FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi (Ukrainian: ФК "Зірка Кропивницький") is a Ukrainian amateur football club from Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad Oblast, with its team currently playing in the Ukrainian Amateur League.

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Zirka Kropyvnytskyi

Full name	FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi
Nickname(s)	"Zirka" – Star
Founded	1911
Ground	"Zirka" Stadium, Kropyvnytskyi
Capacity	14,628
Chairman	Maksym Berezkin
Manager	Samir Hasanov[1]
League	Ukrainian Amateur League
2020–21	Ukrainian Amateur League, Group 3, 12th of 12
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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The club traces its history of a football team that existed at the British factory of Elvorti (Elworthy) since 1911. After the occupation of Ukraine by Bolsheviks, the factory was "nationalized", its team was dissolved, and the factory was converted into Soviet factory "Chervona Zirka", hence the club's name. The Soviet football team Chervona Zirka was formed in 1922. The club's professional football history however started in 1958 when it was admitted to the Class B competitions.

The club traces its history back to the former Russian sports club Elvorti Yelizavetgrad that was founded in 1911 at the Elvorti Factory. The factory was later nationalized with establishment of the Soviet power and changed its name to "Chervona Zirka" (Red Star). After start of World War I and the Ukrainian-Soviet War, most sports events in the region were suspended and in 1917 the club dissolved. Sports competitions were resumed in Lyzavetghrad in 1921 that saw participation of a team.

In 1922, based on the former sports club Elvorti Yelizavetgrad were created two Soviet clubs Chervona Zirka and Chervony Profintern that participated in Soviet competition. Some of Zirka's club shields contain 1922 as the club's year of establishment. In 1928 Chervona Zirka changed its name to Metallist Zinovyevsk (Metalist Zinovyivsk) and in 1934 – Selmash Kirovo (Silmash Kirove). During the World War II the team was dissolved once again.

It was not revived until 1948 when by being a member of the former Volunteer Sports Society Selmash, it was reorganised as Traktor Kirovograd (Traktor Kirovohrad) and after 1953 – Torpedo.

In first post-War years 1946–47 Kirovograd (Kirovohrad) was represented in football competitions by a law enforcement team "Dynamo".

In 1958, the club was renamed into Zvezda Kirovograd (Zirka Kirovohrad) when it advanced to the professional level of Soviet competitions, the B Class. As Zirka the club existed until 2006 when it went bankrupt. In 1962 the club temporarily did not participate in Soviet competitions and Kirovohrad was once again represented by Dynamo. From 1993 to 1997 the club carried a name of its title sponsor NIBAS as Zirka-NIBAS. In 2007 the club was revived in amateur regional competitions. On July 15, 2008 the Professional Football League of Ukraine approved exchange names between Zirka and another club from Kirovohrad, FC Olimpik Kirovohrad, that competed at professional level to yield its place in the Ukrainian Second League.^[2]

Previously, Zirka debuted at a top level for the 1994–95 season, where they finished 6th. In the 1999–2000 season they finished in last place and were relegated to the Ukrainian First League. They were promoted immediately as champions once again for the 2003–04 season, but finished in last place and were demoted again.

In July 2016, the name of Zirka's hometown was renamed to Kropyvnytskyi.^[3] The next day the club announced it had changed its name to FC Zirka Kropyvnytskyi and its logo accordingly.^[4]

Year	Name	Meaning
1922–27	Chervona Zirka	Red Star
1928–35	Metalist	Steeler
1935–40	Silmash	portmanteau for Mechanised agriculture
1941–45	club was dissolved due to the World War II
1946–52	Traktor	Tractor
1953–57	Torpedo
1958–61	Zirka	Star
1962	Dynamo
1963–93	Zirka	Star
1993–97	Zirka NIBAS	Star [NIBAS]
1998–present	Zirka	Star

• 1911–1993: Elvorti factory (Chervona Zirka), Kirovohrad
• 1993–1998: Agrarian company Nibas, Petropavlivka (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast)^[5]
• 1998–2011: City authorities, Kirovohrad^[5]
• 2011–present: Creative Industrial Group, Kropyvnytskyi

As of 1 February 2019^[6][7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 4 DF  UKR Kyrylo Lysenko 7 MF  UKR Maksym Averyanov 9 FW  UKR Danylo Kondrakov 10 MF  UKR Ivan Rudnytskyi 14 FW  UKR Mykhaylo Bozdahanyan 15 MF  UKR Andriy Savitskyi 17 MF  UKR Artem Syomka 23 DF  UKR Oleksandr Matkobozhyk 24 MF  UKR Kyrylo Pavlyuk 29 FW  UKR Maksym Pryadun

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 MF  UKR Dmytro Nerubenko 41 GK  UKR Roman Lyopka 74 GK  UKR Mark Medvedyev 77 MF  UKR Dmytro Kasimov 81 FW  UKR Oleksandr Tarasyuk 85 MF  UKR Mykyta Khodorchenko 90 MF  UKR Ihor Lopushenko 93 MF  UKR Stanislav Pysaryev 96 GK  UKR Mykyta Zelenskyi 97 DF  UKR Maksym Konovalenko

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• Cup of the Ukrainian SSR
  • Winner (3): 1953, 1973, 1975
• Ukrainian First League
  • Winner (3): 1995, 2003, 2016
• Ukrainian Second League
  • Winner (1): 2009

Soviet competitions
The republican football competitions in Ukraine during the Soviet period is poorly documented, so there is little information available about the Zirka's competition record before 1958.

Ukrainian competitions