2025–26 Ukrainian Premier League
 Official logo[1] | |
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 August 2025 – 29 May 2026 14 December 2025 – 20 February 2026 (winter break) |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 63 (2.63 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Kudrivka 3–1 Oleksandriya (3 August 2025) Kudrivka 3–1 Poitava (17 August 2025) |
| Biggest away win | Rukh 1–5 Dynamo (8 August 2025) |
| Highest scoring | Rukh 1–5 Dynamo (8 August 2025) Karpaty 3-3 Shakhtar (10 August 2025) |
| Highest attendance | 9,850 Epitsentr 0–1 Shakhtar (3 August 2025) |
| Lowest attendance | 594 Kryvbas 2–0 Metalist 1925 (9 August 2025) |
| Total attendance | 72,840 |
| Average attendance | 3,035 |
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 18 August 2025. | |
The 2025–26 Ukrainian Premier League season, referred to as the VBET Ukrainian Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the 35th top-level football club competition since the fall of the Soviet Union and the 18th since the establishment of the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL).
The season has started on 1 August 2025 and will end on 29 May 2026. The UPL clubs decided not to hold the season opening match Ukrainian Super Cup due to the ongoing Russian military aggression against Ukraine.[2][3]
Dynamo Kyiv are the defending champions, having won their 17th Premier-Liha title and their 30th overall domestic title in the previous season.
Teams
This season, the Ukrainian Premier League remained at 16 teams.
Promoted teams
- Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi – first-placed team of the 2024–25 Ukrainian First League (debut)[4]
- SC Poltava - second-placed team of the 2024–25 Ukrainian First League (debut)
- Metalist 1925 Kharkiv — third-placed team of the 2024–25 Ukrainian First League, winner in relegation play-off (returning after one-year absence)
- FC Kudrivka — fourth-placed team of the 2024–25 Ukrainian First League, winner in relegation play-off (debut)
Relegated teams
- Inhulets Petrove — relegated after one season in the top flight
- Chornomorets Odesa — relegated after three seasons in the top flight
- Vorskla Poltava – relegated after twenty-nine seasons in the top flight, lost in relegation play-off
- Livyi Bereh Kyiv – relegated after one season in the top flight, lost in relegation play-off
Location map
Kyiv
Lviv
Zhytomyr
Home venues of teams in the 2025–26 Ukrainian Premier League.
Several teams (Metalist 1925, Shakhtar, and Zorya) are playing their home games away from their cities due to ongoing hostilities.
Several teams (Metalist 1925, Shakhtar, and Zorya) are playing their home games away from their cities due to ongoing hostilities.
Stadiums
The minimum threshold for the stadium's capacity in the UPL is 4,500 (Article 10, paragraph 8.3).[5]
The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:
| Rank | Stadium | Place | Club | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arena Lviv | Lviv | Shakhtar Donetsk | 34,725 | used as home ground during the season |
| Rukh Lviv | |||||
| 2 | Ukraina Stadium | Lviv | Karpaty Lviv | 28,051 | |
| Rukh Lviv | used as home ground in 3 matches | ||||
| 3 | Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium | Kyiv | Dynamo Kyiv | 16,873 | |
| Zorya Luhansk | used as home ground during the season | ||||
| 4 | Shukhevych Miskyi Stadium | Ternopil | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 15,150 | used as home ground during the season |
| 5 | Berezkin Zirka Stadium | Kropyvnytskyi | SC Poltava | 13,305 | used as home ground during the season |
| 6 | Cherkasy Arena | Cherkasy | LNZ Cherkasy | 10,321 | |
| 7 | Avanhard Stadium | Rivne | Veres Rivne | 7,122 | |
| 8 | CSC Nika Stadium | Oleksandriya | FC Oleksandriya | 7,000 | |
| 9 | Tsentralnyi Stadion | Zhytomyr | Polissya Zhytomyr | 5,928 | |
| Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | used as home ground during the season[6][a] | ||||
| 10 | Obolon Arena | Kyiv | Obolon Kyiv | 5,103 | |
| FC Kudrivka | used as home ground during the season | ||||
| 11 | Kolos Stadium | Kovalivka | Kolos Kovalivka | 5,050 | |
| 12 | Hirnyk Stadium | Kryvyi Rih | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 3,219 |
Personnel and sponsorship
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakhtar Donetsk |  Marino Pušić
|
Sacked | 24 May 2025[7] | Pre-season |  Arda Turan
|
27 May 2025 |
| LNZ Cherkasy |  Roman Hryhorchuk
|
Mutual consent | 26 May 2025[8][9] | Vitaliy Ponomaryov
|
5 June 2025 | |
| FC Oleksandriya | Ruslan Rotan
|
End of contract | 29 May 2025[10] | Kyrylo Nesterenko
|
17 June 2025 | |
| Polissya Zhytomyr | Oleksandr Maksymov (caretaker)
|
End of caretaker spell | 29 May 2025 | Ruslan Rotan
|
29 May 2025[11] | |
| Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Yuriy Vernydub
|
End of contract | 31 May 2025 | Patrick van Leeuwen
|
9 June 2025 | |
| Rukh Lviv | Vitaliy Ponomaryov
|
Mutual consent | 4 June 2025 | Ivan Fedyk
|
11 June 2025[b] | |
| Obolon Kyiv | Serhiy Shyshchenko
|
Mutual consent | 4 June 2025 | Oleksandr Antonenko (interim)[c]
|
4 June 2025 | |
| Zorya Luhansk |  Mladen Bartulović (interim)
|
End of interim spell & contract | 16 June 2025 | Viktor Skrypnyk
|
16 June 2025 | |
| Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | Oleksandr Chyzhov (caretaker)
|
End of caretaker spell | 20 June 2025 | Mladen Bartulović
|
20 June 2025 | |
| SC Poltava | Volodymyr Sysenko[d]
|
Change of role | 29 July 2025 | Pavlo Matviychenko (interim)
|
29 July 2025 | |
| FC Kudrivka | Vasyl Baranov
|
Change of role | 5 August 2025 | 1st | Vitaliy Kostyshyn (interim)[e]
|
5 August 2025 |
Notes:
- ^ FC Livyi Bereh Kyiv terminated the cooperation agreement with the Metalist 1925 due to indecent behavior and obscene statements by Metalist 1925's representatives towards the FC Livyi Bereh
- ^ The appointment of the coach was announced on 11 June 2025, however the official presentation took place on 23 June 2025
- ^ Serhiy Shyschenko were to leave the club officially after 16 June 2025, but before 16 June, his assistant, Oleksandr Antonenko, had been interim spell without Shyshchenko
- ^ The coach was absent for health reasons in the 2nd part of the 2024–25 Ukrainian First League. The team was managed by his assistant, Ihor Tymchenko
- ^ Vitaliy Kostyshyn is the head coach of the U-19 team, but legally he was appointed head coach of the main team, since Vasyl Baranov does not have a UEFA PRO license
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Kyiv | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 9 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7[a] | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | LNZ Cherkasy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7[a] | |
| 4 | Kolos Kovalivka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | |
| 5 | Obolon Kyiv | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 | |
| 6 | Kudrivka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6[b] | |
| 7 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6[b] | |
| 8 | Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 9 | Zorya Luhansk | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | |
| 10 | Polissya Zhytomyr | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3[b] | |
| 11 | Poltava | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3[b] | |
| 12 | Rukh Lviv | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3[b] | |
| 13 | Karpaty Lviv | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 14 | Veres Rivne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | |
| 15 | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 | Relegation to Ukrainian First League |
| 16 | Oleksandriya | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
Updated to match(es) played on 18 August 2025. Source: upl.ua
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw or "Golden match" if two teams tied for title (Article 22, paragraph 3).[12]
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw or "Golden match" if two teams tied for title (Article 22, paragraph 3).[12]
Notes:
Results
Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis.
Matches affected by air alerts
Round 1
Zorya vs LNZ. The match had been interrupted in the 17th minute for 36 minutes.[13]
Round 2
Poltava vs Veres. The match had been interrupted in the 80th minute for 38 minutes.[14]
Kryvbas vs Metalist 1925. The match had been interrupted in the 24th minute for 38 minutes.
Round 3
Rukh vs Obolon. The match had been interrupted in the 67th minute for 15 minutes.
Kolos vs Karpaty. The match had been interrupted in the 33th minute for 17 minutes.
Zorya vs Kryvbas. The match had been interrupted in the 63th minute for 17 minutes.
Season statistics
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Player of the Month | Coach of the Month | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Coach | Club | ||
| August 2025 | |||||
| September 2025 | |||||
| October 2025 | |||||
| November 2025 | |||||
| December 2025 | |||||
| February 2026 March 2026 |
|||||
| April 2026 | |||||
| May 2026 | |||||
Round awards
The list includes winners of the Round by the Ukrainian Premier League as well as the Ukrainian internet publisher "SportArena".
| Round | Player | Coach | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Reference | Coach | Club | Reference | ||
| Round 1 | Andriy Storchous (SA)
|
FC Kudrivka | [17] | Ruslan Rotan (SA)
|
Polissya Zhytomyr | [17] | |
| Round 2 |  Gleiker Mendoza (SA)
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | [18] | Oleksandr Antonenko (SA)
|
Obolon Kyiv | [18] | |
| Round 3 | Maksym Zaderaka (SA)
|
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | [19] | Vitaliy Ponomaryov (SA)
|
LNZ Cherkasy | [19] | |
| Round 4 | |||||||
| Round 5 | |||||||
| Round 6 | |||||||
| Round 7 | |||||||
| Round 8 | |||||||
| Round 9 | |||||||
| Round 10 | |||||||
| Round 11 | |||||||
| Round 12 | |||||||
| Round 13 | |||||||
| Round 14 | |||||||
| Round 15 | |||||||
| Round 16 | |||||||
| Round 17 | |||||||
| winter break | |||||||
| Round 18 | |||||||
| Round 19 | |||||||
| Round 20 | |||||||
| Round 21 | |||||||
| Round 22 | |||||||
| Round 23 | |||||||
| Round 24 | |||||||
| Round 25 | |||||||
| Round 26 | |||||||
| Round 27 | |||||||
| Round 28 | |||||||
| Round 29 | |||||||
| Round 30 | |||||||
Relegation play-offs
Teams that placed 13th and 14th in the 2025–26 Ukrainian Premier League play two-leg play-off with the third and fourth teams of the 2025–26 Ukrainian First League.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | x–x | TBD | ||
| TBD | x–x | TBD |
First Semi-final
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
Second Semi-final
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
See also
- 2025–26 Ukrainian Cup
- 2025–26 Ukrainian First League
- 2025–26 Ukrainian Second League
- 2025–26 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
Notes
References
- ^ Official Logo. Ukrainian Premier League website.
- ^ "Суперкубок України вчетверте поспіль не відбудеться: пояснення УПЛ" [The Ukrainian Super Cup will not take place for the fourth time in the row, an explanation from the UPL]. suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). 23 April 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Клуби УПЛ відмовилися проводити Суперкубок України: проєкт плану-календаря змагань на сезон 2025/26" [The UPL clubs refused to hold the Ukrainian Super Cup game – presentation of the 2025/26 season competition calendar draft]. sport-express.ua (in Ukrainian). 23 April 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Українська Прем'єр-Ліга вітає ФК «Епіцентр» із достроковим здобуттям права виступати в УПЛ!" [The Ukrainian Premier League congratulates FC Epitsentr for early achievement of the right to play in the UPL!]. upl.ua (in Ukrainian). 2 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ Places of holding competitions (Місця проведення змагань). 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League regulations.
- ^ Металіст 1925 планує проводити домашні матчі у новому сезоні у Житомирі. sportarena.com. 19 July 2025
- ^ "Шахтар звільнив Пушича". Football.ua. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ^ "ЛНЗ оголосив про відхід Григорчука". sportarena.com. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "ЛНЗ за згодою сторін завершив співпрацю з Романом Григорчуком" (in Ukrainian). fc-lnz.com. 26 May 2025. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "Руслан Ротань залишає ФК «Олександрія»" (in Ukrainian). fco.com.ua. 29 May 2025. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ "Офіційно: Руслан Ротань — новий головний тренер ФК "Полісся"!" (in Ukrainian). polissyafc.com. 29 May 2025. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Defining of teams' places in competitions (Визначення місць команд у змаганнях). 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League regulations.
- ^ "Зоря та ЛНЗ першими в новому сезоні УПЛ розійшлись без голів" (in Ukrainian). Football.ua. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "СК Полтава здобув першу в історії перемогу в УПЛ — Верес залишається в кризі" (in Ukrainian). Football.ua. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Top scorers. Ukrainian Premier League.
- ^ "Most Clean Sheets". www.footystats.org/. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Сторчоус, Білик, Ррапай і вся збірна 1-го туру Прем'єр-Ліги – але тут є й представники Динамо та Шахтаря". sportarena,com. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Суханов, Кауан Еліас, Антоненко, Бруніньйо та – вивчіть це ім'я – Глейкер Мендоса: уся збірна 2-го туру Прем'єр-Ліги". 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Задерака, Михайленко, Нонікашвілі, Будківський… Це сюрприз, куди ми внесли Герреро! Вся збірна 3-го туру Прем'єр-Ліги". 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.