The 2017–18 Ukrainian First League was the 27th since its establishment. The competition commenced on 14 July 2017 when Zhemchuzhyna Odesa hosted MFC Mykolaiv. After the completion of Round 22 on 18 November 2017, the competition entered a winter break and resumed the spring session on 18 March 2018 and complete the competition on 19 May 2018.
Teams On 21 June 2017, it was announced that 16 or 18 teams would play in the competition. This decision was dependent on the possible withdrawal of FC Stal Kamianske from the Premier League. Due to sanctions, FC Dnipro was relegated directly to the Second League which raised a discussion of a promotion possibly of another club to the First League. In addition in the case of the withdrawal of Stal, Desna had an opportunity to be accepted to the Ukrainian Premier League with another ongoing inter-season case (see Desna vs Veres promotion) leaving the First League with 16 participants. On 26 June 2017, FC Stal Kamianske chose to stay in the Premier League, while at same time FC Balkany Zorya was confirmed as the 18th participant of the First League season.
Promoted teams The following teams have been promoted from the 2016–17 Ukrainian Second League: Zhemchuzhyna Odesa – winners (debut) Rukh Vynnyky – runners-up (debut) Kremin Kremenchuk – third place (returning for the first time since 1998–99 season) Balkany Zorya – fourth place (debut)
Relegated teams
The following team has been relegated from the 2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League: Volyn Lutsk – 12th place (returning for the first time since 2009–10 season)
Location map The following displays the location of teams.
Stadiums
The following stadiums are considered home grounds for the teams in the competition.
Rank Stadium Capacity Club Notes 1Ukraina Stadium, Lviv 28,051 Rukh Vynnyky Used in Round 24 2 Yuvileiny Stadium, Sumy 25,800 PFC Sumy 3 Central City Stadium, Mykolaiv 16,700 MFC Mykolaiv 4 Avanhard Stadium, Lutsk 12,080 Volyn Lutsk PFC SumyUsed in Round 25 5 Chernihiv Stadium, Chernihiv 12,060 Desna Chernihiv 6 Central Stadion, Cherkasy 10,321 Cherkaskyi Dnipro 7 Sport Complex Illichivets, Mariupol 5,500 Avanhard KramatorskUsed in Round 25 8 Naftovyk Stadium, Okhtyrka 5,256 Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka 9 Obolon Arena, Kyiv 5,100 Obolon-Brovar Kyiv Arsenal KyivUsed in Round 23 Desna ChernihivUsed in Round 1 and 3 10Spartak Stadium, Odesa 5,000 Zhemchuzhyna Odesa 11 Prapor Stadium, Kramatorsk 4,000 Avanhard Kramatorsk 12Skif Stadium, Lviv 3,742 Rukh VynnykyUsed in Round 12 13Lokomotyv Stadium, Poltava 2,500 FC Poltava 14Yunist Stadium, Horishni Plavni 2,500 Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni 15 Helios Arena, Kharkiv 2,0572012–2013 First League, Helios-Arena (Первая лига 2012–2013 Гелиос-Арена). FC Odesa. Helios Kharkiv 16Boris Tropanets Stadium, Zorya, Sarata Raion 1,854 Balkany Zorya 17Kolos Stadium, Kovalivka, Vasylkiv Raion 1,850 Kolos Kovalivka 18Inhulets Stadium, Petrove 1,720 Inhulets Petrove 19Bannikov Stadium, Kyiv 1,678 Arsenal KyivUsed in round of 25 20Oleh Babayev Kremin Arena, Kremenchuk 1,600 Kremin Kremenchuk Hirnyk-Sport Horishni PlavniUsed in Round 24 21Park Peremohy Stadium, Mykolaiv ~1,500 MFC MykolaivUsed in Round 24 and 25 22Arsenal-Arena Shchaslyve 1,000 Arsenal Kyiv 23Dinaz Stadium, Lyutizh, Vyshhorod Raion 1,000 Desna ChernihivUsed in Round 24 Kolos KovalivkaUsed in Round 24 24Zorya Stadium, Bilozirya 972 Cherkaskyi Dnipro Round 21 match moved 25Bohdan Markevych Stadium, Vynnyky 900 Rukh Vynnyky 26Education Training Base "FC Poltava", Kopyly 500 Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka Used in Round 23 and 25 FC PoltavaUsed in Round 24 and 26 Helios KharkivUsed in Round 24 PFC SumyUsed in Round 23There were determined dates for following rounds, changed the place where Ahrobiznes - Skala game will be conducted (Визначено дати чергових турів, змінено місце проведення матчу «Агробізнес» - «Скала»). Professional Football League. 7 April 2018 27 O.H.Povoroznyuk Stadium, Volodymyrivka, Petrove Raion 500 Inhulets PetroveUsed in Round 24 and 26
Managers ClubHead coachПервая лига. Превью сезона (First League. Season preview). UA-Football. 24 July 2016Replaced coachArsenal Kyiv Serhiy Litovchenko Avanhard Kramatorsk Oleksandr Kosevych Balkany Zorya Andriy Parkhomenko Cherkaskyi Dnipro Ihor Stolovytskyi Oleksandr Kyrylyuk Desna Chernihiv Oleksandr Ryabokon Helios Kharkiv Anatoliy Seryohin (temporary) Vitaliy Komarnytsky (temporary) Serhiy Syzykhin Ihor RakhayevHirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni Serhiy Puchkov Inhulets Petrove Serhiy Lavrynenko Kolos Kovalivka Ruslan Kostyshyn Kremin Kremenchuk Serhiy Yashchenko MFC Mykolaiv Ruslan Zabranskyi Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka Volodymyr Knysh Obolon-Brovar Kyiv Volodymyr Pyatenko Oleh Mazurenko Valeriy Ivashchenko FC Poltava Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi Rukh Vynnyky Andriy Kikot Ruslan Mostovyi Volodymyr MazyarPFC Sumy Serhiy Zolotnytskyi Illya Blyznyuk Bohdan YesypVolyn Lutsk Viktor Bohatyr Yaroslav Komzyuk Albert Shakhov Zhemchuzhyna Odesa Dmytro Horbatenko Denys Kolchin Leonid Haidarzhy
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointment FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro Vadym Yevtushenko Terminated 8 June 2017Pre-season Oleksandr Kyrylyuk 23 June 2017 PFC Sumy Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi Transfer to FC Poltava 22 June 2017 Illya Blyznyuk 26 June 2017 FC Poltava Volodymyr Prokopynenko Resigned 4 July 2017 Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi 4 July 2017Bezsmertnyi is the head of coach of FC Poltava (Бессмертный - главный тренер ФК Полтава). UA-Football. 4 July 2017 FC Volyn Lutsk Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi Resigned 13 July 2017 Yaroslav Komzyuk 13 July 2017Kvatsianyi left. The new head coach of Volyn became Komzyuk (Кварцяный ушел. Новым главным тренером Волыни стал Комзюк). Sport Arena. 13 July 2017 FC Rukh Vynnyky Ruslan Mostovyi Fired 11 August 2017Rukh confirmed appointment of Mazyar (Рух подтвердил назначение Мазяра). Sport Arena. 11 August 2017 16th Volodymyr Mazyar 11 August 2017Mazyar became a head coach of Rukh instead of Mostovyi (Мазяр возглавил Рух вместо Мостового). Sport Arena. 11 August 2017 FC Zhemchuzhyna Odesa Denys Kolchin Resigned 21 August 2017 12th Leonid Haidarzhy 24 August 2017 FC Volyn Lutsk Yaroslav Komzyuk Filed for resignation 21 August 2017 16th Albert Shakhov 21 August 2017 PFC Sumy Illya Blyznyuk Resigned 31 August 2017 18th Bohdan Yesyp 31 August 2017 Obolon-Brovar Kyiv Oleh Mazurenko Resigns 16 September 2017 10th Valeriy Ivashchenko 19 September 2017 Rukh Vynnyky Volodymyr Mazyar Mutual consent 12 November 2017 11th Andriy Kikot 13 November 2017 FC Volyn Lutsk Albert Shakhov End of interim 30 November 17th Viktor Bohatyr 30 November 2017 FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro Oleksandr Kyrylyuk Terminated 1 December 2017 18th Ihor Stolovytskyi 1 December 2017 Helios Kharkiv Serhiy Syzykhin Fired 4 December 2017 6th Ihor Rakhayev 27 December 2017 PFC Sumy Bohdan Yesyp Resigned 10 January 2018 16th Serhiy Zolotnytskyi 28 February 2018 Obolon-Brovar Kyiv Valeriy Ivashchenko End of interim 12 January 2018 10th Volodymyr Pyatenko 12 January 2018 FC Zhemchuzhyna Odesa Leonid Haidarzhy Continue as sportive director 22 January 2018 13th Dmytro Horbatenko 22 January 2018 Helios Kharkiv Ihor Rakhayev Fired 13 April 2018 6th Anatoliy Seryohin (temporary) Vitaliy Komarnytskyi (temporary) 18 April 2018
League table
Results
Position by round
Promotion play-offs Apart from a break in 2014, the post-season play-offs in the First League have been actively conducted since 2011. However, the promotion play-offs were reintroduced for the first time since the 2001–02 season. Teams that placed 10th and 11th in the 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League play two-leg play-offs with the second and third teams of the 2017–18 Ukrainian First League. On 11 May 2018, a draw for play-offs took place in the House of Football, Kyiv.There took place a draw for play-off games of the UPL championship (Відбулося жеребкування матчів плей-офф Чемпіонату УПЛ). Ukrainian Premier League. 11 May 2018 The games were played on 23 May and 27 May 2018.Levchenko, S. "Referee appointments to the play-off matches for the right to play in Premier-Liha (Судейские назначения на матчи плей-офф за право играть в Премьер-лиге)". Footboom. 21 May 2018
Top goalscorers
RankScorerTeamGoals(Pen.)1 Oleksandr AkymenkoInhulets Petrove25 (11)2 Maksym DehtyarevFC Poltava15 (1)3 Oleksandr BatalskyiArsenal Kyiv14 Denys FavorovDesna Chernihiv 14 (3)5 Oleksandr FilippovDesna Chernihiv11 (2)6 Oleksandr KovpakFC Poltava10 Vitaliy SobkoAvanhard Kramatorsk10 (5)8 Denys BezborodkoDesna Chernihiv9 Artem KozlovHelios Kharkiv9 Ihor SikorskyiMFC Mykolaiv9 (1) Serhiy KravchenkoHelios Kharkiv9 (3)
Notes:
Awards Round awards RoundPlayerCoachPlayerClubReferenceCoachClubReferenceRound 1 Levan KoshadzeCherkaskyi Dnipro Ruslan MostovyiRukh VynnykyRound 2 Oleksiy MoyseyenkoHirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni Serhiy PuchkovHirnyk-Sport Horishni PlavniRound 3 Denys FavorovDesna Chernihiv Serhiy LitovchenkoArsenal-KyivRound 4 Oleksandr FilippovDesna Chernihiv Serhiy Litovchenko (2)Arsenal-KyivRound 5 Yevhen ZadoyaKolos Kovalivka Oleh MazurenkoObolon-Brovar KyivRound 6 Yehor KartushovDesna Chernihiv Ruslan ZabranskyiMFC MykolaivRound 7 Yevhen TroyanovskyiFC Poltava Andriy ParkhomenkoBalkany ZoryaRound 8 Yevhen ChepurnenkoDesna Chernihiv Oleksandr KyrylyukCherkaskyi DniproRound 9 Artem KozlovHelios Kharkiv Serhiy SyzykhinHelios KharkivRound 10 Yehor DemchenkoAvanhard Kramatorsk Oleksandr KosevychAvanhard KramatorskRound 11 Oleksandr AkymenkoInhulets Petrove Serhiy LavrynenkoInhulets PetroveRound 12 Aderinsola Habib EseolaArsenal-Kyiv Serhiy Syzykhin (2)Helios KharkivRound 13 Oleksandr KovpakFC Poltava Anatoliy BezsmertnyiFC PoltavaRound 14 Hennadiy HanyevInhulets Petrove Serhiy Puchkov (2)Hirnyk-Sport Horishni PlavniRound 15 Denys FavorovDesna Chernihiv Oleksandr RyabokonDesna ChernihivRound 16 Kostiantyn KovalenkoObolon-Brovar Kyiv Valeriy IvashchenkoObolon-Brovar KyivRound 17 Vasyl TsyutsyuraNaftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka Volodymyr KnyshNaftovyk-Ukrnafta OkhtyrkaRound 18 Oleksiy MaydanevychArsenal-Kyiv Serhiy Litovchenko (3)Arsenal-KyivRound 19 Mykola BuyRukh Vynnyky Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi (2)FC PoltavaRound 20 Yuriy BushmanPFC Sumy Serhiy Lavrynenko (2)Inhulets PetroveRound 21 Anatoliy DidenkoZhemchuzhyna Odesa Serhiy Litovchenko (4)Arsenal-KyivRound 22 Viktor KhomchenkoRukh Vynnyky Oleksandr Kyrylyuk (2)Cherkaskyi Dniprowinter breakRound 23 Diego Ezequiel AguirreArsenal-Kyiv Serhiy Litovchenko (5)Arsenal-KyivRound 24 Mykhailo ShestakovZhemchuzhyna Odesa Serhiy ZolotnytskyiPFC SumyRound 25unpublished Volodymyr PyatenkoObolon-Brovar KyivRound 26 Oleksandr AkymenkoInhulets Petrove Viktor BohatyrVolyn LutskRound 27unpublished Serhiy Lavrynenko (3)Inhulets PetroveRound 28 Maksym DehtyarevFC Poltava Oleksandr Kosevych (2)Avanhard KramatorskRound 29 Serhiy HerasymetsMFC Mykolaiv Ruslan Zabranskyi (2)MFC MykolaivRound 30 Andriy YakovlyevVolyn Lutsk Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi (3)FC PoltavaRound 31 Oleksandr KovpakFC Poltava Ihor StolovytskyiCherkaskyi DniproRound 32 Denys BezborodkoDesna Chernihiv Serhiy Puchkov (3)Hirnyk-Sport Horishni PlavniRound 33 Oleksandr FilippovDesna Chernihiv Oleksandr Ryabokon (2)Desna ChernihivRound 34 Denys BezborodkoDesna Chernihiv Volodymyr Knysh (2)Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka
The 2017 annual coaching laureates The best coaches were identified by the All-Ukrainian Football Coaches Association.(Рябоконь і Федорчук - найкращі тренери 2017-го). Professional Football League. 28 December 2017 1st place2nd place3rd placeCoachTeamCoachTeamCoachTeamOleksandr RyabokonDesna ChernihivSerhiy LytovchenkoArsenal-KyivSerhiy SyzykhinHelios Kharkiv
Season awards The laureates of the 2017–18 season were: Best player: Denys Favorov (Desna Chernihiv) Best coach: Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi (FC Poltava) Top goalscorer: Oleksandr Akymenko (Inhulets Petrove) Fair Play award: Desna Chernihiv
See also 2017–18 Ukrainian First League Reserves 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League