Ukrainian First League

The following displays the location of teams. Group A teams marked in red. Group B teams marked in green.

Ahrobiznes

Bukovyna

Epitsentr

Karpaty

Khust

Metalist

Nyva B.

Nyva T.

Podillia

Prykarpattia

Chernihiv

Hirnyk-Sport

Inhulets

Kremin

Livyi Bereh

Dinaz

Metalurh

Poltava

Viktoriya

Mariupol

Home venues of teams in the 2023–24 Ukrainian First League.

The league conducts its competition in a regular double round-robin format where each team plays with every other one twice. The league conducts its competitions from fall to spring, however due to climate conditions in Ukraine, a mid-season winter break is usually longer than the summer break between competition seasons. Since 1995 the league also follows the same system of points calculation that is adopted throughout the whole European continent, 3 points for win, one for draw, and none for loss.

During its history the number of members in the league has fluctuated. In its first years before 1999 the league consisted of 20 or more participants. Later there was an idea to decrease the number of members in all leagues in order to improve the quality of competition. Until 2013 the number of participants was reduced to 18 except for couple of seasons in 2006–2008. Recently since 2013 the number was reduced further to 16 where it remains since.

Traditionally two better teams out of First League are being swapped for two worse teams out of Premier (Higher) League. On more rare occasions a third team gets a chance of promotion, but there were also seasons when only one team would get promoted. Only twice three teams were promoted to the top division, both times happening due to the top tier expansion. The league's winner and usually the second placed runner-up get accepted to the Premier League. However, due to the rule that a second team of the club cannot be promoted when its senior team plays in a higher tier, on few occasions when a second club team finished in top two places the third-placed team was admitted to the top division. In 2013 there was set a precedent when a club on its own will has refused to be promoted. In 2017 there was created another precedent when a club that earned promotion was denied it based on administrative decision.

With relegation, the league's policy is a bit different, although originally it also was two for two. In 1996 the Second League (lower tier) was converted into a de facto regional league with two (three) regional groups. The league has also decreased its number of participants from originally 22-24 to only 16-18. There were also number of withdrawals which triggered sometime additional number in rotation.

The relegation or promotion play-offs were previously usually organized under unforeseen circumstances such as a team's withdrawal from the league and often were not scheduled until after the season had concluded. Since 2011 relegation play-offs have become a well established tradition.

Since the turn of the millennium the frequency of withdrawals in the First League has increased among the competing clubs. In order to fight this, the league has been applying a stricter approach to every club's financial situation to avoid withdrawals during a season.

Since the 2009–10 season the First League has started to broadcast selected matches over the internet in order to increase its popularity.

The most successful clubs in the league are FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv, FC Hoverla Uzhhorod, and FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi. All of those teams were either disbanded or went through some sort of reorganizations. In 2016 Dynamo Kyiv withdrew its second team from professional competitions, while FC Hoverla was refused in attestation. Previously in 2008 FC Zirka that went through reorganization was re-established based on a local youth football club FC Olimpik Kropyvnytskyi and in 2016 won its third championship in the league.

see Ukrainian Premier League#Relegation play-offs

• 1997–98: single round-robin tournament (FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi, FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi, FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk, FC Krystal Kherson)

Notes:

• ‡ – indicates a phoenix club of the original

Top-20. All figures are correct through the 2022–23 season.[7] Club status is current of the 2023–24 season:

Among notable players of the league are its top scorers. The title of the league's top scorer earned on multiple occasions the following players, Serhiy Chuichenko (4 times, Polihraftekhnika Oleksandriya), Oleh Hrytsai (2 times, FC Cherkasy), Oleksandr Aliyev (2 times, Dynamo-2 Kyiv), Matviy Bobal (2 times, Ihroservis Simferopol), Oleksandr Akymenko (2 times, Stal / Inhulets).

All-time First League appearance leaders

Player	Games	Years
Andriy Tsvik	429	1992–2005
Bohdan Yesyp	401	1996–2013
Volodymyr Melnychenko	384[8]	1992–2007
Vadym Oliynyk	383	1992–2002
Yevhen Manko	380	1993–2004
Oleksandr Agarin	373	1993–2009
Oleksandr Kohutych	352	1992–2004
Serhiy Polushyn	343	1992–2005
Oleksiy Tarhonskyi	336	1992–2002
Vitaliy Vizaver	356	1996–2014
Players in bold are still playing in First League Data as of 9 February 2021[9]

All-time First League scorers

Player	Goals	Games	Years
Vadym Plotnikov	116	306	1992–2000
Serhiy Chuichenko	116	177	1993–2001
Oleksandr Akymenko	106	283	2007–2021
Bohdan Yesyp	101	401	1996–2013
Pavlo Onysko	91	206	2001–2012
Pavlo Parshyn	85	305	1992–2005
Matviy Bobal	79	202	2000–2012
Oleksandr Kosyrin	74	166	1996–2012
Viktor Arefyev	71	275	1993–2006
Volodymyr Melnychenko	68	384	1992–2007
Players in bold are still playing in First League Data accurate as of 15 September 2022[10][11][12][13]

Winning managers Season Nationality Winning manager Club Ref 1992  UKR Viktor Nosov Veres Rivne [14]  UKR Volodymyr Stryzhevskyi Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih [14] 1992–93  UKR Yukhym Shkolnykov Nyva Vinnytsia [14] 1993–94  UKR Ihor Yurchenko Prykarpattia [14] 1994–95  UKR Oleksandr Ishchenko Zirka-NIBAS Kirovohrad [14] 1995–96  UKR Viktor Pozhechevskyi Vorskla Poltava [14] 1996–97  UKR Yevhen Korol Metalurh Donetsk [14] 1997–98  UKR Anatoliy Zayaev SC Mykolaiv [14] 1998–99  UKR Valeriy Zuyev (2) Dynamo-2 Kyiv 1999–00 2000–01  UKR Volodymyr Onyshchenko 2001–02  UKR Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi Volyn-1 Lutsk [14] 2002–03  UKR Yuriy Koval Zirka Kirovohrad [14] 2003–04  UKR Viktor Ryashko Zakarpattia Uzhhorod [14] 2004–05  UKR Anatoliy Volobuyev Stal Alchevsk [14] 2005–06  UKR Yuriy Koval (2) Zorya Luhansk [14] 2006–07  UKR Serhiy Shevchenko Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka [14] 2007–08  UKR Oleksandr Ishchenko (2) Illichivets Mariupol [14]

Winning managers (cont.) Season Nationality Winning manager Club Ref 2008–09  UKR Mykhailo Ivanytsia Zakarpattia Uzhhorod [14] 2009–10  UKR Oleh Leschynskyi PFC Sevastopol 2010–11  UKR Volodymyr Sharan PFC Oleksandriya 2011–12  UKR Oleksandr Sevidov Hoverla-Zakarpattia Uzhhorod 2012–13  RUS Oleg Kononov PFC Sevastopol 2013–14  UKR Roman Sanzhar Olimpik Donetsk 2014–15  UKR Volodymyr Sharan (2) FC Oleksandriya 2015–16  UKR Serhiy Lavrynenko Zirka Kirovohrad 2016–17  UKR Oleksandr Sevidov (2) Illichivets Mariupol 2017–18  UKR Serhiy Litovchenko Arsenal Kyiv 2018–19  UKR Dmytro Mykhaylenko SC Dnipro-1 2019–20  UKR Vasyl Kobin FC Mynai 2020–21  UKR Yuriy Virt Veres Rivne 2021–22  UKR Oleksandr Kucher Metalist Kharkiv 2022–23  UKR Yuriy Kalitvintsev Polissia Zhytomyr

No manager has won the league more than two times. With 2 league titles there are Valeriy Zuyev (both Dynamo-2 Kyiv), Oleksandr Ishchenko (Zirka and Illichivets), Yuriy Koval (Zirka and Zorya), Oleksandr Sevidov (Hoverla and Illichivets), Volodymyr Sharan (both Oleksandriya).

Best managers

Season	Nationality	Winning manager	Club	Ref
2017	UKR	Oleksandr Ryabokon	Desna Chernihiv	[15]
2018	UKR	Ruslan Kostyshyn	Kolos Kovalivka	[15]
2019	UKR	Serhiy Kovalets	Obolon Kyiv	[15]
2020	UKR	Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi	Ahrobiznes Volochysk	[15]
2021	UKR	Yuriy Virt	Veres Rivne	[15]

Most attended games in the league (1992-2017) recorded at Yuvileiny Stadium (Sumy).[16]

The most attended seasons were in the beginning of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.[16]