| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Dates: | June 2024 |
| Winners: | Inhulets Petrove |
| Promoted: | Inhulets Petrove Karpaty Lviv Livyi Bereh (promoted via Mini-Tournament) |
| League Topscorer: | Andriy Khoma Dmytro Shcherbak Vasyl Palahnyuk (14 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | |
| Biggest Away Win: | |
| Highest Scoring: | |
| Longest Wins: | Inhulets Petrove Karpaty Lviv Livyi Bereh Kyiv (7 matches) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Karpaty Lviv (14 matches) |
| Longest Winless: | Metalist Kharkiv Dinaz Vyshhorod (11 matches) |
| Longest Losses: | Khust (9 matches) |
| Updated: | end of season |
The 2023–24 Ukrainian First League is the 33rd football league since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 20 teams. The competition is conducting during the ongoing war with the Russia since late February 2022. It was decided to conduct competitions in two groups.[1]
The competitions were officially approved by the Ukrainian Association of Football Executive Committee only two days before the start of the season.[2] Matches of the First League were the first games of the 2023–24 season.
Due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the league competitions changed its usual format. The Professional Football League of Ukraine (PFL) Conference adopted changes to the 2022–23 season after some 24 PFL teams were forced to suspend their activities or dissolve. It was decided to keep the number of participants at 20,[3] but split them in two groups of 10.
The competitions are scheduled to consist of two stages. At the first stage two groups of 10 would conduct a usual double round-robin tournament. At the second stage, the top five from each group form the promotion group, while the bottom five from each group – the relegation group. Points earned at the first stage will be kept for the second, while teams would only be playing with participants of the group. So, in total each team is expected to play 28 games. The top two teams of the promotion group receive direct promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL), while the 3rd and the 4th would play promotion relegation play-off with the 14th and the 13th teams of UPL, respectively.[4] In case if Desna and Mariupol would decide to return, play-off games will be canceled and the UPL will be expanded.
Later it was clarified that for the second stage teams will be keeping all their points, unlike in the previous season when clubs only kept points with their opponents that joined them for the second stage from the first stage.[5]
This season, Ukrainian First League consisted of 20 teams.
Two teams were promoted at the end of the 2022–23 Ukrainian Second League.
Two more teams were allowed to return as members of the 2021–22 Ukrainian First League.
Two more were promoted from the 2021–22 Ukrainian Second League.
Two teams were relegated at the end of the 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League.
Due to the Russian military aggression, three clubs in the league were forced to relocate.
The 31st PFL Conference stripped five clubs of their membership in the Professional Football League due to no reply and non-payment of dues. The conference approved to reserve membership for some other clubs without their actual active participation in competitions this season.[10]
FC Lviv (relegated),[11] [12] [13] [14] Skoruk Tomakivka,[15] [16] FC Uzhhorod, FC Kramatorsk, VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka
The following displays the location of teams. Group A teams marked in red. Group B teams marked in green.
See also: List of football stadiums in Ukraine. The following stadiums were used as home grounds for the teams in the competition. The minimum capacity for stadiums of the First League clubs is set at 1,500 spectators.[20]
| Rank | Stadium | Location | Capacity | Club | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Lviv | 27,925 | Karpaty Lviv | |||
| 2 | align=left | Sumy | 25,830 | Viktoriya Sumy | [21] | ||
| 3 | align=left | Ternopil | 15,150 | Nyva Ternopil | |||
| 4 | align=left | Chernivtsi | 12,000 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | |||
| 5 | align=left | Uzhhorod | 10,383 | Metalist Kharkiv | used as home ground during the season | ||
| 6 | align=left | Central Stadium | Uman | 7,552 | Metalurh Zaporizhzhia | used as home ground during the season[22] | |
| 7 | align=left | Khmelnytskyi | 6,800 | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | |||
| 8 | align=left | Ivano-Frankivsk | 6,200 | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | |||
| 9 | align=left | Boryspil | 5,400 | FSC Mariupol | used as home ground during the season | ||
| 10 | align=left | Khust | 5,200 | FC Khust | |||
| 11 | align=left | Livyi Bereh Arena | Zolochivska hromada | 4,700 | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | ||
| 12 | align=left | Chernihiv | 3,000 | FC Chernihiv | [23] [24] [25] [26] | ||
| 13 | align=left | Yunist Stadium | Volochysk | 2,700 | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | ||
| 14 | align=left | Horishni Plavni | 2,500 | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |||
| 15 | align=left | Kamianets-Podilskyi | 2,500 | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | [27] | ||
| 16 | align=left | Petrove | 1,869 | Inhulets Petrove | |||
| 17 | align=left | Kremenchuk | 1,566 | Kremin Kremenchuk | |||
| 18 | align=left | Yuvileinyi Stadium | Bucha | 1,200[28] | Nyva Buzova | ||
| 19 | align=left | Poltava | 680 | SC Poltava | |||
| 20 | align=left | Demydiv | 550 | Dinaz Vyshhorod |
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni |  Serhiy Diryavka | Fired | 30 May 2023[32] | Pre-season | Valeriy Kutsenko | 19 June 2023[33] |
| Nyva Buzova | Serhiy Karpenko | Resigned | 1 June 2023[34] | Ihor Zhabchenko | 5 June 2023[35] | |
| Metalist Kharkiv |  Perica Ognjenović (interim) | Resigned | 8 June 2023[36] | Andriy Anishchenko | 24 June 2023[37] | |
| Inhulets Petrove | Vladyslav Lupashko (interim) | Change of role | 15 June 2023[38] | Vladyslav Lupashko | 15 June 2023 | |
| Nyva Ternopil | Serhiy Atlasyuk (interim) | Sacked | 21 June 2023[39] [40] | Vasyl Malyk | 21 June 2023 | |
| Viktoriya Sumy | Volodymyr Romanenko (interim) | Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi | 28 June 2023[41] | |||
| Nyva Ternopil | Vasyl Malyk | Sacked | 19 September 2023[42] [43] | 4th | Oleksandr Stakhiv (caretaker) | 20 September 2023[44] |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Roman Loktionov | Resigned | 24 September 2023[45] [46] | 8th | Ihor Klymovskyi | 27 September 2023[47] |
| Nyva Buzova | Ihor Zhabchenko | Administrative changes | 3 December 2023[48] | 4th | Roman Loktionov | 5 January 2024[49] |
| Nyva Ternopil | Oleksandr Stakhiv (caretaker) | Change of role | 4 December 2023 | 8th | Oleksandr Stakhiv | 4 December 2023[50] [51] |
| Metalurh Zaporizhzhia | Volodymyr Mykytin | Left the club | 21 March 2024[52] | 11th | Anton Hai (caretaker) | 15 March 2024[53] |
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | Andriy Melnychuk | Sacked | 13 May 2024[54] [55] | 12th | Hryhoriy Churilov (interim) | 13 May 2024 |
| Hryhoriy Churilov (interim) | End of interim | 24 May 2024[56] | 11th | Valeriy Kryventsov | 24 May 2024 | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andriy Kozhukhar | Karpaty Lviv | 12 |
| 2 | Maksym Mekhaniv | Nyva Ternopil | 7 |
 Andrey Popovich | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | 7 | |
| 4 | 1 player | 5 | |
| 4 | Ivan Ponomarenko | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 5 |
| 5 | 2 players | 4 | |
| Dmytro Nepohodov | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | 4 | |
| Ivan Pitsan | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 4 | |
| 7 | 2 players | 3 | |
| 4 | Serhiy Chernobay | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 3 |
| Heorhiy Klimov | Nyva Buzova | 3 | |
| 9 | 5 players | 2 | |
| 4 | Ihor Levchenko | FC Khust | 2 |
| Roman Lyopka | Nyva Buzova | 2 | |
| Vladyslav Rybak | Metalist Kharkiv | 2 | |
| Anton Zadereiko | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | 2 | |
| Roman Zhmurko | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 2 | |
| 14 | 3 players | 1 | |
| 3 | Dmytro Fastov | Metalist Kharkiv | 1 |
| Roman Herych | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 1 | |
| Vladyslav Ryabenko | FC Khust | 1 | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitaliy Chebotaryov | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 8 |
| Illya Karavashchenko | FSC Mariupol | 8 | |
| Oleksiy Palamarchuk | Inhulets Petrove | 8 | |
| 4 | 1 player(s) | 6 | |
| 4 | Oleksandr Lytvynenko | Viktoriya Sumy | 6 |
| 5 | 1 player(s) | 4 | |
| Nazar Baida | Metalurh Zaporizhia | 4 | |
| 6 | 5 player(s) | 3 | |
| 4 | Oleksandr Chernyatynskyi | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 3 |
| Vadym Dmytrochenko | Dinaz Vyshhorod | 3 | |
| Yaroslav Protsenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 3 | |
| Denys Shelikhov | Viktoriya Sumy | 3 | |
| Ihor Vartsaba | SC Poltava | 3 | |
| 11 | 2 players | 2 | |
| 4 | Artem Matus | Kremin Kremenchuk | 2 |
| Oleksandr Shyrai | FC Chernihiv | 2 | |
| 13 | 2 players | 1 | |
| 2 | Oleksiy Slutskyi | Kremin Kremenchuk | 1 |
| Danylo Veklych | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 1 | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andriy Kozhukhar | Karpaty Lviv | 16 |
| 2 | Oleksiy Palamarchuk | Inhulets Petrove | 14 |
| 3 | Maksym Mekhaniv | Nyva T. / Livyi Bereh | 10 |
| 4 | Illya Karavashchenko | FSC Mariupol | 9 |
| Oleksandr Lytvynenko | Viktoriya Sumy | 9 | |
| Andriy Popovych | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | 9 | |
| 7 | 1 player(s) | 8 | |
| 4 | Vitaliy Chebotaryov | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 8 |
| 8 | 1 player(s) | 6 | |
| 4 | Heorhiy Klimov | Nyva Buzova | 6 |
| 9 | 4 player(s) | 4 | |
| 4 | Ivan Pitsan | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 4 |
| Denys Shelikhov | Viktoriya Sumy | 4 | |
| Ihor Vartsaba | SC Poltava | 4 | |
| Roman Zhmurko | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 4 | |
| 13 | 2 player(s) | 3 | |
| 4 | Serhiy Chernobay | Epitsentr Kamianets-Podilskyi | 3 |
| Oleksandr Chernyatynskyi | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | 3 | |
| 15 | 2 player(s) | 2 | |
| 4 | Vladyslav Kucheruk | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 2 |
| Roman Lyopka | Nyva Buzova | 2 | |
| 17 | 3 player(s) | 1 | |
| 3 | Andriy Bobynets | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 1 |
| Roman Herych | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | 1 | |
| Bohdan Vasetskyi | SC Poltava | 1 | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Ponomarenko | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 8 |
| 2 | 2 player(s) | 7 | |
| Vadym Dmytrochenko | Dinaz Vyshhorod | 7 | |
| Vladyslav Rybak | Metalist Kharkiv | 7 | |
| 4 | 2 player(s) | 6 | |
| Dmytro Nepohodov | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | 6 | |
| Illia Olkhovyi | Nyva Ternopil | 6 | |
| 6 | 2 player(s) | 5 | |
| Arseniy Korkodym | Kremin Kremenchuk | 5 | |
| Ihor Levchenko | FC Khust | 5 | |
| 8 | 1 player(s) | 3 | |
| Yaroslav Protsenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 3 | |
| 9 | 3 players | 2 | |
| 4 | Artem Matus | Kremin Kremenchuk | 2 |
| Oleksandr Shyrai | FC Chernihiv | 2 | |
| Anton Zadereiko | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | 2 | |
| 12 | 9 players | 1 | |
| 3 | Dmytro Fastov | Metalist Kharkiv | 1 |
| Denys Herasymenko | FC Chernihiv | 1 | |
| Danylo Honcharuk | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 1 | |
| Danylo Kanevtsev | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 1 | |
| Hordiy Nikolayenko | Metalurh Zaporizhia | 1 | |
| Vladyslav Ryabenko | FC Khust | 1 | |
| Bohdan Shukhman | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 1 | |
| Oleksiy Slutskyi | Kremin Kremenchuk | 1 | |
| Danylo Veklych | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | 1 | |
| Month | Player of the Month | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |||
| August 2023 | Vladyslav Voytsekhovskyi | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | [59] | |
| September 2023 | Nazar Prykhodko | Khust | [60] | |
| October 2023 | Ambrosiy Chachua | Karpaty Lviv | [61] | |
| March 2024 | Vladyslav Chaban | Khust | [62] | |
| April 2024 | Yevhen Pidlepenets | Karpaty Lviv | [63] | |
| Round | Player | Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Reference | Coach | Club | Reference | |
| winter break | ||||||
| Round 1 | Pavlo Polehenko | Karpaty Lviv | [82] | Vitaliy Pervak (5) | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | |
| Round 2 | Andriy Andreychuk | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | [83] | Oleksandr Holovko | Dinaz Vyshhorod | |
| Round 3 | Yevhen Pidlepenets | Karpaty Lviv | [84] | Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi | Ahrobiznes Volochysk | |
| Round 4 | Bohdan Shmyhelskyi | SC Poltava | [85] | Myron Markevych (2) | Karpaty Lviv | |
| Round 5 | Vasyl Palahnyuk (2) | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | [86] | Vladyslav Lupashko (3) | Inhulets Petrove | |
| Round 6 | Andriy Kozhukhar | Karpaty Lviv | [87] | Roman Loktionov | Kudrivka-Nyva | |
| Round 7 | Artem Sitalo | Inhulets Petrove | [88] | Volodymyr Tsytkin (2) | FC Khust | |
| Round 8 | Vyacheslav Studenko | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | [89] | Vitaliy Kostyshyn (2) | Podillia Khmelnytskyi | |
| Round 9 | Roman Bodnia | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | [90] | Vitaliy Pervak (6) | Livyi Bereh Kyiv | |
| Round 10 | Serhiy Panasenko | Inhulets Petrove | [91] | Vladyslav Lupashko (4) | Inhulets Petrove | |
The relegation–promotion play-off games are scheduled to take place between the 6th and 7th placed teams in the Relegation group of the First League with the second and third placed teams of the Second League.
