List of Ukrainian football champions
| Founded | 1921 (as the Football champion of the UkrSSR) |
|---|---|
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Level on pyramid | Ukrainian football league system |
| Current champions | Dynamo Kyiv (2020–21) |
The Ukrainian football champions (Ukrainian: Чемпіон України 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
The first national (or rather republican) Ukrainian football championship took place in 1921, just before the official establishment of the
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
Ukraina Lwow, USC Skala Stryi
and several others.
In 1936 there was established the
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
| 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
Best Ukrainian clubs in all-Union competitions
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 of Ukrainian republican football competitions
| Season | Group | Champion | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Ordzhonikidze Factory Kramatorsk
|
Stal Dnipropetrovsk | UDKA Kyiv | |
| 1937 | Spartak Dnipropetrovsk | Zenit Staline | Stalinets Kharkiv | |
| 1938 | Dzerzhynets Voroshylovhrad
|
Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk | Dynamo Mykolaiv | |
| 1939 | Lokomotyv Zaporizhia | Kharchovyk Odesa | Lokomotyv Kharkiv | |
| 1940 | Lokomotyv Zaporizhia | Stakhanovets Ordzhonikidze | Avanhard Kramatorsk
| |
| 1941-45 | no competitions World War II | |||
| 1946 | Spartak Uzhhorod
|
DO Kyiv | Dzerzhynets Kharkiv
| |
| 1947 | Bilshovyk Mukacheve | Avanhard Kramatorsk
|
Lokomotyv Kyiv | |
| 1948 | 1 | Torpedo Odesa | Dynamo Uzhhorod | Dynamo Vinnytsia |
| 2 | Stal Kostiantynivka | Military Unit 25750 (Kyiv) | Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk | |
| Play-off | Torpedo Odesa | Stal Kostiantynivka | Dynamo Uzhhorod | |
| 1949 | 1 | Metalurh Dniprodzerzhynsk | Metalurh Kostiantynivka | Traktor Kirovohrad
|
| 2 | DO Kyiv | Spartak Stanislav | Lokomotyv Ternopil | |
| Play-off | DO Kyiv | Metalurh Dniprodzerzhynsk | ||
| 1950 | Spartak Uzhhorod
|
Trudovi Rezervy Voroshylovhrad
|
DO Kyiv | |
| 1951 | DO Kyiv | SKA Lviv | Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv | |
| 1952 | Metalurh Zaporizhia
|
Chervonyi Prapor Mykolaiv | Iskra Mukacheve | |
| 1953 | Spartak Uzhhorod
|
Spartak Kherson | Torpedo Taganrog
| |
| 1954 | Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv
|
Spartak Stanislav | Budivelnyk Mykolaiv | |
| 1955 | Spartak Stanislav | Spartak Kherson | Torpedo Kirovohrad
| |
| 1956 | Shakhtar Stakhanov
|
Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv
|
ODO Odesa
| |
| 1957 | SKVO Odesa
|
Lokomotyv Artemivsk
|
Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv
| |
| 1958 | Arsenal Kyiv
|
Metalurh Nikopol
|
Naftovyk Drohobych | |
| 1959 | Avanhard Zhovti Vody
|
Torpedo Kharkiv | SKVO Odesa
| |
| 1960 | 1 | Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
|
Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | Arsenal Kyiv |
| 2 | Metalurh Zaporizhia
|
SKA Odesa
|
Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk | |
| 1961 | 1 | Chornomorets Odesa | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | Zirka Kirovohrad
|
| 2 | SKA Odesa
|
Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk | Avanhard Zhovti Vody
| |
| 1962 | 1 | Chornomorets Odesa | Polissya Zhytomyr | Lokomotyv Donetsk |
| 2 | SKA Odesa
|
Metalurh Zaporizhia
|
SKA Kyiv | |
| 3 | Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk | Avanhard Simferopol | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | |
1963
|
1 | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | SKA Lviv | Zirka Kirovohrad
|
| 2 | SKA Odesa
|
Azovstal Zhdanov
|
Torpedo Kharkiv | |
1964
|
1 | Polissya Zhytomyr | SKA Lviv | Verkhovyna Uzhhorod
|
| 2 | SKA Kyiv | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | Zirka Kirovohrad
| |
| 3 | Tavriya Simferopol | Shakhtar Kadievka
|
Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih
| |
| 1965 | 1 | SKA Kyiv | Avanhard Zhovti Vody | Kolos Poltava |
| 2 | SKA Lviv | Avanhard Ternopil | Zirka Kirovohrad
| |
| 3 | Tavriya Simferopol | Shakhtar Kadievka
|
Kommunarets Kommunarsk | |
| 1966 | 1 | Dynamo Khmelnytskyi | Desna Chernihiv | SKCF Sevastopol
|
| 2 | Avanhard Zhovti Vody | Lokomotyv Kherson | Dnipro Kremenchuk | |
| 1967 | 1 | Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | Dnipro Cherkasy | Dnipro Kremenchuk |
| 2 | Khimik Severodonetsk
|
Torpedo Kharkiv | Shakhtar Kadievka
| |
| 1968 | 1 | Avanhard Ternopil | Bukovyna Chernivtsi
|
Dynamo Khmelnytskyi |
| 2 | Lokomotyv Donetsk | Spartak Sumy
|
Desna Chernihiv | |
| 1969 | 1 | Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk | Prometey Dniprodzerzhynsk
|
Karpaty Mukacheve |
| 2 | Spartak Sumy
|
Shakhtar Horlivka | Shakhtar Sverdlovsk
| |
| 1970 | 2nd A | Metalurh Zaporizhia
|
Tavriya Simferopol | Avtomobilist Zhytomyr |
B
|
Khimik Severodonetsk
|
Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | Lokomotyv Donetsk | |
| 1971 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
|
Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | |
| 1972 | Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk | Hoverla Uzhhorod
|
Tavriya Simferopol | |
| 1973 | Tavriya Simferopol | Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
| |
| 1974 | Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
|
Metalist Kharkiv | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
| |
| 1975 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | SC Lutsk | |
| 1976 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Metalist Kharkiv | SKA Odesa
| |
| 1977 | SKA Odesa
|
SKA Kyiv | Kolos Nikopol
| |
| 1978 | Metalist Kharkiv | Kolos Nikopol
|
SKA Kyiv | |
| 1979 | Kolos Nikopol
|
SKA Kyiv | SKA Lviv | |
| 1980 | SKA Kyiv | Bukovyna Chernivtsi
|
SKA Lviv | |
| 1981 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
|
Nyva Vinnytsia | Avanhard Rivne
| |
| 1982 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi
|
Desna Chernihiv | Kolos Pavlohrad
| |
| 1983 | SKA Kyiv | Kolos Pavlohrad
|
Nyva Vinnytsia | |
| 1984 | Nyva Vinnytsia | Kolos Pavlohrad
|
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
| |
| 1985 | Tavriya Simferopol | Nyva Vinnytsia | Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
| |
| 1986 | Zoria Voroshylovhrad
|
Tavriya Simferopol | SKA Kyiv | |
| 1987 | Tavriya Simferopol | Nyva Ternopil | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | |
| 1988 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi
|
Vorskla Poltava | SKA Kyiv | |
| 1989[2][3] | Volyn Lutsk | Bukovyna Chernivtsi
|
Nyva Ternopil | |
| 1990 | Torpedo Zaporizhia
|
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv
|
Avanhard Rivne
| |
| 1991 | Naftovyk Okhtyrka | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | Kolos Nikopol
| |
List of winners since the post-Soviet independence
Vyshcha Liha
Premier League
Note: the Rank column shows the ranking of the league amongst members of UEFA.
Performance by club
Performance by club since 1992.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo Kyiv | 16 | 13 | 1 | |
| 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.
Percentage of titles won by club since 1992
- Dynamo Kyiv - 16 (50%)
- FC Shakhtar Donetsk - 15 (46.8%)
- SC Tavriya Simferopol -1 (3.2%)
Separate notes about Soviet clubs
- 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
- Zenit sports societyand 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
Notes
- ^ Ukrainian SSR was not recognized until 1945.
References and notes
- ^ Teams out of Ukraine in championships of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (Команди з України у чемпіонатах Російської імперії та СРСР). www.kopanyi-myach.info.
- ^ Two other teams were participating in another group: FC Karpaty Lviv and FC Desna Chernihiv. Karpaty placed third in that group.
- ^ The first nine teams from each group were to form the three buffer groups as a medium between the First League and the Second League.
- ^ part of Soviet Union
- ^ UEFA.com. "Country coefficients | UEFA Coefficients". UEFA. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
External links
- (in English and Ukrainian) Football Federation of Ukraine
- (in English, Ukrainian, and Russian) Official national league website
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