About Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League (Ukrainian: "Українська Прем'єр-ліга" [ʊkrɐˈjinʲsʲkɐ preˈmjɛr ˈl⁽ʲ⁾iɦɐ]) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system.
League History
Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha (Ukrainian: Вища ліга [ˈwɪʃtʃɐ ˈl⁽ʲ⁾iɦɐ], lit. 'Higher League') it was formed in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the consequent discontinuation of the Soviet Top League. In the first season in 1992, the Ukrainian league 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 Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk, Chornomorets Odesa, Dnipro, Metalist Kharkiv, Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, as well as four more clubs that previously also competed at the top league. The first edition was played during the first semester of the year, as it was decided to synchronise the Ukrainian football calendar with most European leagues. That first tournament was won by Tavriya Simferopol, a club based in Crimea. That was the only edition of the league not won by either Dynamo or Shakhtar.
The Ukrainian Premier League is also a public organization of professional clubs. In 1996 along with the other professional football leagues of Ukraine, a council of the Vyshcha Liha (Top League) clubs became a member of the Professional Football League of Ukraine. In 2008 was withdrawn from Professional Football League of Ukraine and reformed into a separate self-governed entity of the Ukrainian Association of Football (previously Football Federation of Ukraine), officially changing its name to the current one.
Famous Clubs
As a leading club of the Soviet Top League, Dynamo Kyiv dominated the league in the 1990s, winning nine consecutive titles from 1993 to 2001, while since the mid-2000s the league has been contested between Dynamo and Shakhtar Donetsk. Three of Ukrainian clubs reached the finals of European club competitions: Dynamo (as Soviet club), 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.[5] The league was ranked the 12th highest in Europe by UEFA in 2021, however since the Russian invasion, the league has fallen to 23rd.
Since 2014, the operation of the league has been disrupted greatly on account of the Russo-Ukrainian War, worsening with the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The league has been affected by destruction of its sports infrastructure, many Ukrainian players choosing to join the military, and disruption to match attendances with games played behind closed doors, and many other facets of the league's operation.
