league titles.[15] Dynamo Kyiv became the first Ukrainian team to achieve the prestigious honor of winning the Soviet Top League for the 10th time in 1981. Dynamo Kyiv after having entered the Ukrainian championship has become the same dominant leader as during the Soviet times by earning its 20th national title at the top level in 1999. The two stars,however, were only added to the club's logo in 2007.[16] No other club in Ukraine has come close to such an honour yet.

Only four other clubs have ever been national champions: Shakhtar Donetsk (9, all Ukrainian titles), Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (2, all Soviet), and once Zorya Luhansk (Soviet Union) and Tavriya Simferopol (Ukraine).

The current (as of June 2012) officially sanctioned Premier League stars are:

Premier League Players

All-time Premier League appearance leaders
Rank Player Games
1 Ukraine Oleh Shelayev 412
2 Ukraine Oleksandr Shovkovskiy 400
3 Ukraine Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi 400
4 Ukraine Oleksandr Horyainov 391
5 Ukraine Serhiy Shyshchenko 363
6 Ukraine Ruslan Kostyshyn 359
7 Ukraine Serhiy Zakarlyuka 356
8 Ukraine Oleksandr Zotov 351
9 Ukraine Ihor Shukhovtsev 349
10 Ukraine Serhiy Mizin 344
Players in bold are still playing in Premier League
Data as of 7 October 2014[17]
All-time Premier League scorers
Rank Player Goals Games
1 Uzbekistan Maksim Shatskikh 124 341
2 Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov 123 261
3 Ukraine Andriy Vorobey 105 315
4 Ukraine Yevhen Seleznyov 100 211
5 Ukraine Oleksandr Haydash 95 258
6 Ukraine Serbia Marko Dević 90 219
Ukraine Serhiy Mizin 90 342
8 Ukraine Tymerlan Huseynov 85 215
9 Ukraine Oleksandr Kosyrin 84 240
10 Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko 83 172
Players in bold are still playing in Premier League
Data as of 30 May 2015[18]
Further information: Football records in Ukraine

Ex-Dynamo Kyiv striker Maksim Shatskikh holds the record for most Ukrainian Premier League goals with 124, winning the top single season scorer title twice in 1999–2000 and 2002–03.

Since the first Ukrainian Premier League season in 1992, 22 different players have won or shared the top scorer's title. Only three players have won the title more than once, Tymerlan Huseynov, Maksim Shatskikh and Yevhen Seleznyov. Henrikh Mkhitaryan hold the record for most goals in a season (25), Serhiy Rebrov and Maksim Shatskikh are the only two players to score at least 20 goals twice. The most prolific all-time scorers are Ivan Hetsko and Viktor Leonenko, respectively attaining 0.59 and 0.56 goals per game.

League managers

All-time League games
Rank Coach Games
1 Ukraine Myron Markevych 569
2 Ukraine Mykola Pavlov 520
3 Romania Mircea Lucescu 304
4 Ukraine Valeriy Yaremchenko 297
5 Ukraine Mykhailo Fomenko 294
6 Ukraine Oleh Taran 263
7 Ukraine Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi 256
8 Ukraine Semen Altman 249
9 Ukraine Oleksandr Ishchenko 204
10 Ukraine Volodymyr Bezsonov 197
Coaches in bold are still active in the League
Data as of 19 May 2014[19]
Winning managers
Rank Name Club(s)
1 Romania Mircea Lucescu Shakhtar 8 3 —
2 Ukraine Valery Lobanovsky† Dynamo 5 1 —
3 Ukraine Yozhef Sabo Dynamo 2 1 —
4 Ukraine Oleksiy Mykhailychenko Dynamo 2 — —
5 Russia Yuri Semin Dynamo 1 3 —
6 Ukraine Mykola Pavlov Dynamo(1)
Dnipro		 1 1 1
7 Ukraine Anatoliy Demyanenko Dynamo 1 1 —
8 Ukraine Anatoliy Zayaev† Tavria 1 — —
Ukraine Mykhailo Fomenko Dynamo 1 — —
Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov Dynamo 1 — —
Italy Nevio Scala Shakhtar 1 — —
Data as of 2015

With the ongoing Shakhtar Donetsk champion's run, Mircea Lucescu set a record of winning league titles in the Ukrainian Premier League surpassing the Ukrainian and Soviet legendary coach Valeriy Lobanovsky. A notice is deserved by Myron Markevych who coached most of the games in the league yet not winning a single title as well as Mykola Pavlov who however earned one title with Dynamo Kyiv.

† – Managers that have retired out of sport. In bold are managers that are still active in the current season.

League referees

All-time League games
Rank Coach City Games
1 Serhiy Shebek Kiev 226
2 Vitaliy Hodulian Odessa 202
3 Vasyl Melnychuk Simferopol 190
4 Ihor Ishchenko Khmelnytskyi / Kiev 186
5 Ihor Yarmenchuk Kiev 168
6 Andriy Shandor Lviv 149
7 Valeriy Onufer Uzhhorod 141
8 Serhiy Tatulian Kiev 137
9 Serhiy Dzyuba Kiev 136
10 Anatoliy Zhosan Kherson 134
Ihor Khiblin Khmelnytskyi
Referees in bold are still active in the League
Data as of 19 May 2014[20]

All-time participants

The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons. All figures are correct through the 2014–15 season. Teams marking: green – member of the Premier League, blue – member of the First League, gray – member of the Second League, pink – no longer member of PFL.

199292/9393/9494/9595/9696/9797/9898/9999/0000/0101/0202/0303/0404/0505/0606/0707/0808/0909/1010/1111/1212/1313/1414/15
Teams 20 16 18 18 18 16 16 16 16 14 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 14
Arsenal Kyiv[21]         4 11 10 7 10 6 12 5 9 9 12 14 6 11 7 9 5 8 16  
Borysfen Boryspil                         7 16                    
Bukovyna Chernivtsi 10 12 17                                          
Chornomorets Odesa 5 3 3 2 2 7 15   15     8 5 6 3 6 7 10 15   9 6 5 11
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 12 11 3 6 4 3 4 6 4 4 6 4 4 4 4 2 3
Dynamo Kyiv 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 4 1
Hoverla Uzhhorod                     14     12 16   16   16     15 12 12
Illichivets Mariupol             14 5 8 4 10 10 8 5 4 15   14 12 14 11 9 10 14
Karpaty Lviv 13 6 5 8 8 5 3 4 9 10 8 7 15     8 10 9 5 5 14 14 11 13
Kharkiv                             13 12 14 16            
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 12 14 13 10 7    
Lviv                                   15            
Metalist Kharkiv 6 5 18         6 5 9 5 16   11 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 6
Metalurh Donetsk             7 14 7 5 3 3 4 3 9 9 12 4 8 8 7 5 6 10
Metalurh Zaporizhya 11 7 16 9 5 8 9 8 6 8 4 15 11 10 8 7 9 7 9 16   16 14 7
Mykolaiv 18     13 16     16                                
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         11 10 15      
Odesa 20                                              
Oleksandriya                     13 13                 16      
Olimpik Donetsk                                               8
Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk 17     11 11 13 13 15 14                              
Sevastopol                                       15     9  
Shakhtar Donetsk 4 4 2 4 10 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2
Stal Alchevsk                   13         11 16                
Tavriya Simferopol 1 10 8 5 12 6 12 9 13 7 7 9 12 7 7 5 5 8 6 7 6 11 15  
Temp Shepetivka 19   9 17                                        
Torpedo Zaporizhya 8 13 13 7 7 14 16                                  
Veres Rivne   16 11 18                                        
Volyn Lutsk 9 11 12 15 17             6 13 8 15         11 12 13 13 9
Vorskla Poltava           3 5 10 4 12 11 11 14 14 10 13 8 5 10 6 8 12 8 5
Zirka Kirovohrad         6 10 11 11 16       16                      
Zorya Luhansk 12 15 14 16 18                     11 11 13 13 12 13 10 7 4

All-time table

All figures are correct through the 2012–13 season.

Rank Team Seasons P W D L GF GA Pts Achievement
1 Dynamo Kyiv 22 652 482 114 56 1418 415 1560 champions
2 Shakhtar Donetsk 22 652 440 118 94 1308 486 1438 champions
3 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 22 651 323 167 161 889 584 1136 runners-up
4 Tavriya Simferopol 22 651 227 165 259 768 827 846 champions
5 Chornomorets Odesa 18 538 223 124 191 644 594 793 runners-up
6 Karpaty Lviv 20 590 208 166 216 628 657 790 3rd
7 Metalist Kharkiv 17 492 221 118 153 643 561 781 runners-up
8 Metalurh Zaporizhya 21 620 199 154 267 660 795 751 4th
9 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 20 604 189 166 249 597 745 733 3rd
10 Metalurh Donetsk 16 470 183 125 162 583 550 674 3rd
11 Arsenal Kyiv 17 506 174 142 190 594 578 664 4th
12 Vorskla Poltava 17 500 164 136 200 533 599 628 3rd
13 Illichivets Mariupol 15 440 141 105 194 496 624 528 4th
14 Volyn Lutsk 12 358 110 75 173 356 534 402 6th
15 Zorya Luhansk 12 358 97 75 186 320 571 366 11th
16 Nyva Ternopil 10 296 93 62 141 319 388 341 6th
17 Torpedo Zaporizhya 7 210 64 42 104 214 315 234 7th
18 Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk 7 206 55 52 99 215 315 217 11th
19 Kremin Kremenchuk 6 180 54 40 86 182 269 202 9th
20 Zirka Kirovohrad 6 184 46 41 97 158 285 179 6th
21 Obolon Kyiv 6 180 44 44 92 153 253 176 6th
22 Nyva Vinnytsia 5 150 42 32 76 140 213 158 10th
23 Hoverla Uzhhorod 6 154 30 40 104 122 269 130 12th
24 Kharkiv 4 120 25 33 62 94 156 108 12th
25 Veres Rivne 3 98 27 25 46 89 141 106 12th
26 Mykolaiv 4 116 26 23 67 100 208 101 9th
27 Temp Shepetivka 3 86 24 16 46 79 113 88 9th
28 Bukovyna Chernivtsi 3 82 23 18 41 69 99 87 6th
29 Olexandriya 3 86 16 25 45 71 140 73 13th
30 Stal Alchevsk 3 86 17 21 48 67 126 72 11th
31 Sevastopol 2 58 17 11 30 58 91 62 15th
32 Borysfen Boryspil 2 60 14 19 27 40 60 61 7th
33 Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka 2 48 11 11 26 30 66 44 12th
34 Lviv 1 30 6 8 16 24 39 26 15th
35 Odesa 1 18 3 1 14 15 32 10 10th

Stadiums

Rank Stadium Capacity Club
1 NSC Olimpiyskiy 70,050 Dynamo Kyiv
2 Donbass Arena 52,518 Shakhtar Donetsk
3 OSC Metalist 40,003 Metalist Kharkiv
4 Arena Lviv 34,915 Karpaty Lviv
5 Chornomorets Stadium 34,164 Chornomorets Odesa
6 Dnipro-Arena 31,003 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
7 Ukraina Stadium 28,051 Karpaty Lviv
8 Vorskla Stadium 24,795 Vorskla Poltava
9 Avanhard Stadium 22,288 Zorya Luhansk
10 RSC Lokomotiv 19,978 Tavriya Simferopol
11 Dynamo Stadium 16,873 Arsenal Kyiv
12 Illichivets Stadium 12,680 Illichivets Mariupol
13 Avanhard Stadium 12,080 Volyn Lutsk
14 Avanhard Stadium 12,000 Hoverla Uzhhorod
15 Slavutych-Arena 11,983 Metalurh Zaporizhya
16 SC Sevastopol 5,576 Sevastopol
17 Metalurh Stadium 5,094 Metalurh Donetsk

See also

References

External links

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