Ukrainian Premier League
 |
|
| Country | Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1991 (Vyshcha Liha) 2008 (Premier League) |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| 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 |
| Current champions |
Dynamo Kyiv (15th title) (2015–16) |
| Most championships | Dynamo Kyiv (15 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
 2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League
|
|
The Ukrainian Premier League (Ukrainian: "Прем'єр-ліга") or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha (Top League) it was formed in 1991 as part of the 1992 Ukrainian football championship upon discontinuation of the 1991 Soviet football championship and included the Ukraine-based clubs that competed previously in the Soviet competitions. In 1996 along with other the professional football leagues of Ukraine, the Top League became a member of the Professional Football League of Ukraine.
In 2008 it was withdrawn from Professional Football League of Ukraine and reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine, officially changing its name to the current one. Its rank was 8th highest in Europe as rated by UEFA as of 2016.
Among Ukrainian fans the most popular Ukrainian clubs are Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. Far behind those two are trailing Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Karpaty Lviv and Chornomorets Odesa.
The 2016–17 season is the league's ninth after the break-away from the Professional Football League (PFL) in 2008 and 26th season from the break-up of the Soviet Top League. Until 2007 the league was subsidized by the government and from an economic point of view was not a profitable organization. To solve that issue, the League have tried to attract a few sponsors since the 2007 season: Soyuz-Viktan (2007) and Biola (2008). On 15 April 2008 the new Premier-League was formed. Since its formation the title sponsor of the League became the national network of the construction supermarkets EpiCentre K. The new sports organization is a completely independent entity and consists of 12 football club organizations under the guidance of the Football Federation of Ukraine.
...
Wikipedia