The Ukrainian Football Championship consists of three professional leagues: UPL, First League and Second League. The elitism of the divisions is in the same descending order, and there is an exchange between them.
Quantity professional clubs in the Ukrainian Championship is constantly changing, so the number of clubs in the First and Second Leagues before each season also changes. The strongest league, the Premier League, currently consists of 12 teams and is played in two stages.
Stages of tours in the Premier League of Ukraine
In the first stage - 22 rounds. All UPL teams play each other in two matches (home and away), according to the results of which they are divided into two sixes - the highest and the lowest.
The second stage - 10 rounds. Teams of the Championship of Ukraine play each other within their sixes in two matches.
In 1 six is played:
Only the last place in the top six is left with nothing.
In the second six, the struggle is exclusively for survival:
The current situation in the Championship of Ukraine
Now the Premier League Ukraine is going through hard times. Three championship teams at once are forced to play not in their cities:
- Zorya (Lugansk) plays in Zaporozhye;
- Shakhtar (Donetsk) - in Kharkov;
- Olympic (Donetsk) - in Kyiv.
In addition, financial opportunities have significantly decreased in the football championship of Ukraine in recent years. Only Shakhtar and Dynamo keep a stable budget, but both clubs are forced to cut it as much as possible.
Previously, all UPL clubs could afford high salaries footballers, thanks to which Football Premier Ukrainian league looked like an attractive tournament for players from all over the world, except, of course, the top ones. But after the crisis began, all clubs of the Ukrainian Championship had to cut their budget several times, and some big clubs, like Dnipro and Metalist, simply did not survive.
Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of Shakhtar and Dynamo, the Ukrainian Championship keeps a place in the top ten in the UEFA coefficients table, which allows counting on a direct ticket to group stage Champions League and a chance for a vice-champion in qualifying.
IN coaching staff Roman Shirokov included a specialist from Spain, Eduardo Docampo.
Today, 10:300
Zinchenko extended the contract with Manchester City
Ukrainian defender "Manchester City" Oleksandr Zinchenko has signed a new agreement with the English club.
Today, 10:110
Shakhtar's legendary Croatian defender Darijo Srna will continue his career at the Donetsk club.
Yesterday, 15:290
The long-term captain of Shakhtar said goodbye to the Italian club.
Yesterday, 14:560
"Minaj" got a new head coach.
Yesterday, 12:280
Andriy Pavelko, President of the Ukrainian Football Association, spoke about the decision of the UEFA Appeals Committee in the case of Junior Moraes.
Yesterday, 10:090
With the arrival of Paulo Fonseca on the coaching bridge of Roma, there are more and more rumors about the transfer of Shakhtar players to the Roman club.
18.06.2019, 15:15 0
Karpaty Lviv have announced the name of the coach who will prepare the team for the 2019/20 season.
30.05.2019, 21:24 4
13.06.2019, 19:47 2
5.06.2019, 12:22 1
Shakhtar Donetsk have already decided who will lead the club if Paulo Fonseca leaves for Roma.
14.06.2019, 11:36 0
6.06.2019, 18:17 0
Brazil coach Tite found a replacement for the injured Neymar in the Ukrainian championship.
5.06.2019, 19:14 0
Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Tyson's agent tells about his client's immediate plans.
9.06.2019, 21:24 2
3.06.2019, 11:45 0
The team from Luhansk, currently based in Zaporozhye, will be led by ex-coach of Olimpik Donetsk Roman Sanzhar.
8.06.2019, 08:16 4
In Lviv, the Blue-Yellows won for the seventh time in a row.
30.05.2019, 21:24 4
ended last matches final, 32nd round of the Ukrainian Premier League.
4.06.2019, 19:19 3
Ruslan Malinovsky, who recently played for the Belgian Genk, shared his plans.
13.06.2019, 19:47 2
The European Football Union has opened a disciplinary case following the results of the Euro 2020 qualifier Ukraine - Serbia (5:0).
9.06.2019, 21:24 2
Zorya Lugansk defender Oleksandr Karavaev fell into the sphere of interests of Genk.
7.06.2019, 13:43 2
Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca is getting closer to Roma.
3.06.2019, 17:44 2
Ghanaian midfielder Abdul Mohammed Kadiri officially became a football player of Dynamo Kyiv.
Show all newsUkrainian Championship
The Ukrainian Football Championship is one of the leading football club tournaments in Eastern Europe. Football club championship started in the big leagues in 1992. The elite of Ukrainian club football was created on the basis of the teams of the highest and first leagues of the USSR football championship. First season in top division began in the spring of 1992 and included a group stage. The winners of the two groups met in the final duel, which determined the team of the champion. FC Tavria became the first champion of the country. All subsequent titles were shared between the two leading Ukrainian clubs Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Over the subsequent time, the number of participants constantly changed in the direction of decrease. The rules of the tournament have also changed. Since 1992, the game calendar has been compiled taking into account the games held according to the “autumn-spring” system, and the schedule of meetings assumed a two-round system, two games each between teams, away and at the home stadium.
Modernity and club football in Ukraine
In 2008, the football championship in the top division has undergone a transformation. On the basis of professional clubs, an association was created - the Premier League of Ukraine. The new structure received from the Football Federation of Ukraine all the rights to hold an elite football club tournament.
Starting from the 2016/17 season, the number of participating teams has been reduced to 12. The format of the UPL tournament involves holding the tournament in two stages. At the first stage, the participants play matches in two rounds, a match at home and a game away. According to the results of the first stage, the teams that took the first 6 lines in the standings continue to fight for the championship title.
The other six teams are in another group, which is fighting for a place in the top division of Ukrainian football.
To date, the main news from the camp of Ukrainian clubs have a European Cup orientation. The statistics of domestic league matches are not as brilliant as matches involving Ukrainian teams in the Champions League and Europa League. Despite this, a fairly significant audience watches online broadcasts of UPL matches, follows reviews of past rounds and is interested in expert forecasts.
In the last draw of the Ukrainian Premier League, there was still more struggle for first place. This time, Shakhtar in the standings dealt even with Dynamo defiantly easily, to say nothing of those pursuers who are located below the Kievites. If Oleksandr Khatskevich's wards scored about the same number of points as a year ago, the Pitmen have decently (by eight points) surpassed their last year's achievement. Wards of Paulo Fonseca were not prevented even by the sale of long-term and momentary leaders, which happened both in the summer transfer window and in the winter. Oleksandriya pleasantly surprised its fans by jumping to the historic third place. The fourth was "Mariupol", which in a tense struggle bypassed "Zorya". Yuriy Vernydub led his players to European competition for the last time, and resigned – Viktor Skrypnyk will continue to act at Zorya. The main loser of the year in the UPL was Arsenal, which did not have enough finishing spurt to save them - the Gunners were relegated to the First League. "Chernomorets" could well have been in the place of the people of Kiev, but still bestowed transitional matches. Summing up the results of the Ukrainian season together with FNK.
Shakhtar are champions again.
For Shakhtar, the domestic season has turned out just fine, the two trophies that the Pitmen won quite confidently will speak of this most eloquently. Although last summer everything was not at all cloudless: Bernard, Fred, Facundo Ferreira and Dario Srna left the team. Each of the listed players successfully solved their own problems in the well-functioning mechanism of Paulo Fonseca. important role, selling each risked becoming an irreparable loss. As, by the way, and the sale that followed in the winter to Zenit Yaroslav Rakytsky. At the same time, Shakhtar traditionally signed several promising Brazilians (Maicon, Fernando, Cipriano, and in the winter Tete was added for a lot of money). Later it became clear that only Maicon was able to show himself to the fullest, but Tete played out at the end of the championship, but there were certain questions about the performances of Fernando and Cipriano.
The start of the season confirmed that Fonseca would have to do some serious work. Shakhtar lost the Super Cup to Dynamo, and in the third round of the UPL again suffered a fiasco from a principled Kyiv rival. In the fall, Shakhtar did not show a confident game (a draw with Zorya, a difficult victory over Desna), but the instability of the rivals played into the Pitmen's hands. First of all, the team of Alexander Khatskevich, which began to lose points where no one expected it.
As a result, the championship was won ahead of schedule and with a clear advantage - right before the final match of the season against Dynamo. Probably, the Pitmen would like to win the title following the results of the battle with the main and such a principled opponent, but these are already secondary desires. Eleven points of advantage at Dynamo, the most dangerous attack of the UPL (19 goals more than the second place), the best defense (11 goals conceded against 18 for the people of Kiev) - the figures are more than confident.
The decisive match of the Ukrainian Cup could have turned out to be more intriguing if it had come to a confrontation with Shakhtar, Dynamo (dropped out in 1/4), Oleksandria (stopped in the third round) or the same Zorya (lost in the semi-finals). But in the final, Shakhtar and Ingulets, modest in all respects, met. There was no sensation, a modest middle peasant from the First League high level The dedication was enough for about half an hour, then the Pitmen's higher class was naturally confirmed and the matter ended in a rout.
In the Champions League, Shakhtar ended up in a difficult group, but until the last moment they had the opportunity to reach the playoffs. An indecent defeat from Manchester City (0:6) did not hurt, but the French Lyon came up against, who got desired result on the field of Shakhtar within final round. And in the Europa League, the performance turned out to be not very long, in the 1/16 finals the Pitmen flew out from Eintracht, which was just beginning to surprise football Europe.
Eurocup zone.
What can Dynamo Kyiv boast of at the end of the season? Except perhaps the fact that the Kiev team has become the most visited in the Ukrainian Premier League. Otherwise, there were not so many reasons for joy and pride among the fans of the Kyiv team. After the third round, when Dynamo defeated Shakhtar, it might have seemed that a serious fight for the title would unfold in the future, but a three-match streak without victories soon followed, and Shakhtar got the opportunity to relax. It can be noted that in four matches against the future champion Dynamo won once, lost once and drew two fights. A draw in the sum of the four-game confrontation, which can serve as weak consolation for the season in which the Dynamo lost all the main tournaments to the Pitmen.
Historical third place was won by "Alexandria". Vladimir Sharan has come an amazing way from the head coach, who is ready to resign at any moment due to unsatisfactory results, to the specialist who has become the creator of a grandiose success for a modest team. Moreover, the Alexandrians won the third position ahead of schedule, and the ending of the championship could play out in a relaxed way. In a situation where Oleksandriya had serious personnel problems caused by injuries, this was especially important. At some point in the season, the future bronze medalist even removed Dynamo from the second position, but not for long.
Mariupol only at the last moment snatched the fourth position from Zorya and, presumably, an easier qualifying bracket in the next Europa League draw. In general, the season for the Azov team, as well as for Oleksandriya, turned out to be historical, which I managed to say more than once Main coach Team Alexander Babich. Remembering how this championship began for Mariupol, the fourth place really should be called a great success.
Zarya is on the verge of big changes. Yuriy Vernidub has long been matched with either Dynamo Kyiv or another, slightly less status team, but few people connected experienced trainer with a team based in Zaporizhzhya, and for the next season. Indeed, Vernydub left without slamming the door, and Viktor Skripnik, a man who had recently worked in the Bundesliga (albeit not for long), arrived in his place. Under the leadership of Vernydub, Zorya progressed, progressed, and “progressed” for itself a historical place in the Europa League and an unforgettable rivalry with Manchester United, but in a situation where the coach needs to reassemble the team every transfer window, it’s really difficult to work. Let's see how Skrypnik copes with this difficult task.
Prestige Cup, relegation zone.
The fight in the second six is traditionally and logically not as intense as in the upper half of the championship. Still, the consolation cup, which is awarded to the seventh team in the table at the end of the season, does not motivate for a serious fight as much as the same ticket to European competition. Although, on the other hand, the cup can be put in the club's museum... One way or another, Vorskla has the opportunity to put it in its spacious museum room. Even the victory lost in the last round did not prevent the Poltava team from rejoicing a little. Vasily Sachko also left the team, who had been working in Poltava since 2012 and who led Vorskla to European competitions. At first, Vitaliy Kosovsky did not do very well as a head coach, but by the last rounds the results have improved.
The struggle for survival can also be interesting, this was once again confirmed by Chornomorets and Arsenal. The two teams spent the entire season at the bottom of the standings, and more or less often began to score points in the final stage of the season, when the threat of direct relegation seriously loomed. As a result, Chornomorets was more fortunate, which was not so much affected by personnel perturbations during the season. The final point in the fight for 11-12 places was set following the results of the final round. Everything depended on "Chernomorets" - the inhabitants of Odessa won and went to play-offs along with the Karpaty. The Lviv team were habitually unstable, and it's really not easy to be more unpredictable than the representatives of Olimpik.
Symbolic team according to FNK. Yuriy Pankiv (Alexandria) - Andriy Tsurikov (Alexandria), Nikita Burda (Dynamo Kyiv), Volodymyr Adamiuk (Lviv), Serhiy Myakushko (Karpaty) - Yevhen Banada (Alexandria), Kirill Kovalets (Alexandria), Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo Kyiv), Taison (Shakhtar), Marian Shved (Karpaty) - Moraes (Shakhtar).
Viktor Tsygankov is FNK Player of the Year.
Even though Dynamo failed another season and did not live up to the expectations of the fans, the fans should hardly blame Viktor Tsygankov. You can talk a lot about the spectacular goals that Tsygankov scored in sufficient numbers (and the lion's share turned out to be also important), or you can simply note the fact that the Dynamo captain became the best in the “goal plus pass” system. 18 hits and 11 assists - it's hard to argue with such indicators. To the last, Shakhtar forward Moraes tried to do this, who eventually became the top scorer of the championship, one goal ahead of Tsygankov, but who was not so effective in playing along. Recently, there have been a lot of rumors regarding the possible departure of Tsygankov to Napoli, and if this really happens, you definitely shouldn’t be very surprised - the level of the current Dynamo Tsygankov has definitely outgrown and has come close to the requirements Italian Series A.
Vladimir Shcherban.
Competition history
Ukrainian football championship among teams major league has been held since 1992, when, after the collapse of the USSR, representatives of several allied leagues were united within the framework of the new tournament.
Simferopol "Tavria" became the first champion in the history of independent Ukraine. In the future, only two teams won this title - Dynamo Kiev (15 times*) and Shakhtar Donetsk (10 times).
In the 2008/2009 season, the tournament changed its name - instead of the Higher League, the Ukrainian Premier League appeared (abbreviated UPL), which is held under the auspices of the Association of Professional football clubs Ukraine Premier League.
Regulations
Currently, 12 teams are participating in the tournament. At the first stage of the championship, the rivals play each other in two rounds (1 - 22 rounds). After that, the table is divided into two halves, where mini-tournaments are also held in two rounds (rounds 23 - 32).
The top six are competing for five places in European competition: two for the Champions League and three for the Europa League. The teams in the bottom six are fighting to keep their place in the top division. The team that takes the last line is relegated to the First League. The teams that finish in tenth and eleventh places will play transitional matches with opponents from the lower division.
According to the regulations, the winner is the one who scores more points (3 is given for a win, 1 for a draw). In case of equality of points for two or more teams, the total difference between goals scored and conceded is taken into account, then - large quantity scored, then - points scored in head-to-head meetings, then - the difference between goals scored and conceded in head-to-head meetings, then - more goals scored in head-to-head meetings. If all these indicators are equal, the winner is determined by lot.
Representation in European competitions
Based on the UEFA club ratings and the Football Association rating, in the 2017/2018 season, the winner of the Ukrainian Premier League championship receives a guaranteed place in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Silver medalist qualified to qualify for the Champions League. Teams that take 3rd-4th places get the right to participate in the Europa League.
The club that takes the fifth place also gets the right to play in the Europa League, provided that the Cup of Ukraine was won by one of the teams that finished in the standings on the ground from first to fourth.
Ukrainian Premier League on UA-Football
The team of journalists and editors of the UA-Football website has been covering the Championship of Ukraine among teams of the Major League since the day of its foundation - the summer of 2002. During this time, an extensive correspondent network has been created, covering all the cities where the clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League are based.
The UA-Football website contains both news and analytical materials, as well as interviews, photos and videos of Ukrainian Premier League matches, live text broadcasts of all tournament matches, as well as live video broadcasts of key matches.
Statistics system
The statistics system contains standings Championship, table top scorers, assistants, the best players according to the "goal + pass" system, the attendance of all matches of the tournament is recorded, as well as the schedule of UPL games, as well as data on television broadcasts of matches and a TV program.
There are dossiers on each club participating in the tournament, as well as dossiers on all players playing in the championship.
The archive is also saved in the statistics system of the section. previous seasons, thanks to which fans of football statistics have the opportunity to get the most full information about the tournament.
