Futsal in Ukraine

The official history of futsal in Ukraine dates back to March 9, 1993, when the founding conference on the creation of the futsal association of Ukraine was held in Dnepropetrovsk . A report on the status of futsal in Ukraine was held in the conference hall of the Rassvet Hotel, after which there was a discussion of the draft charter of the association, a vote on the adoption of the draft, as well as the election of the president of AMFU , which was Gennady Anatolyevich Lisenchuk ^[1] .

Until 1993, futsal in Ukraine developed under the leadership of the Union of mini-football clubs, created in Dnepropetrovsk by joint efforts of activists of the city club of football lovers, as well as the editorial board of the newspaper " Youth of Ukraine ", which established a number of prizes for all-Union football tournaments. In 1990, the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of the Ukrainian SSR and the Football Federation of Ukraine entrusted the Union of Mini-Football Clubs with the organization of the first Ukrainian Football Championship . The tournament was held in Dnepropetrovsk, and the gold medal went to the players of the local " Machine Operator ". The dominance of the Dnepropetrovsk club was confirmed by victories in the Cup of Ukraine 1990 , as well as the USSR Cup 1991 - the first and only draw of the USSR cup in futsal ^{[1] [2]} .

In 1994, the national futsal team of Ukraine was created, headed by the USSR master of sports and the president of the mini-football association of Ukraine Gennady Lisenchuk. ^[1] .

In 1996, the Football Federation of Ukraine delegated to AMFU the right to hold a national championship in futsal, the cup of Ukraine, women's and youth competitions, as well as the formation of the national team ^[1] .

On June 17, 2011, the country's leading futsal clubs sign the constituent documents for registering an association of futsal clubs under the name Extra League. Stepan Melnichuk becomes the president of the organization, and the Extra League itself soon receives the rights to host the Ukrainian futsal championship ^[2] .

In 2013, permutations take place in the top management of the Ukrainian futsal: the permanent head of AMFU Gennady Lisenchuk leaves his post. The next president of AMFU is Sergey Vladyko , ahead of Yuri Sorochik during the vote (52 votes to 49) ^[2] .

National Championship and Cup

The first Ukrainian futsal championship was held in 1990 in Dnepropetrovsk. Only five teams took part in the championship of the republic, and the Dnepropetrovsk "Machine Operator" became the winner. In addition, from 10 to 13 October 1990 in Dnepropetrovsk the first Ukrainian Cup was held with eight teams. The Republican Cup also confidently won the "Mechanizer". In subsequent years, the championship and cup of the republic , and later of independent Ukraine , were held annually.

At different time periods, various clubs dominated the national arena. From 1990 to 1996, the Mechanizer became the champion three times and four times the winner of the Ukrainian Cup. 1996-1998 was marked by the dominance of the Odessa Lokomotiv , which three times became the champion and twice the winner of the cup. From 1999 to 2001, the leading position in Ukrainian futsal was won by Kiev Intercas , having twice won the championship and the country's cup. The years 2002-2008 brought the Donetsk Shakhtar five championship titles, as well as three top cup trophies. After 2009, most of the trophies were shared by Kharkov Lokomotiv (three championships and two cups) and Lviv Energia (two championships and four cups).

Since 2005, the Super Bowl of the country has been held . From 2005 to 2008, the Donetsk Shakhtar became the owner of the Super Bowl three times. In 2010, the Lviv “Time” became the champion and owner of the cup, as a result of which the match for the Super Bowl was not held. In 2012, Lviv Energia became the owner of the double, and according to the regulations the team was to meet with Kharkiv Lokomotiv, however, by agreement of both teams the match was canceled, as Lokomotiv represented Ukraine at the student world championship ^[3] . Since 2013, for four consecutive years, the Lokomotiv (Kharkov) became the owner of the Super Bowl.

As of 2017, Ukraine is hosting professional club competitions in the Extra League (10 teams), the First League (7 teams) and the Second League (19 teams divided into 5 groups). The Ukrainian Cup consists of two preliminary stages, after which the 1/8 and 1/4 finals are played, as well as the final of four ^[4] .

International appearances

Ukrainian clubs regularly took part in international friendly tournaments. One of the first international achievements of Ukrainian teams was the victory of the “ Machine Operator ” in a tournament held in Slovak Luchinets in the early nineties, as a result of which Konstantin Eremenko was named the best player in the tournament.

The first official club tournament in Europe - the UEFA Futsal Cup - was held in 2001, but Ukrainian clubs did not take part in it. However, the Donetsk Shakhtar took part in the second draw: at the qualifying tournament in Finland, the Ukrainian club won three victories, and Igor Moskvichyov scored 10 goals. In the future, Shakhtar and other Ukrainian futsal leaders participated in the UEFA Cup with varying degrees of success. The highest achievement for Ukrainian clubs was the 2005/2006 season, in which Shakhtar (Donetsk) made it to the semifinals of the European Cup ^{[2] [5]} .

The national football team of Ukraine was created in 1994. The first coach of the team was Gennady Lisenchuk. The first major tournaments are the European Championship and 1996 World Cup , in which Ukraine takes 5-6 and 4 places, respectively.

The highest achievements came to the national team in 2001 and 2003 , when the Ukrainians became vice-champions of Europe. After 2010 at the European Championships, the Ukrainian national team four times in a row leaves the group, however, it finishes performing at the 1/4 final stage.

At the 2012 World Cup, Ukraine completed performances in the quarter finals, and in 2016 in the quarter finals.

More significant in comparison with the national team are the achievements of the student team of Ukraine , which three times becomes the world champion among students: in 1998, 2004 and 2012 ^[2] .

The leader in the women's club futsal of Ukraine is FC Belichanka , the permanent champion of Ukraine since 2008. The best achievement of the Ukrainian women's futsal team is fifth in the 2012 World Cup ^[6] .

Youth and youth futsal are developing in Ukraine under the leadership of AMFU . The championship of Ukraine in various age categories is regularly held. There are national teams among boys under the age of 19 and up to 17 years. The head of the youth national team is Vitaly Odegov . In addition, the school futsal league of Ukraine (BFLH) is held ^[7] .

Amateur futsal at the national level is engaged in the Amator Futsal League of Ukraine (AFLU). Regional tournaments are held throughout the country with the status of AMPU qualifying stages. Winners and prize-winners of these tournaments receive the right to participate in the All-Ukrainian and Elite finals of AFLU ^[8] . The winner of the first All-Ukrainian final of the Amator futsal league of Ukraine in Kiev was Kiev “HIT” ^[9] .

AMFU also organizes competitions among veterans in various age categories. In 2016, the Black Sea (35+ and 45+) and Kodyma (55+) teams became the winners of the Ukrainian championship among veterans ^[10] .

• List of mini-football clubs in Ukraine