Football Club Polissya Zhytomyr (Ukrainian: Футбольний клуб «Полісся» Житомир) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Zhytomyr, Polissya. It plays in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top tier of Ukrainian football, following promotion from the 2022–23 Ukrainian First League.
| Full name | Football Club Polissya Zhytomyr | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1959 (as Avanhard Zhytomyr) 2016 (as MFC Zhytomyr) | |||
| Ground | Tsentralnyi Stadion, Zhytomyr | |||
| Capacity | 5,928 | |||
| Owner | Hennadiy Butkevych | |||
| General Director | Volodymyr Zahurskyi | |||
| Manager | Imad Ashur | |||
| League | Ukrainian Premier League | |||
| 2023–24 | Ukrainian Premier League, 5th of 16 | |||
| Website | polissyafc.com | |||
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The original Soviet team of masters became defunct after the 2004–05 season and for almost decade the city was without its professional club, although the Polissia football academy as a specialized sports school continued to play at local competitions.
History
editThe club traces its history back to 1959 when there was created the first "team of masters" (Soviet terminology of professional team). However, the team functioned before 1959 at republican level which was considered to be amateur. For example, in 1958 Avanhard Zhytomyr became a champion of Zhytomyr Oblast.
In Soviet times the club carried the name Avtomobilist (car maker), then it changed to Polissya (the name for the local region (Polesie), which means (roughly) the wooded area). In the Ukrainian soccer competitions the club was called Khimik (chemist) for a few seasons, then again changed back to Polissya. Note that during the Soviet times sometime in the 1970s in Zhytomyr there was another club FC Khimik Zhytomyr that was sponsored by the local chemical factory, the latter fate of which is not known. The same factory has supported Polissya already in times of the independent Ukraine for few seasons giving the club the name of its own former football representative, which already was mentioned before.
After the disastrous season of 2005, it became defunct. However soon after the reorganization two clubs were created and were admitted to the Second League for the 2005/06 season – MFK Zhytomyr and FC Zhytychi Zhytomyr. In March 2006, the municipal administration stopped funding of MFK Zhytomyr, and the team was dissolved on 30 April 2006. FC Zhytychi Zhytomyr finished 8th in the Second League'06, but next year they failed to submit their license and stopped their participation on the professional level.
The highest position the club achieved was fourth place in the Persha Liha, twice. Because of this, in 2002 it was awarded to play a play-off match with PFC Olexandria in Kyiv to receive the promotion to the Vyscha Liha. Polissya lost it 0:1. Subsequent seasons have brought progressively worse results with every year.
In 2005 an attempt to create the municipal club took place on initiative of Hennadiy Zabrodsky soon after the dissolution of FC Polissya Zhytomyr. At that time facing a danger of losing professional football team, Zhytomyr paradoxically witnessed creation of two teams in the place of one. The new club was created in place of the existing amateur FC Arsenal Zhytomyr. The creation of the city club was supported by the city's government as part of local elections, which, however, after the city mayor lost, the club, after playing first half of the season, was dissolved. Some players moved to the regional club OFC Zhytychi Zhytomyr.
Current rendition (since 2016)
editIn November 2015 FC Polissia Zhytomyr applied for the 2016–17 Ukrainian Second League.[1] On 23 March 2016 the deputy mayor of Zhytomyr Matviy Khrenovu announced in his Facebook that new director of MFC Zhytomyr became a head of Zhytomyr Rayon Football Federation Ruslan Pavlyuk.[2]
In March 2017, the club was renamed into FC Polissya Zhytomyr.[3] The club also adopted a new logo with 1959 year of establishment thus claiming heritage of the original FC Polissya Zhytomyr.[4]
Since mid of 2021, the club began to be financed by the BGV Group which controls a network of ATB-Market retail stores.[5]
Stadium
edit
MFC Zhytomyr started to play at Tsentralnyi Stadion (Central Stadium), however soon at the stadium started renovations and the club moved to smaller Kolos Stadion.[6]
In 2017, the club temporarily moved to Korosten to play at the local Spartak Stadion which was approved by the Football Federation of Ukraine and Professional Football League.
In March 2021, Polissya returned to Tsentralnyi Stadion after 16 years of reconstruction.[7]
Players
editFirst team squad
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Other players under contract
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
edit
Andriy Biba (1980)
Andriy Biba (1995 – 1996)- Anatoliy Zayayev (2000)
- Ihor Levytskyi (July 2016 – 12 Aug 2017)
- Eduard Khavrov (28 August 2017 – 20 November 2017)
- Volodymyr Mazyar (22 November 2017 – 15 December 2017)
- Oleksandr Pryzetko (27 December 2017 – 21 August 2018)
- Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi (21 August 2018 – 4 July 2020)
- Serhiy Shyshchenko (6 July 2020 – 15 June 2021)
- Yuriy Kalitvintsev (15 June 2021 – 11 March 2024)
- Serhiy Shyshchenko (12 March 2024 – 26 May 2024)
- Imad Ashur (26 May 2024 – present)
Chairmen
edit- Ruslan Pavlyuk, 2016–2017
- Vitaliy Lyaskovskyi, 2017–present
Logos and emblems
edit
League and cup history
editSoviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)
edit| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avanhard Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1958 | Rep "2" | 6/8 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 22 | 11 | 1⁄16 finals | Admitted to Class B | ||
| 1959 | 2nd "2" | 9/15 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 41 | 34 | 27 | SU | Conference Final | ||
| Polissia Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1960 | 2nd "1" | 7/17 | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 58 | 38 | 38 | ||||
| won relegation playoff over Shakhtar Korostyshiv | |||||||||||||
| 1961 | 2nd "1" | 6/18 | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 41 | 34 | SU | Conference 1⁄2 finals | to 11th place playoff | |
| lost two-leg playoff to Shakhtar Horlivka | placed 12th | ||||||||||||
| won relegation playoff over Chervona Zirka Malyn | |||||||||||||
| 1962 | 2nd "1" | 2/13 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 24 | 31 | SU | Conference 1⁄8 finals | to 1st place group | |
| 5/6 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 8 | placed 5th / Relegated | |||||
| 1963 | 3rd "1" | 4/20 | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 58 | 36 | 49 | SU | Conference 1⁄2 finals | to 7th place playoff | |
| won two-leg playoff over Burevisnyk Melitopol | placed 7th | ||||||||||||
| 1964 | 3rd "1" | 1/16 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 32 | 11 | 44 | SU | Conference 1⁄4 finals | to 1st place group | |
| 3/6 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 11 | placed 3rd | |||||
| 1965 | 3rd "2" | 8/16 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 34 | 33 | 29 | SU | Conference 1⁄8 finals | to 19th place group | |
| 4/6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | placed 22nd | |||||
| 1966 | 3rd "1" | 10/20 | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 33 | 27 | 39 | to 19th place playoff | |||
| lost two-leg playoff to Bukovyna Chernivtsi | placed 20th | ||||||||||||
| Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1967 | 3rd "1" | 1/21 | 40 | 23 | 13 | 4 | 45 | 12 | 59 | SU | 1⁄32 finals | to Final group | |
| 1/6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 9 | Champions / Promoted | |||||
| 1968 | 2nd "1" | 4/21 | 40 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 38 | 19 | 50 | SU | 1⁄32 finals | ||
| 1969 | 2nd "3" | 4/22 | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 31 | 51 | SU | 1⁄8 finals | Relegated | |
| 1970 | 3rd | 3/22 | 42 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 61 | 27 | 55 | SU | 1⁄16 finals | ||
| 1971 | 3rd | 3/26 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 58 | 30 | 65 | ||||
| 1972 | 3rd | 8/24 | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 44 | 31 | 53 | Winner | |||
| 1973 | 3rd | 2/23 | 44 | 25 | 3/(2) | 14 | 62 | 36 | 53 | 1⁄4 finals | |||
| 1974 | 3rd | 8/20 | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 39 | 41 | Finalist | |||
| 1975 | 3rd | 2/17 | 32 | 13 | 14 | 5 | 41 | 21 | 40 | 1⁄16 finals | |||
| 1976 | 3rd | 6/20 | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 44 | 31 | 42 | 1⁄2 finals | |||
| Spartak Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1977 | 3rd | 8/23 | 44 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 51 | 34 | 50 | ||||
| 1978 | 3rd | 10/23 | 44 | 19 | 7 | 18 | 50 | 40 | 45 | ||||
| 1979 | 3rd | 6/24 | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 57 | 41 | 56 | ||||
| 1980 | 3rd | 7/23 | 44 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 55 | 43 | 51 | ||||
| 1981 | 3rd | 11/23 | 44 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 38 | 47 | 43 | ||||
| 1982 | 3rd | 7/24 | 46 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 68 | 46 | 54 | ||||
| 1983 | 3rd | 7/26 | 50 | 21 | 14 | 15 | 66 | 50 | 56 | ||||
| 1984 | 3rd | 9/13 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 29 | 26 | First stage Group 1 | |||
| 4/14 | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 50 | 48 | 39 | Consolation tournament | |||||
| 1985 | 3rd | 14/14 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 40 | 13 | First stage Group 1 | |||
| 12/14 | 40 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 50 | 31 | Consolation tournament | |||||
| 1986 | 3rd | 9/14 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 29 | 24 | First stage Group 2 | |||
| 6/14 | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 48 | 38 | Consolation tournament | |||||
| 1987 | 3rd | 12/27 | 52 | 22 | 12 | 18 | 72 | 59 | 56 | ||||
| 1988 | 3rd | 13/26 | 50 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 55 | 58 | 51 | ||||
| Polissya Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1989 | 3rd | 15/27 | 52 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 59 | 62 | 48 | Relegated | |||
| 1990 | 4th Zone 1 | 4/19 | 50 | 28 | 13 | 9 | 67 | 38 | 69 | Winner | |||
| 1991 | 4th Zone 1 | 10/26 | 50 | 22 | 7 | 21 | 64 | 66 | 51 | 1⁄8 finals | fall of the Soviet Union | ||
Ukraine
edit| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polissia Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1992 | 2nd Gr. "A" | 10/14 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 30 | 31 | 25 | Relegated | |||
| Khimik Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | 3rd | 2/18 | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 53 | 29 | 49 | Promoted | |||
| 1993–94 | 2nd | 10/20 | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 47 | 36 | ||||
| 1994–95 | 2nd | 4/22 | 42 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 61 | 37 | 75 | ||||
| 1995–96 | 2nd | 14/22 | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 55 | 57 | 58 | ||||
| 1996–97 | 2nd | 18/24 | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 44 | 61 | 55 | ||||
| Polissya Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 2nd | 6/22 | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 58 | 64 | 68 | ||||
| 1998–99 | 2nd | 12/20 | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 40 | 55 | 52 | ||||
| 1999–00 | 2nd | 15/18 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 36 | 51 | 40 | Relegated | |||
| 2000–01 | 3rd | 1/16 | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 61 | 17 | 70 | Promoted | |||
| 2001–02 | 2nd | 4/18 | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 43 | 33 | 58 | Lost promotion play-offs | |||
| 2002–03 | 2nd | 11/18 | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 38 | 43 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 2nd | 18/18 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 22 | 67 | 16 | Avoided relegation | |||
| 2004–05 | 2nd | 18/18 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 5 | 39 | 2 | withdrew Relegated | |||
Zhytychi Zhytomyr (2005–2006)
edit| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 3rd | 8/16 | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 38 | 34 | 41 | withdrew | |||
Polissya Zhytomyr (revived)
edit| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Other | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MFC Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | 4th (Amateur Championship) |
3/4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | Group 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 6/12 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 26 | UAC | 1⁄16 finals | Group 2 | ||
| Admitted to SL | |||||||||||||
| Polissia Zhytomyr | |||||||||||||
| 2017–18 | 3rd "A" | 8/10 | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 31 | 44 | 30 | 1⁄32 finals | |||
| 2018–19 | 3/10 | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 21 | 45 | 1⁄64 finals | ||||
| 2019–20 | 2/11 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 11 | 39 | 1⁄64 finals | Promoted | |||
| 2020–21 | 2nd | 11/16 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 37 | 35 | 1⁄16 finals | |||
| 2021–22 was terminated | 9/16 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 17 | 25 | 1⁄32 finals | began on 24.02.2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||
| 2022–23 | 2nd "A" | 1/8 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 6 | 40 | Not played | to Promotion group | ||
| 1/8 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 9 | 32 | Promoted | |||||
| 2023–24 | 1st | 5 | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 39 | 30 | 50 | 1/2 finals | |||
| 2024-25 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 1/8 finals | 2024–25 UEFA Conference League | Second qualifying round | ||
European record
editAll results (home and away) list Polissya's goal tally first.
| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | UEFA Conference League | Second qualifying round |  Olimpija Ljubljana
|
1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 
|
Awards
edit- Ukrainian First League
- Winners (1): 2022–23
- Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR
- Winners (1): 1967
- Runners up (2): 1973, 1975
- Football Cup of the Ukrainian SSR [among the Second League teams] (2)
- Zhytomyr Oblast
- Winners (1): 1958
Leader
edit| Place | Footballer | Games | Years in club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Volodymyr Shyshkov | 469 | 1974, 1978, 1981–1993 |
| 2. | Stefan Baran | 458 | 1981–1992 |
| 3. | Yuriy Strykharchuk | 391 | 1982–1985, 1987–1992 |
| 4. | Serhiy Yermakov | 361 | 1977–1987 |
| 5. | Mykola Batyuta | 348 | 1969, 1971, 1973–1981 |
| 6. | Ihor Talko | 340 | 1977, 1980–1983, 1989–1992, 1993 |
| 7. | Andriy Zheltonosov | 326 | 1981–1983, 1985–1991 |
| 8. | Vitaliy Horbach | 305 | 1969–1976 |
| 9. | Ihor Rutkovskyi | 299 | 1981–1983, 1986–1995 |
| 10. | Yuriy Leonov | 294 | 1982–1983, 1986–1991, 1992–1994, 1997–1998 |
| Place | Footballer | Goals | Years in club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Volodymyr Shyshkov | 192 | 1974, 1978, 1981–1993 |
| 2. | Pavlo Parshyn | 82 | 1998–2004 |
| 3. | Yuriy Leonov | 68 | 1982–1983, 1986–1991, 1992–1994, 1997–1998 |
| 4. | Yevhen Naumov | 66 | 1974–1981 |
| 5. | Stefan Baran | 59 | 1981–1992 |
| 6. | Valeriy Sofilkanych | 58 | 1993–2002 |
| 7. | Ihor Talko | 54 | 1977, 1980–1983, 1989–1992, 1993 |
| 8. | Yuriy Nesmiyan | 49 | 1970–1972 |
| 9. | Anatoliy Lukashenko | 49 | 1985, 1988–1995, 1999 |
| 10. | Mykola Vasyutin | 48 | 1969–1976 |
Reserves and the Academy
editPolissya-2
editIt is a team of the Specialized sports school of Olympic Reserve Polissya.
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4th | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 15 | ||||
References
edit- ^ ФСК«Львів» та ФК «Рух» планують виступати у другій лізі України. zaxid.net. 11 November 2015
- ^ Руслан Павлюк очолив КП «Муніципальний футбольний клуб «Житомир». 1.zt.ua. 23 March 2016
- ^ At last under its name MFC Zhytomyr, the club will play its official games on March 4-5. (Востаннє під назвою МФК "Житомир" клуб зіграє офіційні матчі 4-5 березня). FC Polissya Zhytomyr. 28 February 2017
- ^ Polissya conducted a small rebranding of its logo (Полісся провело невеличкий ребрендинг емблеми). UA-Football. 6 February 2018
- ^ Власник АТБ почав фінансувати футбольний клуб на Житомирщині, де у нього родовище берилію (додано). nashigroshi.org.
- ^ How the Zhytomyr stadium "Polissya" will look (Як виглядатиме житомирський стадіон «Полісся». ФОТО). MFC Zhytomyr. 4 August 2016
- ^ After 16 years Polissya returns to home stadium (Здійснилося. Полісся через 16 років повертається на рідний стадіон). UA-Football. 22 March 2021
- ^ "Player Profiles - FC Polissya Zhytomyr. Official club website". polissyafc.com.
- ^ "Polissya".
External links
edit- Ukrainian Records
- Soviet Records
- Football club FC Polissya. Zhytomyr City Journal. 10 July 2009
- Official website
- Buha, Bohdan. How the Cup was stripped away from the Cup's Masters (ЯК ЗАБРАЛИ КУБОК У «КУБКОВОГО БІЙЦЯ»). uaf.ua. 11 January 2012
- Reshnyuk, M. "Our instance is the mayor's initiative". Prof-football is returning to Zhytomyr ("Наш случай – это инициатива мэра". В Житомир возвращается проффутбол). UA-Football. 8 July 2017
- Maksim Maksimov. The chronological row of current events or Who will return the Big Football to Zhytomir? (Хроника текущих событий, или Кто вернет в Житомир Большой футбол?). UA-Football. 4 April 2012.