Football league
The
Ukrainian football champions
(
Ukrainian
:
Чемп?он Укра?ни з футболу
) are currently identified at the annual football competition of the
Ukrainian Premier League
which is a top league football competition in the country since 2008.
The history of the title could be traced to 1921 in varying forms of competition as full-pledged nationwide competitions within the
Ukrainian SSR
(before it officially joined the
Soviet Union
).
The current champions
Dynamo Kyiv
has won a record 29 championship titles including 13
Soviet Union
titles.
Historical outlook
[
edit
]
The first national (or rather republican) Ukrainian football championship took place in 1921, just before the official establishment of the
Soviet Union
. The competition was known as the football championship of cities. It has developed out of a similar tournament that previously took place in the Russian Empire (1912). The detailed information about football competitions in 1920s and early 1930s is scarce. Remarkable is the fact that the dominant team (or teams) of that period was from
Kharkiv
which until 1934 was the capital of the Soviet pseudo state,
[a]
Ukrainian SSR
. During that time main cities of Ukraine were conducting own annual competitions among which were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, at the same time in the east Ukraine existed a separate regional competition of Donets basin (Donbas). Winners of those regional competitions qualified for the football championship of cities, hence the name of the tournament.
Football in the West Ukraine has developed as part of the Central European football competitions that later sprang out of the
dissolution of Austria-Hungary
. Interrupted by the
World War I
, later it was completely abolished after the Polish occupation of Ukraine at the end of
Polish-Ukrainian War
. After Polish occupation Ukrainian clubs of West Ukraine that at first were conducting own competitions eventually joined the Polish Football Association among which are
Ukraina Lwow
, USC
Skala Stryi
and several others.
In 1936 there was established the
Soviet professional football competitions
, while the Ukrainian football competitions were integrated within the Soviet competition as republican and declassed to lower tiers. At the same time about three to six of the best clubs from the Soviet Ukraine competed in the Soviet Top League with
Dynamo Kyiv
competing in it consistently since its establishment. At same time until 1950s the Ukrainian Cup (
Cup of the Ukrainian SSR
) involved participation of all Ukrainian clubs regardless in which league they competed.
In 1959 a big reform occurred in the Soviet football and champion of Ukrainian football competitions was identified at the Class B football competitions for Ukraine which at first was the second and later the third tier. The Ukrainian football champions of the Soviet Union were not only unknown outside of the Soviet Union, but were also barely recognized within the Union. Nonetheless, over the span of years the Ukrainian club football was very competitive.
FC Dynamo Kyiv
won the record number of the Soviet top league titles and was the best Soviet club at the European club competitions. In
1991 Soviet Top League
there was equal number of Ukrainian and Russian clubs in the league.
Finally after securing its independence in 1992, Ukraine conducts own national league competitions which are recognized worldwide.
List of winners before club competitions
[
edit
]
Season
|
Group
|
Champion
|
Runner-up
|
Third place
|
|
1921
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Odesa
|
?
|
|
1922
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Odesa
|
?
|
|
1923
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Yuzivka
|
?
|
|
1924
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Odesa
|
Donbas
|
|
1927
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Mykolaiv
|
Odesa
|
|
1928
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Horlivka
|
Mykolaiv
|
|
1931
|
|
Kyiv
|
Kharkiv
|
?
|
|
1932
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Donbas
|
Dnipropetrovsk
|
|
1934
|
|
Kharkiv
|
Kyiv
|
|
|
1935
|
|
Dnipropetrovsk
|
Kyiv
|
Kharkiv
|
Football competitions among Soviet clubs and Soviet sports societies
[
edit
]
Best Ukrainian clubs in all-Union competitions
[
edit
]
List of the best Ukrainian clubs in the top Soviet competitions
[1]
- † ? Soviet tier 1
- ‡ ? Soviet tier 2
- (no sign) ? Soviet tier 3
List of winners since the post-Soviet independence
[
edit
]
Vyshcha Liha
[
edit
]
Season
|
Champion
|
Runner-up
|
Third place
|
Top goalscorer
|
Rank
|
1992
|
Tavriya Simferopol
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Yuri Hudymenko
(
Tavriya Simferopol
, 12 goals)
|
N/A
[4]
|
1992?93
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
Serhiy Husyev
(
Chornomorets Odesa
, 17 goals)
|
28/39
|
1993?94
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
Timerlan Huseinov
(
Chornomorets Odesa
, 18 goals)
|
24/44
|
1994?95
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Arsen Avakov
(
Torpedo Zaporizhzhia
, 21 goals)
|
24/47
|
1995?96
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Timerlan Huseinov
(
Chornomorets Odesa
, 20 goals)
|
19/48
|
1996?97
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Vorskla Poltava
|
Oleh Matveyev
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 21 goals)
|
22/48
|
1997?98
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Karpaty Lviv
|
Serhii Rebrov
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 22 goals)
|
17/49
|
1998?99
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Andriy Shevchenko
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 18 goals)
|
15/50
|
1999?00
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Maksim Shatskikh
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 20 goals)
|
12/50
|
2000?01
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Andriy Vorobei
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 21 goals)
|
13/51
|
2001?02
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalurh Donetsk
|
Serhiy Shyschenko
(
Metalurh Donetsk
, 12 goals)
|
13/51
|
2002?03
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Metalurh Donetsk
|
Maksim Shatskikh
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 22 goals)
|
14/52
|
2003?04
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Georgi Demetradze
(
Metalurh Donetsk
, 18 goals)
|
14/52
|
2004?05
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalurh Donetsk
|
Oleksandr Kosyrin
(
Chornomorets Odesa
, 14 goals)
|
15/52
|
2005?06
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
Brandao
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 15 goals)
Emmanuel Okoduwa
(
Arsenal Kyiv
, 15 goals)
|
13/52
|
2006?07
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Oleksandr Hladky
(
FC Kharkiv
, 13 goals)
|
11/52
|
2007?08
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalist Kharkiv
(bronze stripped)
|
Marko Devi?
(
Metalist Kharkiv
, 19 goals)
|
12/53
|
Premier League
[
edit
]
Season
|
Champion
|
Runner-up
|
Third place
|
Top goalscorer
|
Rank
[5]
|
2008?09
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Oleksandr Kovpak
(
Tavriya Simferopol
, 17 goals)
|
7/53
|
2009?10
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Artem Milevskyi
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 17 goals)
|
7/53
|
2010?11
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Yevhen Seleznyov
(
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
, 17 goals)
|
8/53
|
2011?12
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Yevhen Seleznyov
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 14 goals)
Maicon
(
Volyn Lutsk
, 14 goals)
|
9/53
|
2012?13
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 25 goals)
|
7/53
|
2013?14
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
Luiz Adriano
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 20 goals)
|
9/53
|
2014?15
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Alex Teixeira
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 17 goals)
Eric Bicfalvi
(
Volyn Lutsk
, 17 goals)
|
8/54
|
2015?16
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
Alex Teixeira
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 22 goals)
|
8/54
|
2016?17
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Zorya Luhansk
|
Andriy Yarmolenko
(
Dynamo Kyiv
, 15 goals)
|
8/55
|
2017?18
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Vorskla Poltava
|
Facundo Ferreyra
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 21 goal)
|
8/55
|
2018?19
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Oleksandriya
|
Junior Moraes
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 19 goals)
|
9/55
|
2019?20
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Zorya Luhansk
|
Junior Moraes
(
Shakhtar Donetsk
, 20 goals)
|
9/55
|
2020?21
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Zorya Luhansk
|
Vladyslav Kulach
(
Vorskla Poltava
, 15 goals)
|
12/55
|
2021?22
|
Competition abandoned due to
Russian invasion of Ukraine
|
Artem Dovbyk
(
Dnipro-1
, 14 goals)
|
12/55
|
2022?23
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dnipro-1
|
Zorya Luhansk
|
Artem Dovbyk
(
Dnipro-1
, 24 goals)
|
14/55
|
2023?24
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
|
|
Note
: the
Rank
column shows the
ranking of the league
amongst members of
UEFA
.
Performance by club
[
edit
]
Performance by club since 1992.
Club
|
Winners
|
Runners-up
|
Third place
|
Winning years
|
Dynamo Kyiv
|
16
|
13
|
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
,
2015?16
,
2020?21
|
Shakhtar Donetsk
|
15
|
13
|
?
|
2001?02
,
2004?05
,
2005?06
,
2007?08
,
2009?10
,
2010?11
,
2011?12
,
2012?13
,
2013?14
,
2016?17
,
2017?18
,
2018?19
,
2019?20
,
2022?23
,
2023?24
|
Tavriya Simferopol
|
1
|
?
|
?
|
1992
|
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
|
?
|
2
|
7
|
|
Chornomorets Odesa
|
?
|
2
|
3
|
|
Metalist Kharkiv
|
?
|
1
|
6
|
|
Dnipro-1
|
?
|
1
|
?
|
|
Zorya Luhansk
|
?
|
?
|
4
|
|
Metalurh Donetsk
|
?
|
?
|
3
|
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
?
|
?
|
3
|
|
Vorskla Poltava
|
?
|
?
|
2
|
|
Karpaty Lviv
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
|
Oleksandriya
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
|
Total
|
32
|
32
|
31
|
|
- Note
: Defunct teams marked in
Italics
.
Separate notes about Soviet clubs
[
edit
]
- FC Chornomorets Odesa
, historically traces its lineage based on performance of Chornomorets only as a team of
Black Sea Shipping Company
with 1959 being the date of the club's establishment.
- Since the club was acquired by
Leonid Klimov
, the club has also assumed history of other sports societies such as the city's trade union Kharchovyk (Pischevik), and later both
FC Dynamo Odesa
and Metalurh Odesa.
- FC Zorya Luhansk
, always keeps the history of football club of
Luhanskteplovoz
, while existence of sports association of students Trudovi Rezervy also was mentioned
- FC Metalist Kharkiv
, always keeps the history of football club of
Malyshev Factory
, while existence of the
Southern Railways
Lokomotyv also was mentioned, yet
FC Dynamo Kharkiv
not at all
- FC Dnipro
, keeps history of the
Yuzhmash
's football club Dnepr, part of the Soviet
Zenit sports society
and successor of Metalurh sports society of the local Petrovsky factory that existed since 1925 as Stal. Since dissolution of the Soviet Union, historical claims were laid for club that existed since 1918.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Ukrainian SSR was not recognized until 1945.
References and notes
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Seasons
| Vyshcha Liha
| |
---|
Premier League
| |
---|
|
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2024?25
teams
| |
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Former teams
| Active
(lower leagues)
| |
---|
Defunct
(or amateur)
| |
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|
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Winners
| |
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Golden matches
| |
---|
Statistics
| |
---|
|
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|
League system
| |
---|
Domestic cups
| |
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National teams
| |
---|
Governing bodies
| UAF
committees
| |
---|
Collective members
| |
---|
Regional associations
|
- AR Crimea
- Cherkasy
- Chernihiv
- Chernivtsi
- Dnipropetrovsk
- Donetsk
- Ivano-Frankivsk
- Kharkiv
- Kherson
- Khmelnytskyi
- Kyiv
- Kirovohrad
- Luhansk
- Lviv
- Mykolaiv
- Odesa
- Poltava
- Rivne
- Sumy
- Ternopil
- Vinnytsia
- Volyn
- Zakarpattia
- Zaporizhzhia
- Zhytomyr
|
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|
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Awards
| |
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Lists
| |
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| |
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