| Clubname: | Vorskla Poltava |
| Upright: | 0.9 |
| Fullname: | Футбольний клуб «Во́рскла» Полта́ва Football Club Vorskla Poltava |
| Nickname: | Zeleno-Bili (Green-Whites) |
| Ground: | Butovsky Vorskla Stadium |
| Capacity: | 24,795[1] |
| Owner: | Ferrexpo (Eduard Shalayev)[2] |
| Chairman: | Roman Cherniak (president) Oleh Lysak (vice-president) Hennadiy Muzyka (vice-president) |
| Manager: | Serhiy Dolhanskyi (interim) |
| League: | Ukrainian Premier League |
| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Position: | Ukrainian Premier League, 9th of 16 |
| Website: | http://www.vorskla.com.ua/ |
| Current: | 2023–24 FC Vorskla Poltava season |
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FC Vorskla Poltava (Ukrainian: ФК «Во́рскла» Полта́ва in Ukrainian pronounced as /ˈwɔrsklɐ polˈtɑwɐ/) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Poltava that competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top flight of Ukrainian football.
The club draws its history from 1955 when on the initiative of the first secretary of the regional party cell Mikhail Stakhursky[3] in the city of Poltava was established a football club Kolhospnyk within the republican trade union sports society Kolhospnyk. The same year it entered the Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR where already played one of the older clubs from Poltava, Lokomotyv Poltava. Beside Kolhospnyk and Lokomotyv, at republican level Poltava was represented with some other sports societies before 1950s.
Already in 1957, the club obtained its professional status (team of masters) 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.
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".[4] 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".[5] [6]
In the 2017–18 season, the club finished third in the top division for the first time since the 1996–97 season.
See main article: Oleksiy Butovskyi Vorskla Stadium and Molodizhnyi Stadium. 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.
In 2021 on the northern outskirts of Poltava there was built smaller stadium with an artificial turf "Molodizhnyi". It was built in place of a smaller sports field belonging to the local bankrupted factory. Vorskla uses the stadium for its reserve teams.
Vorskla has several reserve teams among which are Vorskla U-19 and Vorskla U-21 that are playing in the Ukrainian Premier Reserve League.
There also was FC Vorskla-2 Poltava.
Due to censorship in the Soviet Union, development of fan movement in Poltava could be traced as far as 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[7] 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.[8]
Vorskla maintains friendly relations with Shakhtar Donetsk[9] and Chornomorets Odesa fans. Strained relations with: Metalist Kharkiv,[10] 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.
The club participates in regional rivalry with the main Kremenchuk city club Kremin at least since the Soviet period in the third tier (Second League).
| Years[11] | 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 |
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.
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| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1955 | align=center rowspan=2 | 4th (Ukrainian championship) | align=center bgcolor=tan | 3 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 13 | 18 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | qualified for final group | |||
| 8 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1956 | 4th (Ukrainian championship) | align=center bgcolor=silver | 2 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 11 | 20 | |||||||||
| 1957 | 2nd (Klass B) | 12 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 43 | 57 | 28 | ||||||||||
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center colspan=14 | club reorganized Vorskla based on the Kolos academy | ||||||||||||||||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1984 | align=center rowspan=6 | 4th (KFK (Ukraine)) | align=center bgcolor=gold | 1 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 13 | 25 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | qualified for final group | |||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1985 | align=center bgcolor=gold | 1 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 10 | 24 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | qualified for final group | |||||
| align=center bgcolor=tan | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1986 | align=center bgcolor=gold | 1 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 45 | 13 | 27 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | align=center rowspan=2 | qualified for final group | |||||
| align=center bgcolor=gold | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 9 | align=center bgcolor=green | Promoted | |||||||||
| 1987 | align=center rowspan=5 | 3rd (Vtoraya Liga) | 9 | 52 | 22 | 14 | 16 | 74 | 59 | 58 | Ukrainian Championship | ||||||||
| 1988 | align=center bgcolor=silver | 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 | finals | Zone West | |||||||||
| 1991 | 19 | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 60 | 31 | finals | Zone West | |||||||||
| 1992 | align=center colspan=9 | no competition | finals | ||||||||||||||||
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup | Europe | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | align=center rowspan=5 | 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 | align=center bgcolor=gold | 1 | 42 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 92 | 37 | 103 | 1/32 finals | align=center bgcolor=lightgreen | Promoted | |||
| 1996–97 | align=center rowspan=12 | 1st (Vyshcha Liha) | align=center bgcolor=tan | 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 | align=center rowspan=22 | 1st (Premier Liha) | 5 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 26 | 49 | align=center bgcolor=gold | 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 | align=center | 1/8 finals | |||||
| 2015–16 | 5 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 26 | 42 | 1/4 finals | EL | 3rd qual. round | ||||
| 2016–17[14] | 7 | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 42 | 1/4 finals | align=center | EL | align=center | 3rd qual. round | ||
| 2017–18 | 3 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 35 | 49 | 1/4 finals | align=center | align=center | ||||
| 2018–19 | 7 | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 31 | 43 | 42 | 1/4 finals | align=center | EL | align=center | Group stage | ||
| 2019–20 | 10 | 32 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 48 | 34 | Runners-up | align=center | align=center | ||||
| 2020–21 | 5 | 30 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 30 | 41 | finals | align=center | align=center | ||||
| 2021–22 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 33 | finals* | align=center | ECL | align=center | 2nd qual. round | ||
