2026–27 Ukrainian Premier League
36th season of top-tier football league in Ukrainian football
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The 2026–27 Ukrainian Premier League season will be the 36th top-level football club competition in Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union and the 19th since the establishment of the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL).
Winter break: December 2026 – February 2027
Betking-themed logo | |
| Season | 2026–27 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 July 2026 – 4 June 2027 Winter break: December 2026 – February 2027 |
| Matches | 53 |
| Goals | 121 (2.28 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Shakhtar 5–1 Kudrivka (3 August 2026) Polissya 5–1 Kudrivka (4 September 2026) |
| Biggest away win | Kryvbas 1–4 Karpaty (1 August 2026) |
| Highest scoring | Shakhtar 5–1 Kudrivka (3 August 2026) Polissya 5–1 Kudrivka (4 September 2026) |
| Longest winless run | Obolon Kudrivka (7 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Kudrivka (4 matches) |
| Highest attendance | 11,200 Karpaty 1–2 Shakhtar (5 September 2026) |
| Lowest attendance | 0 (4 matches) |
| Total attendance | 111,696 |
| Average attendance | 2,107 |
← 2025–26 2027–28 →
All statistics correct as of 3 October 2026. | |
Shakhtar Donetsk is the defending champions.
Before the start of the season at the end of May 2026, Puma presented its new 2026–27 match ball, the Stellar Nitro Ultimate, designed specifically for the Ukrainian Premier League.[1] Similar presentations of this product were made for other competitions, including the English Premier League.[2][3] The Stellar Nitro Ultimate will be replacing the Puma Orbita that was used in the previous two seasons.[4] The Ukrainian Premier League announced signing a two-year agreement for a strategic partnership with Betking.[5] Previously, the company was promoting the LaLiga fixtures broadcast in the Ukrainian market through Megogo.[6]
Regulation changes
For the new season, changes have been made to the foreign player quota: no more than seven players holding foreign passports may be on the pitch simultaneously; however, if the squad includes at least one player with a European Union passport, the limit increases to eight players. The club fee for every foreign footballer is rising from 150,000 to 400,000 hryvnias.[7]
Following the dismissal of a head coach, a club is required to appoint their replacement within 30 days or less. During this interim period, an acting coach holding a license of at least Category A must be appointed.[7]
Clubs are required to play matches at their primary and/or reserve stadiums. Matches may be played at other stadiums: 1) in the event of "force majeure"; or 2) for clubs participating in international competitions, subject to prior written approval from the Committee on Stadiums and Competition Security and the UPL Directorate.
Clubs have the right to reschedule matches, but requests to move a match to a different date must be submitted at least seven calendar days before the scheduled kickoff.[7]
Teams
This season, the Ukrainian Premier League will remain at 16 teams, including last season's UPL top 12 teams, last season's First League top 2 teams, and the 2 winners of the inter-tier (promotion/relegation) play-offs.
Promoted teams
- Bukovyna Chernivtsi – first-placed team of the 2025–26 Ukrainian First League (returning after 32 years of absence)[8]
- Chornomorets Odesa – second-placed team of the 2025–26 Ukrainian First League (returning after a year of absence)[8]
- Livyi Bereh Kyiv – third-placed team of the 2025–26 Ukrainian First League (returning after a year of absence, relegation play-offs winner)[9]
Relegated and withdrawn teams
- SC Poltava – relegated after a season in the top flight
- Rukh Lviv – withdrew after six seasons in the top flight
- Oleksandriya – relegated after eleven seasons in the top flight, lose in relegation play-offs
Renamed teams
On 15 June 2026, FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv officially changed their name to FC Kharkiv.[10]
Location map
Several teams (Kharkiv, Shakhtar and Zorya) are playing their home games away from their cities due to ongoing hostilities.
Stadiums
The minimum threshold for the stadium's capacity in the UPL is 4,500 (Article 10, paragraph 8.3).[11]
The following stadiums in 2026–27 Ukrainian Premier League are regarded as home grounds:
| Rank | Stadium | Place | Club | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arena Lviv |
Lviv | Shakhtar Donetsk | 34,725 | used as home ground during the season |
| 2 | Stadion Chornomorets  |
Odesa | Chornomorets Odesa | 34,164 | |
| 3 | Stadion Ukraina  |
Lviv | Karpaty Lviv | 28,051 | |
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | used as home ground during the season[12] | ||||
| 4 | Stadion Dynamo imeni Lobanovskoho .jpg) |
Kyiv | Dynamo Kyiv | 16,873 | |
| Zorya Luhansk | used as home ground during the season | ||||
| 5 | Cherkasy Arena  |
Cherkasy | LNZ Cherkasy | 10,321 | |
| 6 | Stadion Avanhard  |
Rivne | Veres Rivne | 7,122 | |
| FC Kudrivka | used as home ground during the season | ||||
| 7 | Tsentralnyi Stadion .jpg) |
Zhytomyr | Polissya Zhytomyr | 5,928 | |
| 8 | Obolon Arena  |
Kyiv | Obolon Kyiv | 5,103 | |
| 9 | Stadion Kolos  |
Kovalivka | Kolos Kovalivka | 5,050 | |
| 10 | Arena Livyi Bereh  |
Zolocha community | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 4,700 | |
| FC Kharkiv | used as home ground during the season[13] | ||||
| 11 | Stadion Hirnyk  |
Kryvyi Rih | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 3,219 | |
| 12 | Stadion imeni Tonkocheyeva  |
Kamianets-Podilskyi | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 2,587 | |
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | used as home ground in 2 matches |
Unlike clubs like FC Kharkiv, Shakhtar and Zorya, which are forced to play away from their home stadiums due to proximity to the open combat area, Kudrivka and Bukovyna do not have qualified stadiums.[14][15][16]
Personnel and sponsorship
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes:
- Yevhen Zadorozhnyi is listed as the head coach on the UPL website.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polissya Zhytomyr | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 18[a] | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 18[a] | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Karpaty Lviv | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 14 | |
| 4 | Dynamo Kyiv | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 13 | |
| 5 | Kharkiv | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 12 | |
| 6 | Veres Rivne | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7 | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 8 | |
| 8 | LNZ Cherkasy | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 8 | |
| 9 | Zorya Luhansk | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 8 | |
| 10 | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 | |
| 11 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | |
| 12 | Chornomorets Odesa | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 5[b] | |
| 13 | Kolos Kovalivka | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5[b] | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 14 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 5[b] | |
| 15 | Obolon Kyiv | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 4 | Relegation to Ukrainian First League |
| 16 | Kudrivka | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 18 | −13 | 2 |
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; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw or "Golden match" if two teams are tied for title (Article 22, paragraph 3).[17]
Notes:
Results
Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis.
Matches affected by air raid alerts
Round 1
Kryvbas vs Karpaty. The match was interrupted in the 73rd minute for 57 minutes.[19]
Round 2
Livyi Bereh vs Kudrivka. The match was delayed for 140 minutes and then was interrupted in the 17th minute for 79 minutes.[20]
Round 3
Kryvbas vs Livyi Bereh. 2nd half of the match was delayed for 113 minutes. [21]
Round 4
Kolos vs Obolon. The match was interrupted in the 76th minute for 150 minutes.[22]
Livyi Bereh vs Karpaty. The match was delayed for 50 minutes. Second half of the match was delayed for 99 minutes and later was interrupted in the 75th minute for 14 minutes.[23]
Chornomorets vs Kryvbas. The match was delayed for 15 minutes.
LNZ vs Veres. The match was interrupted a few times: in the 29th minute for 41 minute; in the 78th minute for 121 minute; in the 82nd minute for 135 minutes.
Zorya vs Kharkiv. The match was interrupted a few times: in the 19th minute for 86 minutes; in the 51st minutes was postponed to the next day and then was interrupted again in the 87th minute for 6 minutes.
Round 5
Chornomorets vs Livyi Bereh. The match was delayed for 35 minutes
Polissya vs Kudrivka. Second half of the match was delayed
Kharkiv vs Obolon. The match was interrupted in the 88th for 161 minute
Round 7
Chornomorets vs Obolon. The match was delayed for 15 minutes and then interrupted a few times: in the 12th minute for 27 minutes; in the 37th minute for 42 minutes; in the 66th minute for 63 minutes
Polissya vs Kryvbas. The match was delayed for 35 minutes
Kharkiv vs Bukovyna. The match was interrupted in the 57th minute for 16 minutes
Kudrivka vs Kolos. The match was interrupted in the 24th minute for 33 minutes
Match results by week
Position by round
Number = One less match played per underline.
Positions are shown as of the end of the round.
| League leaders/Champions of 2026–27 Ukrainian Premier League/Qualification for the Champions League 2QR | |
| Qualification for Conference League 2QR | |
| Qualification for the Relegation play-offs | |
| Relegation to Ukrainian First League |
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
As of 20 September 2026[update][24]
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals Pen. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ihor Krasnopir |
Polissya Zhytomyr | 5 (2) |
| 2 |  Fellipe Vieira |
Karpaty Lviv | 4 (0) |
 Baton Zabërgja |
Kharkiv | 4 (0) | |
 Peter Itodo |
Kharkiv | 4 (1) | |
| Matviy Ponomarenko |
Dynamo Kyiv | 4 (1) | |
| 6 | Kauã Elias |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 (0) |
| Luca Meirelles |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 (0) | |
| Nazariy Rusyn |
Karpaty Lviv | 3 (0) | |
First goal of the season:
Pylyp Budkivskyi – Zorya vs Kolos (31 July 2026)
Own goals:
Jimmy Mpanzu – for Zorya vs Kryvbas (9 August 2026)- Vyacheslav Surkis – for Bukovyna vs Dynamo (31 August 2026)
- Artur Dumanyuk – for Polissya vs Kudrivka (4 September 2026)
- Serhiy Kosovskyi – for Polissya vs Livyi Bereh (13 September 2026)
Hat-tricks
As of 3 August 2026[update]
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kauã Elias |
Shakhtar Donetsk | Kudrivka | 5–1 (H) | 3 August 2026 |
Clean sheets
As of 3 October 2026[update]
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Fedotov |
Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 4 |
| Herman Penkov |
Bukovyna Chernivtsi | ||
| Dmytro Riznyk |
Shakhtar Donetsk | ||
| Heorhiy Yermakov |
Kharkiv | ||
| 5 | Heorhiy Bushchan |
Polissya Zhytomyr / Dynamo Kyiv | 3 |
| Oleh Kudryk |
Polissya Zhytomyr | ||
| Roman Zhmurko |
Livyi Bereh Kyiv | ||
| 8 | Chijioke Aniagboso |
Chornomorets Odesa | 2 |
| Kyrylo Barantsov |
Obolon Kyiv | ||
| Nazariy Fedorivskyi |
Obolon Kyiv | ||
| Valentyn Horokh |
Veres Rivne | ||
| Dmytro Ledviy |
LNZ Cherkasy | ||
| Denys Marchenko |
Karpaty Lviv | ||
| Anton Yashkov |
Kudrivka | ||
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Player of the Month | Coach of the Month | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Coach | Club | ||
| August 2026 | Yan Kostenko |
Karpaty Lviv |  Fran Fernández |
Karpaty Lviv | [25] |
| September 2026 | Nazariy Rusyn |
Karpaty Lviv | Ruslan Rotan |
Polissya Zhytomyr | [26] |
| October 2026 | |||||
| November 2026 December 2026 |
|||||
| February 2027 March 2027 |
|||||
| April 2027 | |||||
| May 2027 | |||||
Round awards
The list includes winners of the Round by the Ukrainian Premier League as well as the Ukrainian internet publisher "SportArena".
Relegation play-offs
| Premier League teams | Agg. | First League teams | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x–x | ||||
| x–x |
First Semi-final
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
Second Semi-final
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
See also
- 2026–27 Ukrainian Cup
- 2026–27 Ukrainian First League
- 2026–27 Ukrainian Second League
- 2026–27 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
- 2026–27 Ukrainian Premier League 2 (Under-21)
- 2026–27 Ukrainian Women's Prime League
- List of Ukrainian football transfers summer 2026
- List of Ukrainian football transfers winter 2026–27