2025–26 Ukrainian First League

Ukrainian First League
Season2025–26
Dates2 August 2025 – TBD
Matches played20
Goals scored43 (2.15 per match)
Biggest home winVorskla 3–0 UCSA
(8 August 2025)
Biggest away winViktoriya 0–2 Prykarpattia
(1 August 2025)
Highest scoringProbiy 3–4 Bukovyna
(15 August 2025)
Highest attendance2,553
Bukovyna 0–0 Ahrobiznes
(9 August 2025)
Lowest attendance0 (4 matches)
Total attendance13,367
Average attendance835
2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 16 August 2025
.

The 2025–26 Ukrainian First League is the 35th football season of the Ukrainian second-tier competition, PFL Persha Liha (PFL First League or Ukrainian First League), since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 16 teams. The competition is being conducted during the ongoing war with the Russia since late February 2022.

Format

It was planned to have 16 teams for this season.[1] The format of the competition changed compared with the previous season. Instead of two groups in the fall and the spring, it was decided that clubs would compete in a straightforward double round robin format.[2]

Teams

This season, the Ukrainian First League consisted of 16 teams.

Newcoming teams

One team received direct promotion, and another won a playoff matchup at the end of the 2024–25 Ukrainian Second League.

Relegated teams

Four teams were relegated at the end of the 2024–25 Ukrainian Premier League.

Outgoing teams

Four teams were promoted to the 2025–26 Ukrainian Premier League.

  • Metalist 1925 Kharkiv – promoted after a season in the second tier.
  • Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi – promoted for the first time after three seasons in the second tier.
  • Poltava – promoted for the first time after three seasons in the second tier.
  • Kudrivka – promoted for the first time after a season in the second tier.

Relegated teams

Three teams were relegated to the 2025–26 Ukrainian Second League, but one withdrew right after it, and another Metalurh Zaporizhia was reinstated after the withdrawal of Mynai.

Other administrative issues

Withdrawn teams

  • Mynai withdrew less than two weeks before the start of the season in the First League. It was replaced by relegated Metalurh Zaporizhia, which was preparing to start in the Second League. The club withdrew after a season (2 total) in the second tier.
  • One more club withdrew right after the previous season, after it was relegated, which is Kremin Kremenchuk.

Renamed teams

Location map

The following displays the location of teams.

Home venues of teams in the 2025–26 Ukrainian First League.

Stadiums

See also: List of football stadiums in Ukraine

The following stadiums were used as home grounds for the teams in the competition.

Rank Stadium Location Capacity Club Notes
1 Chornomorets Odesa 34,164 Chornomorets Odesa
2 Vorskla imeni Butovskoho Poltava 23,842 Vorskla Poltava
3 Miskyi imeni Shukhevycha Ternopil 15,150 Nyva Ternopil
4 Bukovyna Chernivtsi 12,000 Bukovyna Chernivtsi
5 Slavutych-Arena Zaporizhzhia 11,883 Metalurh Zaporizhzhia
6 Avanhard Uzhhorod 10,383 Metalist Kharkiv used as home ground during the season
7 Podillia Khmelnytskyi 6,800 Podillia Khmelnytskyi
8 Rukh Ivano-Frankivsk 6,500 Prykarpattia-Blaho Ivano-Frankivsk
9 Kolos Boryspil, Kyiv Oblast 5,654 Viktoriya Sumy used as home ground during the season
10 Arena Livyi Bereh Zolocha hromada, Kyiv Oblast 4,700 Livyi Bereh Kyiv
11 Skif Lviv 3,742 Feniks-Mariupol used as home ground during the season
12 Yunist Volochysk, Khmelnytskyi Oblast 2,700 Ahrobiznes Volochysk
13 Probiy Arena Horodenka, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 2,286 Probiy Horodenka
14 Inhulets[4] Petrove, Kirovohrad Oblast 1,720 Inhulets Petrove
15 Yuvileinyi Bucha, Kyiv Oblast 1,028 UCSA Tarasivka used as home ground during the season
16 Chernihiv Arena Chernihiv 500 Chernihiv

Notes:

Personnel and sponsorship

Team President Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Ahrobiznes Volochysk Oleh Sobutskyi Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi Roman Bilyi Nike Ahrobiznes
Bukovyna Chernivtsi Andriy Safronyak Serhiy Shyshchenko Vitaliy Koltsov Nike Dmart
Chernihiv Yuriy Synytsya Valeriy Chornyi Maksym Tatarenko Jako Jako
Chornomorets Odesa Leonid Klimov Oleksandr Kucher Yaroslav Rakytskyi Kelme Vbet
Feniks-Mariupol Yuriy Pavlyshyn Maksym Feshchuk Andriy Bohdanov Joma Kyrrex
Inhulets Petrove Oleksandr Povoroznyuk Vasyl Kobin vacant Joma[a] П'ятихатська
Livyi Bereh Kyiv Mykola Lavrenko Andriy Havryushov Ruslan Dedukh Nike ″Metalo Galva″
Metalist Kharkiv Yevhen Krasnikov Andriy Anishchenko Vladyslav Rybak Joma —[5]
Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Maksym Lupashko Ruslan Halihuzov (caretaker) TBA Kelme Weltum
Nyva Ternopil Oleksandr Stadnyk Yuriy Virt Arsen Slotyuk Kelme —
Podillya Khmelnytskyi Yevhen Beiderman Serhiy Kovalets Oleksandr Tsybulnyk Kelme Kolvi
Probiy Horodenka Vitaliy Shevaha Volodymyr Kovalyuk —
Prykarpattia-Blaho Ivano-Frankivsk Vasyl Olshanetskyi Oleh Rypan Vasyl Tsyutsyura Joma —
UCSA Tarasivka Serhiy Lesnyk Brazil Anderson Ribeiro Anton Yevdokymov Kelme —
Viktoriya Sumy Serhiy Bondarenko Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi Dmytro Ulyanov Puma —
Vorskla Poltava Kostyantyn Zhevago Oleksandr Babych Dmytro Prikhna Nike Ferrexpo

Notes:

  1. ^ Given the fact that the company continues to cooperate with Russian clubs, the logo of Joma on the game uniform is disguised by the logo of another sponsor of the club

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing head coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming head coach Date of appointment
Vorskla Poltava Yuriy Maksymov Mutual consent 9 June 2025[6] Pre-season Serbia Željko Ljubenović 24 June 2025[7]
Livyi Bereh Kyiv Vitaliy Pervak Mutual consent 10 June 2025[8] Andriy Havryushov 10 June 2025[9][10]
Bukovyna Chernivtsi Hryhoriy Churilov (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 20 June 2025 Serhiy Shyshchenko 20 June 2025[11]
Mynai Yevhen Kalynychenko Mutual consent 20 June 2025 None[12] None
UCSA Tarasivka Ivan Ostapov (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 5 July 2025 Brazil Anderson Ribeiro 5 July 2025[13]
Vorskla Poltava Serbia Željko Ljubenović Mutual consent 10 July 2025[14] Oleksandr Babych 15 July 2025
Metalurh Zaporizhia Coaching crew[a] Change of role 1 August 2025 Ruslan Halihuzov (caretaker) 1 August 2025

Notes:

  1. ^ Yuriy Slabyshev, Serhiy Rudyka, and Ruslan Halihuzov (caretakers)

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Vorskla Poltava 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Promotion to Ukrainian Premier League
2 Chornomorets Odesa 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
3 Ahrobiznes Volochysk 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Qualification to promotion play-offs
4 Livyi Bereh Kyiv 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
5 Prykarpattia-Blaho 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
6 Bukovyna Chernivtsi 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
7 Inhulets Petrove 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
8 Nyva Ternopil 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
9 UCSA Tarasivka 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 4
10 Viktoriya Sumy 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3[a]
11 Probiy Horodenka 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3[a]
12 Chernihiv 3 1 0 2 4 3 +1 3[a]
13 Metalurh Zaporizhia 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1[b] Qualification to relegation play-off
14 Podillya Khmelnytskyi 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1[b]
15 Feniks-Mariupol 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1[b] Relegation to Ukrainian Second League
16 Metalist Kharkiv 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2025. Source: PFL.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 in all games; 6) Goals scored in all games (Note: calculation by criteria indicated in rules 2, 3, 4 is conducted with consideration of all teams that have an equal number of tournament points at the moment of calculation and not only among those which after preliminary criteria have appeared more successful).[15]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Ranked on head-to-head points (goal scored): Viktoriya 3 (+2), Probiy 3 (1), Chernihiv 0 (1).
  2. ^ a b c Ranked on head-to-head points: Metalurh 1, Podillya 1, Feniks 0.

Match results

Home \ Away AHR BUK CHE CHO FMA INH LBK MET MTZ NVT POD PRO PRY UCS VKT VOR
Ahrobiznes Volochysk 2–0 1–0
Bukovyna Chernivtsi 0–0
Chernihiv 1–2
Chornomorets Odesa 2–1 0–0
Feniks-Mariupol 0–2
Inhulets Petrove 0–0 2–2
Livyi Bereh Kyiv 3–1
Metalist Kharkiv 1–2
Metalurh Zaporizhia ppd[a] 1–1
Nyva Ternopil 1–0
Podillya Khmelnytskyi 0–2
Probiy Horodenka 3–4 1–0
Prykarpattia-Blaho 0–3
UCSA Tarasivka 0–0 1–0
Viktoriya Sumy 1–2 0–2
Vorskla Poltava 2–1 3–0
Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2025. Source: Calendar (in Ukrainian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ The round 1 match Metalurh v Metalist was scheduled to take place on August 3, 2025, but at the request of Metalist has been postponed by the Professional Football League as the club delegated four of its players to the Ukraine national under-19 team.[16]

Match results by week

Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2025. Source: pfl.ua
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Goalscorers

As of 17 August 2025

Hat-tricks

As of 17 August 2025

Player For Against Result Date
Ukraine Vyacheslav Koydan Chernihiv Prykarpattia-Blaho 0–3 (A) 17 August 2025

Clean sheets

As of 17 August 2025

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Roman Pidkivka Ahrobiznes Volochysk 3
2 Nigeria Chijioke Aniagboso Chornomorets Odesa 2
Andriy Bobynets Prykarpattia-Blaho
Danylo Kanevtsev Bukovyna Chernivtsi
Kyrylo Lavuta Vorskla Poltava
6 7 player(s) 1

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month Ref.
Player Club
August 2025
September 2025
October 2025
November 2025
April 2026
May 2026

Round awards

Round Player Coach
Player Club Reference Coach Club Reference
Round 1 Ukraine Maksym Voytikhovskyi Ahrobiznes Volochysk [17] Ukraine Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi Ahrobiznes Volochysk [17]
Round 2 Ukraine Yaroslav Rakitskyi Chornomorets Odesa [18] Ukraine Oleh Rypan Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk [18]
Round 3 Ukraine Vyacheslav Koydan FC Chernihiv [19] Ukraine Valeriy Chornyi FC Chernihiv [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
Round 18
winter break
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

The relegation–promotion play-off games are expected to be scheduled to take place between the 13th and 14th placed teams with the third and fourth placed teams of the Second League.

Second League teams Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score First League teams 1st leg 2nd leg
TBA x – x TBA
TBA x – x TBA

First Semi-final

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[ Report]
v
[ Report]

Second Semi-final

v
[ Report]
v
[ Report]

Number of teams by region

Number Region Team(s)
2 Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Probiy Horodenka and Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk
Khmelnytskyi Oblast Ahrobiznes Volochysk and Podillya Khmelnytskyi
1 Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv
Chernivtsi Oblast Bukovyna Chernivtsi
Kharkiv Oblast Metalist Kharkiv
Kirovohrad Oblast Inhulets Petrove
Kyiv Livyi Bereh Kyiv
Kyiv Oblast UCSA Tarasivka
Lviv Oblast Feniks-Mariupol Lviv
Odesa Oblast Chornomorets Odesa
Poltava Oblast Vorskla Poltava
Sumy Oblast Viktoriya Sumy
Ternopil Oblast Nyva Ternopil
Zaporizhia Oblast Metalurh Zaporizhia

See also

References

  1. ^ Перша ліга у наступному сезоні повернеться до традиційного формату. champion.com.ua. 25 March 2025
  2. ^ ХХХІІ Конференція ПФЛ: прийняли нових членів, формат змагань. pfl.ua. 17 June 2025
  3. ^ Компанія blago стала генеральним спонсором МФК “Прикарпаття”. sport.if.ua. 11 July 2025
  4. ^ Що відбувається в Інгульці? Джерело розкрило всю правду про Кобіна, стадіон, гравців, завдання і гроші. ukrfootball.ua. 28 May 2025
  5. ^ Металіст втратив свого багаторічного титульного спонсора DCH. www.ua-football.com. 5 August 2024
  6. ^ "Максимов не працюватиме у Ворсклі наступного сезону" (in Ukrainian). vorskla.com.ua. 9 June 2025. Archived from the original on 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Любенович офіційно став новим головним тренером Ворскли" (in Ukrainian). sportarena.com. 24 June 2025. Archived from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Лівий Берег визначився з новим тренером та заявить команду до Другої ліги" (in Ukrainian). www.ua-football.com. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Офіційно: Лівий Берег відправив у відставку Первака та призначив нового головного тренера" (in Ukrainian). www.ua-football.com. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  10. ^ "АНДРІЙ ГАВРЮШОВ – ГОЛОВНИЙ ТРЕНЕР ЛІВОГО БЕРЕГА" (in Ukrainian). fclb.com.ua. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Шищенко официально назначен главным тренером Буковины" (in Ukrainian). sportarena.com. 20 June 2025. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Офіційна заява ФК «Минай»" (in Ukrainian). ФК Минай. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Андерсон Рібейро офіційно став новим головним тренером ЮКСА" (in Ukrainian). sportarena.com. 5 July 2025. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Рішення Любеновича" (in Ukrainian). ФК Ворскла. 10 July 2025.
  15. ^ "РЕГЛАМЕНТ Всеукраїнських змагань з футболу серед команд клубів Професіональної футбольної ліги сезону 2020/21" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). 28 August 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-07. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  16. ^ Матч Металург Запоріжжя – Металіст перенесено. Названа причина. sport.ua. 2 August 2025
  17. ^ a b "Войтіховський, Хома, Семотюк і… Ракіцький: уся збірна 1-го туру Першої ліги". 4 August 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Ракіцький, Підківка, Семотюк, Угринюк і, звісно, Хома: уся збірна 2-го туру Першої ліги". 12 August 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Койдан, Кожушко, Чорний, бразилець «лелек» і автор голу через себе: вся збірна 3-го туру Першої ліги". 18 August 2025.
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