The 2022–23 Ukrainian First League was the 32nd since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 16 teams.Artur Malkin. The PFL Central Council: format, starting dates and raise of referee's compensations (Центральна рада ПФЛ: формат, дати старту і підвищення гонорарів арбітрам). Footboom. 1 June 2021 The competition took place during the ongoing war with the Russia since late February 2022. It was decided to conduct competitions in two groups.В клубе Первой лиги сообщили о формате и рабочей дате начала нового чемпионата. UA-Football. 2 July 2022
Format Due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the league competitions changed its usual format. The Professional Football League of Ukraine (PFL) Conference adopted changes to the 2022–23 season after some 24 PFL teams were forced to suspend their activities or dissolve. It was decided to keep the same number of participants at 16 but split them in two groups of 8. Previously the split group competition in the second tier were only conducted once back in 1992.
The competitions are scheduled to consist of two stages. At the first stage two groups of 8 would conduct a usual double round-robin tournament. At the second stage, the top four from each group form the promotion group, while the bottom four from each group – the relegation group. Points earned at the first stage will be kept for the second, while teams would only be playing with participants of the group. So, in total each team is expected to play 22 games. The top two teams of the promotion group receive direct promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL), while the 3rd and the 4th would play promotion relegation play-off with the 14th and the 13th teams of UPL, respectfully. In case if Desna and Mariupol would decide to return, play-off games will be canceled and the UPL will be expanded. The bottom team of the relegation group will be relegated directly, while the second to the last will contest its place in the second tier with the 2022–23 Ukrainian Second League runner-up.
Teams This season, Ukrainian First League consisted of 16 teams.
Promoted teams Ten teams have been promoted from the 2021–22 Ukrainian Second League.СМИ опубликовали потенциальный состав участников следующего сезона Первой лиги. UA-Football. 9 July 2022 While originally it had been expected that MFA Mukachevo would be promoted, in less than a month it was confirmed that the club will not participate in the season. Later along with VPK-Ahro, it was replaced with Bukovyna and Chernihiv. Karpaty Lviv – first place in Group A (returning after 17 seasons, last competed in the 2005–06) LNZ Cherkasy – second place in Group A (debut) Dinaz Vyshhorod – fourth place in Group A (debut) Epitsentr Dunaivtsi – fifth place in Group A (debut) Bukovyna Chernivtsi – ninth place in Group A (returning after 5 seasons) Chernihiv – tenth place in Group A (debut) Metalurh Zaporizhzhia – first place in Group B (returning after 2 seasons, last competed in the 2019–20) Skoruk Tomakivka – second place in Group B (debut) Poltava – sixth place in Group B (debut) Mariupol – eleventh place in Group B (debut)
Relegated teams Eight clubs withdrew from the league due to the Russian aggression.
Renamed teams FSC Mariupol is a successor of Yarud Mariupol. Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi has officially moved from Dunaivtsi to Kamianets-Podilskyi. FC Chernihiv-ShVSM is a successor of FC Chernihiv by merging with the local School of Higher Sports Mastery, hence the acronym.Чернігів виступатиме під назвою ФК Чернігів-ШВСМ. sportarena.com
Location map The following displays the location of teams. Group A teams marked in red. Group B teams marked in green.
Stadiums
The following stadiums were used as home grounds for the teams in the competition. RankStadiumLocationCapacityClubNotes 1Ukraina Stadium Lviv 27,925 Karpaty Lviv 2Ternopil City Stadium Ternopil 15,150 Nyva Ternopil 3Bukovyna Stadium Chernivtsi 12,076 Bukovyna Chernivtsi 4Slavutych-Arena Zaporizhzhia 11,883 Metalurh Zaporizhzhia 5Cherkasy Arena Cherkasy 10,321 LNZ Cherkasy 6MCS Rukh Ivano-Frankivsk 6,500 Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk 7Central Stadium Zhytomyr 5,928 Polissya Zhytomyr 8Obolon Arena Kyiv 5,100 Obolon Kyiv 9Lokomotyv Stadium Poltava 3,700 SC Poltava 10Yunist Stadium Chernihiv 3,000 FC Chernihiv 11Tonkocheyev Stadium Kamianets-Podilskyi 2,587 Epitsentr Kamianets-PodilskyiЭпицентр в Первой лиге будет играть в Каменце-Подольском. UA-Football. 29 July 2022 12Yunist Stadium Horishni Plavni 2,500 Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni 13Kolos Stadium Dunaivtsi 2,500 Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyiused as home ground in Round 2 14Inhulets Stadium Petrove 1,869 Kremin Kremenchukused as home ground in Round 2 15Kremin Stadium Kremenchuk 1,500 Kremin Kremenchuk 16Dinaz Stadium Demydiv 500 Dinaz VyshhorodFSC Mariupolused as home ground during the seasonВіцепрезидент ФСК "Маріуполь": "Мене обнулило повністю, але це не є підставою, щоб розпустити клуб". Footboom. 9 August 2022
Personnel and sponsorship TeamPresidentHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor Bukovyna Chernivtsi Andriy Safronyak Andriy Melnychuk Vasyl Hakman Nike Taistra Chernihiv Yuriy Synytsya Valeriy Chornyi Vitaliy Mentey Joma Jako Dinaz Vyshhorod Yaroslav Moskalenko Oleksandr Holovko Denys Petrenko Nike — Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Chernonoh Serhiy Nahornyak Andriy Bezhenar Macron Epitsentr Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni Petro Kaplun (vacant) Maksym Tsvirenko Jako Ferrexpo Karpaty Lviv Stepan Yurchyshyn Myron Markevych Ambrosiy Chachua Joma Lvivske Kremin Kremenchuk Serhiy Kovnir Roman Loktionov Denys Halata SWIFT TERMINAL-MK LNZ Cherkasy Andriy Poltavets Oleksandr Kovpak Oleh Tarasenko Puma tevitta Mariupol Oleksandr Yaroshenko Oleh Krasnopyorov Ivan Mochevinskyi Joma KOD Zdorovia Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Maksym Lupashko Volodymyr Mykytyn Volodymyr Polyovyi Legea Weltum Nyva Ternopil Oleksandr Stadnyk Serhiy Atlasyuk (interim) Maksym Mekhaniv Jako — Obolon Kyiv Oleksandr Slobodian Valeriy Ivashchenko Nazariy Fedorivskyi Jako Favbet Polissya Zhytomyr Volodymyr Zahurskyi Yuriy Kalitvintsev Vladyslav Ohirya Nike BGV Group Poltava Serhiy Ivashchenko Volodymyr Sysenko Dmytro Shcherbak Joma KVP Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk Vasyl Olshanetskyi Oleh Rypan Vasyl Tsyutsyura Joma Morshynska Skoruk Tomakivka Maksym Skoruk Oleksandr Stepanov Artem Perebora Kelme —
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointment Bukovyna Chernivtsi Yuriy Kyslytsia (acting) End of interim 31 July 2022Андрей Мельничук официально возглавил Буковину. Sport Arena. 31 July 2022 Pre-season Andriy Melnychuk 31 July 2022 Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi Oleh Naduda Change of role 2 September 2022Нагорняк став головним тренером Епіцентру. Sport Arena. 2 September 2022 3rd Serhiy Nahornyak 2 September 2022 LNZ Cherkasy Yuriy Bakalov Dismissed 6 September 2022ЛНЗ офіційно призначив Ковпака виконувачем обов'язків головного тренера. Sport Arena. 6 September 2022 5th Oleksandr Kovpak (acting) 6 September 2022 Nyva Ternopil Andriy Kuptsov Resigned 14 September 2022Спортивний директор тернопільської Ниви Задорожний тимчасово виконуватиме обов'язки головного тренера. Sport Arena. 14 September 2022 6th Serhiy Zadorozhnyi (acting) 14 September 2022 LNZ Cherkasy Oleksandr Kovpak (acting) Change of role 2 December 2022Ковпак призначений головним тренером ЛНЗ. Sport Arena. 2 December 2022 1st Oleksandr Kovpak 2 December 2022 Hirnyk-Sport Ihor Zhabchenko End of contract 25 December 2022Тренер Ігор Жабченко покинув футбольний клуб «Гірник-Спорт». www.telegraf.in.ua. 3 January 2023Спортивний директор Гірника-Спорт: Жабченко залишив команду. www.ua-football.com. 25 December 2022 16th Serhiy Diryavka 30 January 2023Сергій Дірявка – головний тренер ФК «Гірник-Спорт». www.gornyak-sport.com. 30 January 2023 Nyva Ternopil Serhiy Zadorozhnyi Change of role 20 April 2023 7th Serhii Atlasiuk (acting) 20 April 2023 Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni Serhiy Diryavka Fired 30 May 2023 16th Valeriy Kutsenko 19 June 2023 Karpaty Lviv Andriy Tlumak Resigned 1 June 2023 5th Myron Markevych 1 June 2023
Group A league table
Results
Group A goalscorers
RankScorerTeamGoals(Pen.)1 Pylyp BudkivskyiPolissia Zhytomyr11 (0)2 Maksym HirnyiEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi7 (3)3 Bohdan KushnirenkoPolissia Zhytomyr6 (1)4 Rostyslav TaranukhaKarpaty Lviv5 (0) Vasyl PalahnyukBukovyna Chernivtsi5 (3)64 players46 Ihor BykovskyiMariupol4 (0) Yaroslav BohunovDinaz Vyshhorod4 (2) Vasyl TsyutsyuraPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk4 (2) Vasyl HrytsukPolissia Zhytomyr4 (4)105 players36 Ambrosiy ChachuaKarpaty Lviv3 (0) Ihor DutsKarpaty Lviv3 (0) Dmytro ShastalPolissia Zhytomyr3 (0) Andriy ZinNyva Ternopil3 (0) Denis YanakovPolissia Zhytomyr3 (1)1512 players28 Ruslan BuryakEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi2 (0) Vladyslav KlymenkoDinaz Vyshhorod2 (0) Artem KozakPolissia Zhytomyr2 (0) Bohdan KozakNyva Ternopil2 (0) Stanislav MorarenkoDinaz Vyshhorod2 (0) Bohdan OrynchakPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk2 (0) Dmytro PenteleichukFSC Mariupol2 (0) Taras PuchkovskyiEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi2 (0) Roman VolokhatyiNyva Ternopil2 (0) Yaroslav DobrokhotovFSC Mariupol2 (1) Oleh KosDinaz Vyshhorod2 (1) Denys KozhanovKarpaty Lviv2 (1)2740 players19 Roman BarchukPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk1 (0) Andriy BeiNyva Ternopil1 (0) Yehor BulhakovFSC Mariupol1 (0) Oleksandr ChepelyukEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi1 (0) ClaudineiEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi1 (0) Maksym DemchukNyva Ternopil1 (0) Stanislav DemkivPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk1 (0) Denys HalenkovKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Ihor HatalaNyva Ternopil1 (0) Andriy HitchenkoPolissia Zhytomyr1 (0) Yuriy HlushchukEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi1 (0) Oleh KhrustavkaNyva Ternopil1 (0) Ivan KohutKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Valentyn KoreshkovDinaz Vyshhorod1 (0) Vladyslav KrystinEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi1 (0) Serhiy KyslenkoPolissya Zhytomyr1 (0) Oleh LenKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Danylo LitovchenkoFSC Mariupol1 (0) Dmytro MakhnyevKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Mykyta MykhailenkoFSC Mariupol1 (0) Andriy NesterovPolissya Zhytomyr1 (0) Vladyslav OhiryaPolissia Zhytomyr1 (0) Dmytro PavlishFSC Mariupol1 (0) Ivan PetsBukovyna Chernivtsi1 (0) Maksym ProtsivNyva Ternopil1 (0) Vladyslav PryimakKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Yuriy RepetaKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Artur RyabovKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Artur ShakhKarpaty Lviv1 (0) Yevhen ShevchenkoEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi1 (0) Illya SkrypnykBukovyna Chernivtsi1 (0) Oleh SokolovNyva Ternopil1 (0) Ivan SondeyPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk1 (0) Maksym StadnikPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk1 (0) Serhiy StarenkyiDinaz Vyshhorod1 (0) Volodymyr StolyarBukovyna Chernivtsi1 (0) Mykyta TitayevskyiPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk1 (0) Vladyslav VakulaPolissia Zhytomyr1 (0) Oleh VakulenkoDinaz Vyshhorod1 (0) Ruslan DedukhNyva Ternopil1 (1) Danylo SukhoruchkoNyva Ternopil1 (1)
Clean sheets
RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Oleh KudrykPolissia Zhytomyr82 Maksym MekhanivNyva Ternopil73 Serhiy ChernobayEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi5 Roman LyopkaKarpaty Lviv52 players33 Ivan PitsanPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk3 Vadym SoldatenkoDinaz Vyshhorod71 players27 Roman ZhmurkoEpitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi285 players18 Bohdan StepanenkoBukovyna Chernivtsi1 Roman HerychPrykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk Vitaliy ChebotaryovBukovyna Chernivtsi Artem PospyelovPolissia Zhytomyr Anton ZadereikoBukovyna Chernivtsi
Group B league table
Results
Group B goalscorers