FC Vorskla Poltava (Ukrainian: ФК «Во́рскла» Полта́ва [ˈwɔrsklɐ polˈtɑwɐ]) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Poltava that competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top flight of Ukrainian football.

Vorskla Poltava
Full nameФутбольний клуб «Во́рскла» Полта́ва
Football Club Vorskla Poltava
Nickname(s)Zeleno-Bili (Green-Whites)
Founded1955; 69 years ago (1955)
GroundButovsky Vorskla Stadium
Capacity24,795[1]
OwnerFerrexpo (Eduard Shalayev)[2]
ChairmanRoman Cherniak (president)
Oleh Lysak (vice-president)[2]
Hennadiy Muzyka (vice-president)
ManagerSerhiy Dolhanskyi (interim)
LeagueUkrainian Premier League
2022–23Ukrainian Premier League, 5th of 16
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

Kolos Poltava edit

The club draws its history from 1955 when in the city of Poltava was established a football club Kolhospnyk within the republican trade union sports society Kolos. The same year it entered the Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR where already played one of the older clubs from Poltava, FC Lokomotyv Poltava.

In 1957 the club obtained its professional status and was included in the competitions of the Soviet third division (then "Class B"). However, in 1982 the club went into bankruptcy and was dissolved. In 1983 many players moved to play for an amateur football team Kooperator from Poltava that represented the Poltava Institute of Cooperation. During its history for a short period of time from 1968 to 1972, Kolos was also carrying names Silbud and Budivelnyk.

Vorskla Poltava edit

In 1984, the club was reanimated based on the Kolos academy (sports school) as Vorskla after the river Vorskla, which flows through Poltava. In 1986, Vorskla entered the Soviet professional ranks of the third division where it participated until the collapse of the Soviet system.

Upon establishing of the Ukrainian football competitions in 1992 the club was admitted to the Ukrainian First League (the second tier of Ukrainian football) which it won in 1996. At that time Vorskla was sponsored by "Poltavagasprom".[3] The team debuted in the Ukrainian Premier League in the 1996–97 season, taking that season the 3rd place. Vorskla have remained in the Premier League since, and participated twice in the UEFA Cup. In 2009, Vorskla met Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2009 Ukrainian Cup Final. Mykola Pavlov's men won the match 1–0 after Vasyl Sachko's goal in the 49th minute.

In 2003-2005, the club was named Vorskla-Naftogaz due to sponsorship reasons.

As a Domestic Cup winner, Vorskla participated in the annual opening game of the season Ukrainian Super Cup meeting the champions Dynamo Kyiv. After a 0–0 draw at full-time, Vorskla lost the cup to Dynamo on penalties.

The first team plays its home matches at Butovsky Memorial Vorskla Stadium which is named after one of the founders of the modern Olympic games and the International Olympic Committee in 1894.

One of the biggest successes of Vorskla in European competition was their qualification to the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League group phase.

On 26 July 2014, the club's president Oleh Babayev was shot dead, while police has opened a criminal cases under Article “premeditated murder".[4][5]

In the 2017-18 season, the club finished third in the top division for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

Stadium edit

Vorskla plays its games at Oleksiy Butovskyi Vorskla Stadium (Ukrainian: Стадіон «Ворскла» імені Олексія Бутовського). Vorskla has been playing there since 1955. The stadium underwent significant reconstruction between 1968 and 1975 and 1995 and 2000.

Supporters & Rivalries edit

Development of fan movement in Poltava started in 1985. Then on the stadium began to appear first green-white scarves and fan chants. In the 1990s, fans began to actively go abroad. In particular Vorskla fans were present at the legendary match between Ukraine and Russia October 9, 1999 in Moscow. European competition games with FC Daugava from Latvia and Anderlecht[6] from Brussels in 1997 allowed fans try their hand on the European stage.

The largest fan club is known as the Crew of Golden Eagle.[7]

Vorskla maintains friendly relations with Shakhtar Donetsk[8] and Chornomorets Odesa fans. Strained relations with: Metalist Kharkiv,[9] Karpaty Lviv, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Zorya Luhansk and Obolon Kyiv. Now all fans have declared a truce because of the war in Eastern Ukraine.

Reserve teams edit

The reserve team of Vorskla, Vorskla Poltava Reserves (Ukrainian: ФК "Ворскла" Полтава дубль) are playing in the Ukrainian Premier Reserve League.

There also was FC Vorskla-2 Poltava.

Honours edit

Kit manufacturers and sponsors edit

Years[10] Football kit Shirt sponsor
2000–01 Lotto/Adidas  –
2001–03 Adidas
2002–04 Puma НАФТОГАЗ
України
2004–05 Puma/Lotto
2005–06 Adidas/Puma FERROEXPO
Poltava Mining
2006–07 Adidas
FERROEXPO
2007–14 FERROEXPO
2019- Nike FERRODXPO

European record edit

Its first European competition participation occurred in 1997–98 season in UEFA Cup. Vorskla played its first game at this level away at Daugava Stadium in Riga on July 23, 1997 against the Latvian club Daugava Rīga.

Vorskla did not achieve any noticeable feats yet managed to qualify on couple of occasions to the Europe League group stage.

Its home games the club plays at Vorskla Stadium.

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 02 2024[11][12]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 DF   UKR Ihor Perduta (vice-captain)
5 DF   BRA Lucas Ramires
6 MF   UKR Oleksandr Sklyar
7 GK   UKR Pavlo Isenko
9 DF   UKR Viktor Korniyenko (on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk)
11 FW   UKR Ruslan Stepanyuk
17 MF   UKR Volodymyr Chesnakov (captain)
18 DF   UKR Yevhen Pavlyuk
20 FW   BRA Thiago Cunha (on loan from Guarani de Palhoça)
21 DF   ALB Silvio Vokrri
25 DF   NIG Najeeb Yakubu
27 DF   UKR Illya Krupskyi
29 DF   UKR Andriy Batsula
30 MF   UKR Ivan Nesterenko
35 DF   UKR Danylo Izotov
No. Pos. Nation Player
38 MF   UKR Artem Chelyadin
39 FW   UKR Yaroslav Ryazantsev
40 MF   UKR Dmytro Chernysh
43 FW   UKR Vladyslav Ostrovskyi (on loan from Metalist 1925 Kharkiv)
44 MF   UKR Daniil Khrypchuk
50 DF   MLI Ibrahim Kane
57 FW   UKR Taras Halas
58 MF   UKR Mykyta Odentsov
61 GK   UKR Oleksandr Domoleha
65 MF   ESP Amilcar Codjovi
74 DF   BRA Tiago Santana (on loan from Metropolitano)
77 DF   ALB Ardit Toli
92 DF   FRA Sambou Sissoko
95 DF   BRA Felipe Rodrigues
96 GK   UKR Daniil Yermolov

Other players under contract edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   ENG Rodel Richards

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   UKR Artem Kulakovskyi (at Oleksandriya until 30 June 2024)
MF   MKD Ennur Totre (at   Shkëndija until 30 June 2024)
MF   UKR Danylo Tuzenko (at Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   UKR Artem Umanets (at Lokomotyv Kyiv until 30 June 2024)
FW   ALB Taulant Seferi (at   Baniyas until 30 June 2024)

Coaches and administration edit

Administration[13] Coaching[14] (main team) Coaching[14] (U-19 team)

Head coaches edit

   

League and Cup history edit

Soviet Union edit

Kolos
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1955 4th
(Ukrainian championship)
3 14 8 2 4 25 13 18 qualified for final group
8 7 0 2 5 15 24 2
1956 4th
(Ukrainian championship)
2 14 8 4 2 23 11 20
1957 2nd
(Klass B)
12 34 12 4 18 43 57 28
Vorskla
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
club reorganized Vorskla based on the Kolos academy
1984 4th
(KFK (Ukraine))
1 16 11 3 2 33 13 25 qualified for final group
1985 1 14 11 2 1 37 10 24 qualified for final group
3 5 3 1 1 8 3 7
1986 1 16 13 1 2 45 13 27 qualified for final group
1 5 4 1 0 11 1 9 Promoted
1987 3rd
(Vtoraya Liga)
9 52 22 14 16 74 59 58 Ukrainian Championship
1988 2 50 30 8 12 70 42 68 Ukrainian Championship
1989 8 52 24 10 18 62 55 58 Ukrainian Championship
1990 12 42 15 11 16 47 51 41 116 finals Zone West
1991 19 42 10 11 21 39 60 31 132 finals Zone West
1992 no competition 164 finals

Ukraine edit

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1992 2nd
(Persha Liha)
8 26 12 5 9 33 25 29 1/16 finals Group B
1992–93 4 42 21 9 12 57 46 51 1/32 finals
1993–94 8 38 15 7 16 30 52 37 1/16 finals
1994–95 11 42 17 8 17 49 48 59 1/8 finals
1995–96 1 42 32 7 3 92 37 103 1/32 finals Promoted
1996–97 1st
(Vyshcha Liha)
3 30 17 7 6 50 26 58 1/4 finals
1997–98 5 30 15 4 11 41 46 49 1/4 finals UC 2nd qual round
1998–99 10 30 10 5 15 36 43 35 1/4 finals
1999–00 4 30 14 7 9 50 34 49 1/8 finals
2000–01 12 26 6 5 15 16 29 23 1/16 finals UC 1st round
2001–02 11 26 6 7 13 19 33 25 1/16 finals
2002–03 11 30 8 8 14 26 41 32 1/4 finals
2003–04 14 30 6 9 15 26 49 27 1/8 finals
2004–05 14 30 8 6 16 18 35 30 1/16 finals
2005–06 10 30 9 10 11 28 34 37 1/4 finals
2006–07 13 30 7 10 13 23 28 31 1/16 finals
2007–08 8 30 9 9 12 28 30 36 1/4 finals
2008–09 1st
(Premier Liha)
5 30 14 7 9 32 26 49 Winners
2009–10 10 30 6 13 11 29 32 31 1/16 finals EL Play-off Round
2010–11 6 30 10 9 11 37 32 39 1/8 finals
2011–12 8 30 9 10 11 38 43 37 1/8 finals EL Group stage
2012–13 12 30 8 7 15 31 36 31 1/8 finals
2013–14 8 28 10 10 8 36 38 40 1/8 finals
2014–15 5 26 11 9 6 35 22 42 1/8 finals
2015–16 5 26 11 9 6 32 26 42 1/4 finals EL 3rd qual. round
2016–17[15] 7 32 11 9 12 32 32 42 1/4 finals EL 3rd qual. round
2017–18 3 32 14 7 11 37 35 49 1/4 finals
2018–19 7 32 12 6 14 31 43 42 1/4 finals EL Group stage
2019–20 10 32 9 7 16 23 48 34 Runners-up
2020–21 5 30 11 8 7 37 30 41 18 finals
2021–22 5 18 9 6 3 30 18 33 14 finals* ECL 2nd qual. round

In European competitions edit

References edit

  1. ^ 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage statistics handbook Archived 3 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine UEFA
  2. ^ a b Кому официально принадлежат украинские клубы Archived 2 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine. ukrrudprom.com. 12 November 2021
  3. ^ Ozirnyi, O. In anticipation of Sevastopol: the best newcomers of the elite (В ожидании Севастополя: лучшие новички элиты) Archived 17 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Football.ua. 14 July 2013
  4. ^ "Mayor of central Ukrainian city shot dead". uk.reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  5. ^ Mayor of central Ukrainian city shot dead Archived 20 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters (26 July 2014)
    Former Azerbaijani Deputy of Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, mayor of Kremenchuk Oleh Babayev murdered Archived 2014-07-30 at the Wayback Machine, Azerbaijan Press Agency (26 July 2014)
    У Кременчуці застрелили мера Archived 28 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine (Ukrainian)
  6. ^ Artemio2014 (11 April 2010). "Vorskla Poltava - Anderlecht 0:2, 1997/1998 qualifiers". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2018 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Crew of Golden Eagle official site Archived 2014-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Фанати "Динамо", "Шахтаря" та "Ворскли" готують марш єдності перед Кубком України". tsn.ua. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ^ football24.ua. "Ультрас "Металіста" побили фанатів "Ворскли" у Полтаві. ФОТО - Футбол 24". Футбол 24. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Jerseys of Ukrainian clubs Archived September 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "ФК Ворскла – Основний склад" [FC Vorskla – Main squad] (in Ukrainian). FC Vorskla Poltava. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Vorskla" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Premier League. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Менеджмент". Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Тренерський штаб – ФК Ворскла, Полтава". vorskla.com.ua. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. ^ Competition was played in two phases. Official final league standings are cumulative from both phases. Vorskla competed in the Relegation Group in Phase II.
    "Ліга Парі-Матч Сезон 2016/17" [League Pari-Match 2016–17 Season]. Ukrainian Premier League. 31 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

External links edit