FC Polissya Zhytomyr

FC Polissya Zhytomyr is a Ukrainian football club based in Zhytomyr, Polesia. As of the 2020–21 season, it will play in the Ukrainian First League, the second tier of Ukrainian football, following promotion from the 2019–20 Ukrainian Second League. Their home were Spartak and Kolos stadiums. Since being admitted to the Ukrainian Second League, the club's current stadiums do not qualify for the competition. While the city's main arena under reconstruction, the club is forced to look for an alternative.

FC Polissya Zhytomyr
Full nameFootball Club Polissya
Founded1959
GroundTsentralnyi Stadion, Zhytomyr
Capacity5,928
ChairmanVitaliy Lyaskovskyi
ManagerYuriy Kalitvintsev
LeagueUkrainian First League
2020–21Ukrainian First League, 11th

Brief history

In Soviet times the club carried the name Avtomobilist (car maker), then it changed to Polissya (the name for the local region, which means (roughly) the wooded area). In the Ukrainian soccer competitions the club was called Khimik (chemical scientist) 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)

In 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]

Stadium
The Tsentralnyi Stadion is the main football arena of Zhytomyr Oblast.

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.[5]

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.[6]

Players

First team squad
As of 11 February 2022[7][8]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  UKR Oleh Kudryk
4 DF  UKR Andriy Hitchenko
5 DF  UKR Andriy Nesterov
7 FW  UKR Serhiy Kyslenko
8 MF  UKR Vladyslav Ohirya
9 MF  UKR Yevhen Morozko (on loan from Kolos Kovalivka)
10 MF  UKR Denys Yanakov (on loan from Zorya Luhansk)
11 DF  UKR Vladyslav Shapoval
13 GK  UKR Anton Yashkov
15 DF  UKR Andriy Vlasyuk
17 DF  UKR Andriy Sakhnevych
19 FW  UKR Dmytro Shastal
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF  UKR Vasyl Hrytsuk
28 FW  UKR Pylyp Budkivskyi
33 GK  UKR Artem Pospyelov
44 MF  UKR Arseniy Batahov (on loan from Dnipro-1)
59 MF  UKR Artem Kozak
74 DF  UKR Yan Morhovskyi
77 DF  UKR Bohdan Kushnirenko
78 MF  UKR Illya Cherednychenko
88 FW  UKR Vladyslav Vakula (on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk)
90 MF  UKR Ruslan Babenko
99 MF  UKR Maksym Andrushchenko

Managers

Chairmen
  • Ruslan Pavlyuk, 2016–2017
  • Vitaliy Lyaskovskyi, 2017–present

League and cup history

Spartak Zhytomyr (1977–1988)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1987 3rd 12 52 22 12 18 72 59 56
1988 3rd 13 50 18 15 17 55 58 51

Polissya Zhytomyr (1989–1992)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1989 3rd 15 52 16 16 20 59 62 48 Relegated
1990 4th Zone 1 4 50 28 13 9 67 38 69
1991 4th Zone 1 10 50 22 7 21 64 66 51 fall of the Soviet Union
1992 2nd Gr. "A" 10 26 10 5 11 30 31 25 Relegated

Khimik Zhytomyr (1992–1997)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1992–93 3rd 2 34 20 9 5 53 29 49 Promoted
1993–94 2nd 10 38 14 8 16 39 47 36
1994–95 2nd 4 42 20 15 7 61 37 75
1995–96 2nd 14 42 16 10 16 55 57 58
1996–97 2nd 18 46 15 10 21 44 61 55

Polissya Zhytomyr (1997–2005)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1997–98 2nd 6 42 21 5 16 58 64 68
1998–99 2nd 12 38 15 7 16 40 55 52
1999–00 2nd 15 34 11 7 16 36 51 40 Relegated
2000–01 3rd 1 30 22 4 4 61 17 70 Promoted
2001–02 2nd 4 34 17 10 7 43 33 58 Lost promotion play-offs
2002–03 2nd 11 34 12 7 15 30 38 43
2003–04 2nd 18 34 3 7 24 22 67 16 Avoided relegation
2004–05 2nd 18 34 0 2 32 5 39 2 withdrew Relegated

Zhytychi Zhytomyr (2005–2006)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
2005–06 3rd 8 28 10 11 7 38 34 41 withdrew

MFC Polissya Zhytomyr (since 2016)
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Other Notes
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
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

Awards

FC Polissya-2 Zhytomyr

It 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
  1. ФСК«Львів» та ФК «Рух» планують виступати у другій лізі України. zaxid.net. 11 November 2015
  2. Руслан Павлюк очолив КП «Муніципальний футбольний клуб «Житомир». 1.zt.ua. 23 March 2016
  3. 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
  4. Polissya conducted a small rebranding of its logo (Полісся провело невеличкий ребрендинг емблеми). UA-Football. 6 February 2018
  5. How the Zhytomyr stadium "Polissya" will look (Як виглядатиме житомирський стадіон «Полісся». ФОТО). MFC Zhytomyr. 4 August 2016
  6. After 16 years Polissya returns to home stadium (Здійснилося. Полісся через 16 років повертається на рідний стадіон). UA-Football. 22 March 2021
  7. "Player Profiles - FC Polissya Zhytomyr. Official club website". polissyafc.com.
  8. "Polissya". pfl.ua.
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