2021–22 Ukrainian First League
# 2021–22 Ukrainian First League

The 2021–22 Ukrainian First League was the 31st since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 16 teams. Earlier in 2021 it was discussed to expand the league to 20 teams with discontinuation of the UPL U-21 competitions, but that initiative was not realized.

The competition was terminated at the PFL Council meeting on 6 May 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

## Teams

This season, Ukrainian First League consisted of 16 teams.

### Promoted teams

The following teams have been promoted from the 2020–21 Ukrainian Second League:

* Podillia Khmelnytskyi – first place in Group A (returning after 22 seasons, however FC Krasyliv that was playing as Podillya Khmelnytskyi last competed in the 2006–07 season)
* Uzhhorod – second place in Group A (debut)
* Metalist Kharkiv – first place in Group B (debut, a phoenix club based on the Second League superfinal champions Metal Kharkiv)
* Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih – second place in Group B (returning after 5 seasons, last competed in the 2015–16 as Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih)

### Relegated teams

The following team has been relegated from the 2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League:

* Olimpik Donetsk – placed 13th (returning after 7 seasons, last competed in the 2013–14)

### Renamed teams

* FC Kramatorsk is a successor of FC Avanhard Kramatorsk which since May 30 was called Avanhard-SK Kramatorsk.
* FC Metalist Kharkiv is a successor of FC Metal Kharkiv.

### Location map

The following displays the location of teams.

## Stadiums

The following stadiums were used as home grounds for the teams in the competition. The minimum capacity for stadiums of the First League clubs is set at 1,500 spectators.

| Rank | Stadium | Location | Capacity | Club | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | OSC Metalist | Kharkiv | 40,003 | Metalist Kharkiv | |
| 2 | Yuvileiny Stadium | Sumy | 25,830 | Alians Lypova Dolyna | |
| 3 | Meteor Stadium | Dnipro | 24,381 | VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | |
| 4 | Ternopil City Stadium | Ternopil | 15,150 | Nyva Ternopil | |
| 5 | Avanhard Stadium | Lutsk | 12,080 | Volyn Lutsk | |
| 6 | Avanhard Stadium | Uzhhorod | 12,000 | FC Uzhhorod | |
| 7 | Sport Complex Podillya | Khmelnytskyi | 6,800 | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | |
| 8 | MCS Rukh | Ivano-Frankivsk | 6,500 | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | |
| 9 | Prapor Stadium | Kramatorsk | 6,000 | FC Kramatorsk | |
| 10 | Central Stadium | Zhytomyr | 5,928 | Polissia Zhytomyr | |
| 11 | Obolon Arena | Kyiv | 5,100 | Obolon Kyiv | |
| 12 | Yunist Stadium | Chernihiv | 3,000 | Olimpik Donetsk | Matchday 12 |
| 13 | Yunist Stadium | Volochysk | 2,700 | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | |
| 14 | Hirnyk Stadium | Kryvyi Rih | 2,500 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | |
| 15 | Yunist Stadium | Horishni Plavni | 2,500 | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |
| 16 | Bannikov Stadium | Kyiv | 1,678 | Olimpik Donetsk | |
| 17 | Kremin Stadium | Kremenchuk | 1,500 | Kremin Kremenchuk | |

## Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | President | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Ahrobiznes Volochysk | Oleh Sobutskyi | Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi | Nike | Ahrobiznes |
| Alians Lypova Dolyna | Serhiy Demchenko | Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi | Puma | Alians |
| FC Kramatorsk | Maksym Yefimov | Oleksiy Horodov | Lotto Sport | Donbasenergo |
| Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | Petro Kaplun | Ihor Zhabchenko | Adidas | Ferrexpo |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Serhiy Kovnir | Roman Loktionov (interim) | Joma | Alfateks |
| Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Kostiantyn Karamanits | Oleksandr Babych | Joma | Rudomain |
| Metalist Kharkiv | Oleksandr Yaroslavskyi | Oleksandr Kucher | Joma | DCH |
| Olimpik Donetsk | unannounced | Serhiy Litovchenko | Kelme | YTO |
| Nyva Ternopil | Oleksandr Stadnyk | Andriy Kuptsov | Jako | — |
| Obolon Kyiv | Oleksandr Slobodian | Valeriy Ivashchenko | Jako | Favorite Sport |
| Podillia Khmelnytskyi | Yevhen Beiderman | Vitaliy Kostyshyn | Kelme | — |
| Polissia Zhytomyr | Volodymyr Zahurskyi | Yuriy Kalitvintsev | Erreà | BGV Group |
| Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | Vasyl Olshanetskyi | Oleh Rypan | Joma | Adamson |
| FC Uzhhorod | Ivan Duran | Bohdan Blavatskyi (interim) | Macron | — |
| Volyn Lutsk | Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi | Albert Shakhov | Joma | — |
| VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | Volodymyr Korsun | Oleksandr Poklonskyi | Nike | VPK-Ahro |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment | Table |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Polissya Zhytomyr | Serhiy Shyshchenko | Sacked | 13 June 2021 | Pre-season | Yuriy Kalitvintsev | 13 June 2021 | Pre-season |
| VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | Serhiy Solovyov | Resigned | 14 June 2021 | Pre-season | Oleksandr Hrytsay | 29 June 2021 | Pre-season |
| FC Uzhhorod | Volodymyr Vasyutyk | Mutual consent | 21 June 2021 | Pre-season | Mykhaylo Ivanytsia | 7 July 2021 | Pre-season |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Serhiy Svystun (interim) | End of interim | 22 June 2021 | Pre-season | Ihor Stolovytskyi | 22 June 2021 | Pre-season |
| Volyn Lutsk | Vasyl Sachko | Resigned | 26 June 2021 | Pre-season | Albert Shakhov | 27 June 2021 | Pre-season |
| Olimpik Donetsk | Roman Sanzhar | Change of ownership | 13 July 2021 | Pre-season | Serhiy Litovchenko | 19 July 2021 | Pre-season |
| Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | Oleh Rypan (interim) | End of interim period | 20 July 2021 | Pre-season | Oleh Rypan | 20 July 2021 | Pre-season |
| FC Uzhhorod | Mykhaylo Ivanytsia | Resigned | 23 August 2021 | 16th | Bohdan Blavatskyi (interim) | 23 August 2021 | 16th |
| Nyva Ternopil | Ihor Klymovskyi | Mutual consent | 29 September 2021 | 6th | Andriy Kuptsov | 8 October 2021 | 6th |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Ihor Stolovytskyi | Mutual consent | 26 October 2021 | 13th | Roman Loktionov (interim) | 28 October 2021 | 13th |
| VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | Oleksandr Hrytsay | Undisclosed | 25 December 2021 | 14th | Oleksandr Poklonskyi | 25 December 2021 | 14th |
| Alians Lypova Dolyna | Yuriy Yaroshenko | Changed position | 26 January 2022 | 3rd | Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi | 26 January 2022 | 3rd |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Metalist Kharkiv (P) | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 9 | +43 | 53 | Promotion to Ukrainian Premier League |
| 2 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (P) | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 42 | Promotion to Ukrainian Premier League |
| 3 | Alians Lypova Dolyna | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 33 | 24 | +9 | 33 | Withdrew after season |
| 4 | Obolon Kyiv | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 33 | |
| 5 | Nyva Ternopil | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 29 | |
| 6 | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 29 | |
| 7 | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 28 | |
| 8 | Podillya Khmelnytskyi | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 26 | Withdrew after season |
| 9 | Polissia Zhytomyr | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 25 | |
| 10 | Volyn Lutsk | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 25 | Withdrew after season |
| 11 | Olimpik Donetsk | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 23 | Withdrew after season |
| 12 | Kramatorsk | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 22 | Withdrew after season |
| 13 | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −7 | 21 | Withdrew after season |
| 14 | VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 18 | Withdrew after season |
| 15 | Uzhhorod | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 40 | −24 | 16 | Withdrew after season |
| 16 | Kremin Kremenchuk | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 43 | −27 | 13 | |

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Due to Russo-Ukrainian War, Olimpik Donetsk, Uzhhorod, Podillia Khmelnytskyi, Alians Lypova Dolyna, VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka and Ahrobiznes Volochysk withdrew from competitions after season.
* 1 2 Head-to-head: Alians 3p; Obolon 0p
* 1 2 Head-to-head: Nyva 6p; Hirnyk-Sport 0p

### Results

| Home \ Away | AHR | ALD | HIS | KRA | KRE | KRY | MET | NYV | OBL | OLD | POD | POL | PRY | UZH | VOL | VPK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ahrobiznes Volochysk | | | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Alians Lypova Dolyna | 3–2 | | 4–0 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | | 3–2 | 2–1 | | | | 2–3 | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | | | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| FC Kramatorsk | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | | 0–3 | 2–0 | | | 2–1 | | | 3–2 | | |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | | 0–5 | | 1–2 | | 2–0 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | | | 2–0 |
| Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | | 0–5 | 1–0 | | 4–1 | 3–2 | | | 5–0 | 2–1 | |
| Metalist Kharkiv | | 2–0 | | | 4–0 | | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | | 2–0 |
| Nyva Ternopil | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | | 4–2 | 1–2 | | | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | | | 2–0 |
| Obolon Kyiv | 3–1 | | 0–3 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | | | 0–0 | | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
| Olimpik Donetsk | | | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | | 1–0 | | 2–0 | | 1–2 | |
| Podillia Khmelnytskyi | | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 4–1 | | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Polissia Zhytomyr | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 1–2 | | 2–0 | | | 3–1 |
| Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | | | | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| FC Uzhhorod | | | | | 2–0 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–6 | | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Volyn Lutsk | 0–1 | 1–0 | | | 3–2 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 |
| VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | | 0–2 | | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | | |

## Top goalscorers

As of 29 November 2021

| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals (Pen.) |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Matheus Peixoto | Metalist Kharkiv | 14 (3) |
| 2 | Oleksiy Khoblenko | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 11 |
| 3 | Serhiy Kyslenko | Nyva Ternopil | 8 |
| 3 | Roman Barchuk | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 8 (3) |
| 3 | Serhiy Zahynaylov | Alians Lypova Dolyna | 8 (3) |
| 6 | Mykola Ahapov | Alians Lypova Dolyna | 6 |
| 6 | Yevhen Banada | Metalist Kharkiv | 6 |
| 6 | Denys Halata | Kremin Kremenchuk | 6 |
| 6 | Bohdan Kobzar | Volyn Lutsk | 6 |
| 6 | Artem Shchedryi | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 6 |
| 6 | Brayan Riascos | Metalist Kharkiv | 6 (1) |
| 6 | Roman Debelko | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 6 (2) |
| 6 | Stanislav Kulish | VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | 6 (3) |
| 6 | Farès Bahlouli | Metalist Kharkiv | 6 (4) |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Reference |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Oleksiy $Khoblenko^4$ | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Uzhhorod | 5–0 (H) | 12 September 2021 | |

$^4$ Player scored four goals

## Awards

### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - |
| Month | Player | Club | Ref. |
| August 2021 | Oleksiy Khoblenko | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | |
| September 2021 | no data | no data | no data |
| October 2021 | no data | no data | no data |
| November 2021 | no data | no data | no data |

### Round awards

| Round | Player | Player | Player | Coach | Coach | Coach |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Round | Player | Club | Reference | Coach | Club | Reference |
| Round 1 | Artem Shchedryi | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | | Ihor Klymovskyi | Nyva Ternopil | |
| Round 2 | Ruslan Zubkov | Kramatorsk | | Hennadiy Prykhodko | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | |
| Round 3 | Vitaliy Hrusha | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | | Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | |
| Round 4 | Brayan Riascos | Metalist Kharkiv | | Yuriy Yaroshenko | Alians Lypova Dolyna | |
| Round 5 | Stanislav Kulish | VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka | | Serhiy Litovchenko | Olimpik Donetsk | |
| Round 6 | Matheus Peixoto | Metalist Kharkiv | | Yuriy Kalitvintsev | Polissia Zhytomyr | |
| Round 7 | Roman Barchuk | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | | Yuriy Yaroshenko | Alians Lypova Dolyna | |
| Round 8 | Oleksiy Khoblenko | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | | Yuriy Yaroshenko | Alians Lypova Dolyna | |
| Round 9 | Maksym Pryadun | Olimpik Donetsk | | Vitaliy Kostyshyn | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | |
| Round 10 | Farès Bahlouli | Metalist Kharkiv | | Oleksandr Kucher | Metalist Kharkiv | |
| Round 11 | Mykola Ahapov | Alians Lypova Dolyna | | Bohdan Blavatskyi | Uzhhorod | |
| Round 12 | Gbamblé Bi Néné Junior | Olimpik Donetsk | | Ihor Zhabchenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |
| Round 13 | Ruslan Palamar | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | | Ihor Zhabchenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |
| Round 14 | Serhiy Kyslenko | Nyva Ternopil | | Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | |
| Round 15 | Roman Barchuk | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | | Oleh Rypan | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | |
| Round 16 | Yevhen Pidlepenets | Metalist Kharkiv | | Oleksandr Kucher | Metalist Kharkiv | |
| Round 17 | Serhiy Zahynaylov | Alyans Lypova Dolyna | | Ihor Zhabchenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |
| Round 18 | Mykola Hayduchyk | Uzhhorod | | Albert Shakhov | Volyn Lutsk | |
| Round 19 | Serhiy Zahynaylov | Alyans Lypova Dolyna | | Valeriy Ivashchenko | Obolon Kyiv | |
| Round 20 | Stanislav Sharay | Alyans Lypova Dolyna | | Vitaliy Kostyshyn | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | |
| winter break |||||||
| Round 21 | | | | | | |
| Round 22 | | | | | | |
| Round 23 | | | | | | |
| Round 24 | | | | | | |
| Round 25 | | | | | | |
| Round 26 | | | | | | |
| Round 27 | | | | | | |
| Round 28 | | | | | | |
| Round 29 | | | | | | |
| Round 30 | | | | | | |

## Number of teams by region

| Number | Region | Team(s) |
| - | - | - |
| 2 | Dnipropetrovsk Oblast | VPK-Ahro and Kryvbas |
| 2 | Donetsk Oblast | Kramatorsk and Olimpik |
| 2 | Khmelnytskyi Oblast | Ahrobiznes and Podillia |
| 2 | Poltava Oblast | Hirnyk-Sport and Kremin |
| 1 | Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast | Prykarpattia |
| 1 | Kharkiv Oblast | Metalist |
| 1 | Kyiv | Obolon |
| 1 | Sumy Oblast | Alians |
| 1 | Ternopil Oblast | Nyva |
| 1 | Volyn Oblast | Volyn |
| 1 | Zakarpattia Oblast | Uzhhorod |
| 1 | Zhytomyr Oblast | Polissia |
