Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha it was formed in 1991 as part of the 1992 Ukrainian football championship upon discontinuation of the 1991 Soviet football championship and included the Ukraine-based clubs that competed previously in the Soviet top three tiers competitions as well as better clubs of the Ukrainian republican competitions. The initial season of the league featured six former Soviet Top League clubs among which were Dynamo, Shakhtar, Chornomorets, Dnipro, Metalist, Metalurh as well as four more clubs that previously also competed at the top league.
In 1996 along with the other professional football leagues of Ukraine, the Top League became a member of the Professional Football League of Ukraine. In 2008 it was withdrawn from Professional Football League of Ukraine and reformed into a separate self governed entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine, officially changing its name to the current one. Its rank was 10th highest in Europe as rated by UEFA as of 2019.
As a leading club of the Soviet Top League, Dynamo Kyiv continues to be the league's "flagship club", while in the last 10 seasons the league is dominated by Shakhtar Donetsk 8 to 2. Three of Ukrainian clubs reached European club competitions finals including Dynamo, Shakhtar and Dnipro. Among Ukrainian fans the most popular Ukrainian clubs are Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. Other popular clubs include Karpaty Lviv, Metalist Kharkiv, Chornomorets Odesa and Dnipro.
General overview and format
The 2019–20 season is the league's twelfth after the restructuring of professional club football in 2008 and the 29th season since establishing of professional club's competition independent from the Soviet Union. As of 2020, Shakhtar Donetsk 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 2 teams, Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk have participated in all previous 28 Ukrainian Top League competitions. The central feature of the league is a game between the same Dynamo and Shakhtar which is developed into the Klasychne.On 15 April 2008 the new Premier-Liha was formed. The new sports organization consists of 12 football club organizations that take control of the league's operations under the statues of Football Federation of Ukraine, UEFA, and FIFA. With the new reorganization the format of the League was preserved, while the changes that were made were exclusively administrative. Competitions continued to be conducted in a double round robin format among 16 clubs. There were couple seasons when the 14-clubs league's composition was experimented. Since the 2014 Russian aggression, the league was reduced to 12 members, while its format also has changed. The season is still being played in a double round robin in the first half of a season, after which the league splits in half into two groups of six teams. Both the top six and the bottom six play another a double round robin tournament with the clubs of own group. For 2019-20 there was also introduced post season play-off for qualification for the European club competitions.
The teams that reach the top ranks of the competition table at the end of each season as always gain the chance to represent Ukraine internationally in several prestigious tournaments. Also at the end of the season, the bottom clubs are relegated to the First League and replaced by the top clubs from that league. All the participants of the Premier League enter the National Cup competition and enter it at the round of 32 or Round of 16 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. Beside Super Cup game and championship among senior teams of the league's clubs, the league also conducts competitions among junior teams including under 21 and under 19. The champion of the under 19 championship qualifies for the UEFA Youth League.
Emblem
The old emblem depicts a football that is wrapped around by the blue-yellow stripe on the blue background. Across the top and around the ball there are 16 stars that represent the league's participants. On the bottom the script says "Premier-League - Union of Professional Football Clubs of Ukraine".As the old emblem, the new emblem also contains 16 stars. For the 2016-17 season there was added the sponsor's name.
Season's format and regulations
Season regulations is one of the two most important documents 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. All advertisement, commercial rights and rights on TV and radio broadcasting of the game of Super Cup and the "Gold game". Before 2014 Premier League was also administering some rounds of the Ukrainian Cup. The earlier rounds were administered by the Professional League and the final by the Federation. Since 2014 the organization of Ukrainian Cup competitions in full belongs exclusively to the Federation.
There are currently 12 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. A club is required to have a stadium and an education and training facility. A club is also obligated to finance its own youth sports institution and a complex scientific-methodical group as well as to own and finance a number of youth teams. A Premier League club needs to ensure participation of at least four youth teams in the Youth Football League of Ukraine. A club cannot field more than one team for a certain competition.
All club's staff members 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.
Beside the main championship among senior teams, the Premier League also organizes youth championship which was adopted from the previous Vyshcha Liha championship of doubles. Since 2012 there was added another competition for junior teams, so the original youth championship was renamed into the Championship of U-21 teams and the new competition was named as the Championship of U-19 teams. Unlike the Championship of U-21 teams, in the Championship of U-19 teams beside all of the Premier League clubs' junior teams, there also compete teams of some lower leagues' clubs.
The league's championship among senior teams is conducted by manner of 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. 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.
Competition calendar
Clubs play each other twice 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. 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.
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.
History
Vyshcha Liha and Professional Football League (1992–1999)
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 Higher League. 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 Higher League along with the winner of the 1991 Ukrainian Cup which finished ninth in the same group.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, 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.
Dynamo–Shakhtar rivalry and Premier League (2000–2010)
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 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 2008–09 season the league earned the highest UEFA league coefficient in Europe for that season.
On 15 November 2007 clubs' presidents of the Vyshcha Liha adopted a decision to create the Premier League. At the same meeting session there was created a supervisory board that consisted of Ravil Safiullin, Vitaliy Danilov, Petro Dyminskyi, and Vadym Rabinovych. During the next three months that body curated a process on creation of the Premier League's regulation and statute as well as a procedure of launching the championship starting from the 2008-09 season. On 15 April 2008 at one of the meetings among the presidents of clubs there was signed a protocol about establishing the Association of Professional Football Clubs of Ukraine "Premier-Liha" as 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. The other available candidates, Miletiy Balchos 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.
Big Four and two-round league (2011–present)
Starting from 2010 and to 2014 season, FC Shakhtar led by Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu obtained five national league titles in a row, making Lucescu the most successful manager in the history of the league with 9 titles. At the same time, in the beginning of 2010s the so-called "Big Four" of clubs eventually formed, consisting from Shakhtar, Dynamo, Metalist and Dnipro. These four clubs consecutively took all the top 4 places for five seasons from 2009–10 to 2013–14 and displayed the biggest financial abilities in the league.In 2012–13, Metalist Kharkiv finished second and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time, the achievement which was repeated by Dnipro in the next season. In the same 2013–14 season Dynamo Kyiv for the first time since Ukrainian independence placed as low as fourth in league's season ranking, which led to dismissal of former national team coach and the legend of Soviet football Oleh Blokhin as the club's manager. In European football, new club achievements were set in these years for Shakhtar in 2010–11 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and for Metalist in 2011–12 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
with a pennant
Because of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and subsequent cleaning of the league from the clubs that became financially unreliable, the number of teams participating in the league was cut from 16 in the 2013–14 season to 14 in the following two seasons. Both of the seasons were won by Dynamo Kyiv with Serhiy Rebrov as manager. With the continuation of the military conflict in the eastern oblasts of Ukraine since 2014 and its economic impact, the league was forced to change its format again and started to be contested by 12 teams after being cut from 14 after the 2015–16 season, introducing the two stages of the competition: after the standard two rounds of games the league would split into two 6-team groups according to their positions.
Under the new format, Shakhtar Donetsk under the manager Paulo Fonseca managed to win three league titles in a row from 2016–17 to 2018–19, runner-up in all the three seasons being Dynamo Kyiv. In 2019–20 season, Shakhtar set the record of the earliest title win in the history, win 5 rounds remaining. In 2019, the decision was adopted to expand the league to 14 teams from the 2020–21 and to 16 teams from the 2021–22 season.
Officials
Presidents
- Vitaliy Danilov, 27 May 2008 – 29 February 2016
- Volodymyr Heninson, 29 February 2016 – 6 April 2018
- Thomas Grimm, 6 April 2018 – 5 April 2020
- * Yevhen Dykyi
- TBA,
Directors
- General director: Oleksandr Yefremov
- Executive director: Yevhen Dykyi
- Sport director: Petro Ivanov
- Development director: Vadym Halahan
Competitions
- National championship
- Championship among under-21
- Championship among under-19
- Super Cup
Clubs
Maps
Current clubs
The following teams are competing in the 2019–20 season. Note, in parenthesis shown the actual home cities and stadiums.| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | Position in 2018–19 | First season in PL | Seasons in PL |
| Desna Chernihiv | Chernihiv | Stadion imeni Gagarina | 12,060 | 8th | 2018-19 | 2 |
| Dnipro-1 | Dnipro | Dnipro-Arena | 31,003 | FL:1st | debut | 1 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | Kyiv | Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex | 70,050 | 2nd | 1992 | 29 |
| Karpaty Lviv | Lviv | Ukraina Stadium | 28,051 | 10th | 1992 | 27 |
| Kolos Kovalivka | Kovalivka | Obolon Arena | 5,100 | FL:2nd | debut | 1 |
| Lviv | Lviv | Arena Lviv | 34,915 | 6th | 2008-09 | 3 |
| Mariupol | Mariupol | Stadion imeni Boika | 12,680 | 5th | 1997-98 | 20 |
| Oleksandriya | Oleksandria | Nika Concert and Sports Complex | 7,000 | 3rd | 2001-02 | 8 |
| Olimpik Donetsk | Donetsk | Dynamo Stadion imeni Lobanovskoho | 16,873 | 9th | 2014-15 | 6 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Donetsk | Metalist Oblast Sports Complex | 40,003 | 1st | 1992 | 29 |
| Vorskla Poltava | Poltava | Vorskla Stadion imeni Butovskoho | 24,795 | 7th | 1996-97 | 24 |
| Zorya Luhansk | Luhansk | Slavutych-Arena | 12,000 | 5th | 1992 | 19 |
Broadcasting
live matches from the Ukrainian Premier League will be broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays on satellite channel 2+2.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
The main international broadcaster of the league in west Europe and some countries of Africa is the French Ma Chaîne Sport providing coverage for such countries like France, and satellite communities in Andorra, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Another broadcaster Sport Klub provides coverage in all countries of former Yugoslavia including Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. National broadcasters of some other counties include 12 TV, CBC Sport, Polsat Futbol, Futbol, and Dolce Sport.UEFA ranking and European competitions
Ukrainian clubs being part of the Soviet Union competed in European competitions since 1960s when the Soviet clubs started to participate in continental competitions. In fact the very first Soviet club that took part in European competitions was Ukrainian club, FC Dynamo Kyiv, that took in the 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, the following Ukrainian clubs participated in European competitions: FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Karpaty Lviv, FC Zorya Luhansk, FC Chornomorets Odessa, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Dnipro, and FC Metalist Kharkiv.At least five clubs participated in top continental competitions the European Cup and the UEFA Champions League among which are FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Dnipro, FC Metalist Kharkiv, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, and SC Tavriya Simferopol.
Two teams were able to obtain trophies of European competitions including two Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Supercup, and one UEFA Cup. One more team came just short to join their company losing in the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final.
Club seeding
UEFA Club Ranking| Current ranking | Movement | Last season ranking | Teams | Coefficient |
| 14 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 81.000 | ||
| 22 | Dynamo Kyiv | 62.000 | ||
| 43 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 34.000 | ||
| 135 | Chornomorets Odesa | 9.000 | ||
| 135 | Zorya Luhansk | 9.000 | ||
| 142 | Oleksandriya | 2.500 | ||
| 142 | Vorskla Poltava | 2.000 | ||
| 142 | Metalist Kharkiv | 2.000 | ||
| 142 | Metalurh Donetsk | 1.000 | ||
| 142 | ' | Olimpik Donetsk' | 1.000 |
Note'': Since 1999 the country index indicates the lowest possible value any team of that country will get in the ranking. Currently it's 6.866 for Ukraine. Teams ranked below their country's ranking are positioned by the ranking of their country rather its own. Teams in bold will be participating in the 2017–18 European football season. Last Updated: 21 May 2018
Country ranking
UEFA Country Ranking| Current ranking | Movement | Last season ranking | League | Coefficient |
| 6 | ' |  Russian Premier League | 53.382 | |
| 7 | ' |  Primeira Liga | 47.248 | |
| 8 | ' |  Ukrainian Premier League | 41.133 | |
| 9 | ' |  Belgian Pro League | 38.500 | |
| 10 |  Süper Lig | 35.800 |
Last Updated: 21 May 2018.
International relations
In 2009 The Ukrainian Premier League joined the European Professional Football Leagues. 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.Results by season
Higher League (Vyshcha Liha)
- Professional Football League of Ukraine was the governing body of the Top League since 1996 till 2008.
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Top goalscorer | Rank |
| 1992 | Tavriya Simferopol | Dynamo Kyiv | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Yuriy Hudymenko | N/A |
| 1992–93 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Chornomorets Odesa | Serhiy Husyev | 28/39 |
| 1993–94 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk | Chornomorets Odesa ‡ | Tymerlan Huseinov | 24/44 |
| 1994–95 | Dynamo Kyiv | Chornomorets Odesa | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |  Arsen Avakov | 24/47 |
| 1995–96 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Chornomorets Odesa | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Tymerlan Huseinov | 19/48 |
| 1996–97 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk ‡ | Vorskla Poltava | Oleh Matveyev | 22/48 |
| 1997–98 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Shakhtar Donetsk | Karpaty Lviv | Serhiy Rebrov | 17/49 |
| 1998–99 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Shakhtar Donetsk | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Andriy Shevchenko | 15/50 |
| 1999–00 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Shakhtar Donetsk | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih |  Maksim Shatskikh | 12/50 |
| 2000–01 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk ‡ | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Andriy Vorobey | 13/51 |
| 2001–02 | Shakhtar Donetsk ‡ | Dynamo Kyiv | Metalurh Donetsk | Serhiy Shyshchenko | 13/51 |
| 2002–03 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Shakhtar Donetsk | Metalurh Donetsk | Maksim Shatskikh | 14/52 |
| 2003–04 | Dynamo Kyiv | Shakhtar Donetsk ‡ | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |  Giorgi Demetradze | 14/52 |
| 2004–05 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Metalurh Donetsk | Oleksandr Kosyrin | 15/52 |
| 2005–06 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Chornomorets Odesa |  Brandão  Emmanuel Okoduwa | 13/52 |
| 2006–07 | Dynamo Kyiv ‡ | Shakhtar Donetsk | Metalist Kharkiv | Oleksandr Hladkyi | 11/52 |
| 2007–08 | Shakhtar Donetsk ‡ | Dynamo Kyiv | Bronze stripped * |   Marko Dević* | 12/53 |
Mircea Lucescu
Paulo Fonseca
Nevio Scala