Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League (Ukrainian: "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", Ukrayinska Premier Liha) or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha (Ukrainian: Вища ліга, Top League) it was formed in 1991 as part of the 1992[1] Ukrainian football championship upon discontinuation of the 1991 Soviet football championship and included the Ukraine-based clubs that competed previously in the Soviet top three tiers competitions as well as better clubs of the Ukrainian republican competitions. The initial season of the league featured six former Soviet Top League clubs among which were Dynamo, Shakhtar, Chornomorets, Dnipro, Metalist, Metalurh as well as four more clubs that previously also competed at the top league.
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| Founded | from 1991 to 2008 (Vyshcha Liha) since 2008 (Ukrayinska Premier Liha) |
|---|---|
| Country | Ukraine |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 16 (2021–22) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Ukrainian First League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Ukrainian Cup Ukrainian Super Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League |
| Current champions | Dynamo Kyiv (16th title) (2020–21) |
| Most championships | Dynamo Kyiv (16 titles) |
| Most appearances | Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (426) |
| Top goalscorer | Serhiy Rebrov, Maksim Shatskikh (123) |
| Website | upl.ua |
| Current: 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League | |
In 1996 along with the other professional football leagues of Ukraine, the Top League became a member of the Professional Football League of Ukraine.[1][2] In 2008[3][4] it was withdrawn from Professional Football League of Ukraine and reformed into a separate self governed entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine, officially changing its name to the current one. Its rank was 12th highest in Europe as rated by UEFA as of 2021.
As a leading club of the Soviet Top League, Dynamo Kyiv continues to be the league's "flagship club", while in the last 10 seasons the league is dominated by Shakhtar Donetsk 8 to 2. Three of Ukrainian clubs reached European club competitions finals including Dynamo (as Soviet club), Shakhtar and Dnipro. Among Ukrainian fans the most popular Ukrainian clubs are Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.[5] Other popular clubs include Karpaty Lviv, Metalist Kharkiv, Chornomorets Odesa and Dnipro.[5]