Football Club Desna Chernihiv ( uk, ФК «Десна» Чернігів) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

. The original name of the club was "Avanhard" (FC Avanhard Chernihiv) during its first year of existence as part of a republican Avanhard sports society. Between 1961 and 1970 the club was called Desna. In 1972 it was replaced with SC Chernihiv (team of the

SKA Kyiv FC CSKA Kyiv ( uk, "ЦСКА Київ") is a Ukrainian amateur football club, until 2001 of the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is government sponsored by the Ministry of Defense. As its farm team CSKA-2 Kyiv, in 1994� ...

) that played in

for the next couple of years. In 1977 Desna was revived now in place of the amateur club " FC Khimik Chernihiv" that won regional competitions.

History

Original team of masters Avanhard Chernihiv

The team of masters was established in

in 1960 under the name "Avanhard" as part of the republican Avanhard sports society and entering competitions of the class "B" competitions (concurrently

Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR The Championship of the Ukrainian SSR in football was a top competition of association football in the Ukrainian SSR in 1921-91. Number of Ukrainian clubs almost never competed in the championship such as Dynamo Kyiv. The competitions were organ ...

). That year the

team "Avanhard" would take part in the state football championship (challenge) among the Class B teams. The team was created on already existing Chernihiv city team that also was known as Avanhard and played earlier in republican level competitions. In the season 1958, "Avanhard Chernihiv", signed

Viktor Bannikov Viktor Maksymovych Bannikov (russian: Ви́ктор Макси́мович Ба́нников, uk, Віктор Максимович Банніков; 28 April 1938 – 25 April 2001) was a Ukrainian football official and a Soviet player. He w ...

for one year, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

earning the title of the best twice in 1964 and 1970 and distinguished Master of Sport of

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(1991). From 1966 to 1979 the goalkeeper was

Yuriy Hruznov Yuriy Hruznov ( ua, Юрій Миколайович Грузнов; 22 February 1947) is a former professional Soviet football (soccer), football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and later Soviet and Ukrainian coach. Beside coaching ...

from

. In the "Avanhard Chernihiv"'s squad were included better footballers of the region (

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...

). Among them are goalkeeper V.Lomako, field players V.Kravchynskyi, Yu.Shkolnikov, O.Finkelberh, and others, in such way the chairman of regional council of sports societies and organizations V.Tatur informed readers of "Desnyanska Pravda" on 10 February 1960.1960–1962
Desna Chernihiv website. 19 August 2016 "The team's coach is appointed a former Dynamo Kyiv player Aleksandr Shchanov. These days "Avanhard" will proceed with its training and in already the nearest future in

will start reconstruction and upgrade of the city's stadium. In its construction will take part quite a few city residents, public, youth, and Komsomol activists". Over 26 seasons in the USSR championships, Desna played 1,099 matches, of which 380 won, 301 – tied and 418 – lost. They scored 1145 goals, conceded – 1251. In February, "Avanhard Chernihiv" took part in the winter championship of the

(see

Chernihiv Oblast Football Federation Chernihiv Oblast Football Federation (CHOFF) is a football governing body in the region of Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine. The federation is a collective member of the Football Federation of Ukraine. The first championship took place in 1935.< ...

), and the team played their first official match on April 17, 1960, in

Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

against the " Zirka" (0:3). The next match, "Avanhard" held a draw with Kyivan "Arsenal" (0:0), and then lost at its home field to "Lokomotyv" out of

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...

(today

FC Nyva Vinnytsia FC Nyva Vinnytsia is a professional Ukrainian football club based in the city of Vinnytsia. The name "Nyva" translates to "grain field". The club was originally created in 1958 in the Soviet Union and folded in 2005 and 2012, but was reformed a ...

) with a score of 0:6. In May 1960, Aleksandr Shchanov was dismissed. The duties of a head coach were performed by his assistant Anatoliy Zhigan, who was approved in this position in July 1960. In its first season in the USSR championship, the team took 16th place out of 17 teams in the 1st zone of the Ukrainian Class B class (second tier) and won relegation playoff against Avanhard Pryluky to stay in the league.

Name Change from "Avanhard Chernihiv" to "FC Desna Chernihiv"

Andriy Yarmolenko - Martin Olsson 20120611

In 1961 the team received the name "Desna". According to the results of the 1961 season, Desna took the 5th place in its group and the 10th place in the final of the Ukrainian SSR (class "B"). Among all the Ukrainian teams of the championship of the USSR

team was the 13th. In 1962, the team was coached by Yevgeny Goryansky and in 1965 Desna achieved its highest achievement in the Soviet Union era. Defeating six opponents, including class "A" teams – "Shinnik" and "Neftçi", the team reached the 1/8 finals of the

USSR Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...

, where they lost to "Kairat" in

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

with a score 3:4. The following season, the team fought for leadership in the first zone of the Ukrainian class "B" – the winners were given the right to fight for securing the second group of the "A" class (later reorganized into the First League). "Desna" skipped forward only Khmelnitsky "Dynamo", and in the overall standings took the 4th place in the championship of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1968, Desna, taking fourth place in the final tournament of the best Ukrainian teams of the "B" class, won a ticket to the second group of the "A" class. At the end of the 1970 season, the team took 11th place among 22 teams, but at the end of the year the decision of the new head of the

region was to disband the club. In 1972 the city of

was represented by a football team called the "team of Chernihiv city" and later renamed as SC Chernihiv. The team represented the Armed Forces of

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

and better known as

. The 1976 season was its last season at professional level. At the same period of time in 1976 "Khimik" Chernihiv, led by the former player of the Desna, Yukhym Shkolnykov, won the Ukrainian SSR championship among the physical culture teams, thus gaining an opportunity to participate at professional level, the

Soviet Second League The Soviet Second League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу (вторая лига), Soviet football championship (Second League)) was the third highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet First League. The leagu ...

. In 1977 "Desna", the composition of which was formed from the former players of "Khimik" Chernihiv, entered the

. In the season 1981–1982

Oleh Kuznetsov Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov (born as Oleg Wladimirowitsch Kuznetsow in Germany) ( uk, Олег Володимирович Кузнєцов) (born 22 March 1963) is a Ukrainian football coach and former professional player. He won domestic ho ...

, started his career in FC Desna Chernihiv, as the family moved to

and later he played for

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

, Rangers,

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

and CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv, winning

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The professional top level ...

Soviet Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers. He also got the final with

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned Netherlan ...

in the

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

with 11th and 17th places for Ballon d'Or in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and 1989. In summer 1982, the club signed

Oleksandr Ryabokon Oleksandr Ryabokon ( ua, Олександр Дмитрович Рябоконь; born 21 February 1964) is a former Ukrainian football defender, and recently, until 2022, the head-coach of FC Desna Chernihiv in the Ukrainian Premier League. He ...

as defender and the team, placed 2nd in the Ukrainian zone of the Second League, won silver medals of the

football championship of the Ukrainian SSR The Championship of the Ukrainian SSR in football was a top competition of association football in the Ukrainian SSR in 1921-91. Number of Ukrainian clubs almost never competed in the championship such as Dynamo Kyiv. The competitions were organ ...

. In the season 1983–1984 the team was coached by the experience of Yevgeny Goryansky having coached

and clubs like

FC Dinamo Minsk FC Dinamo Minsk ( be, ФК Дынама Мінск, ''FK Dynama Minsk''; russian: link=no, ФК Динамо Минск) is a professional football club based in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk. It was founded in 1927 as part of the Sovi ...

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footb ...

FC Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offici ...

and

FC Zenit Leningrad Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

. In 1990 the club got into the semifinal of

Cup of the Ukrainian SSR Football Cup of the Ukrainian SSR ( uk, Кубок УРСР з футболу, Kubok URSR z futbolu, russian: Кубок УССР по футболу, Kubok USSR po futbolu) was a playoff republican competitions in association football that were ta ...

against Naftovyk Okhtyrka. In 1991 he got into the quarterfinal of

against Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih.

Transition from Soviet competitions to Ukrainian

After the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

and the proclamation of Ukraine's independence, Desna started playing in the

Ukrainian First League The Persha Liha ( uk, Перша ліга) or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is th ...

, but in the season 1993/94 it was relegated to the third tier. The coach was

from 1990 to 1993 and the club won the

Ukrainian Second League Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

group tournament in the season 1996–97, the team returned to the First League for two seasons. Since 1999, for seven seasons, Chernihiv footballers performed in the Second League. In the Summer 2003, the club acquired the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

defender Milan Zagorac and the coach was Vadym Lazorenko from 2002 to 2004. Desna got second in the

with Oleksandr Kozhemyachenko top scores with 21 goals and the season 2005–06 finally won the and

and the club return the team to the

in the season 2006–07. First League in the championship of 2005/06 mentors Olexandr Tomakh and Yukhym Shkolnykov were managed. In summer time 2006, FC Desna signed the professional Forward

Andriy Yarmolenko Andriy Mykolayovych Yarmolenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Ярмоленко; born 23 October 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Emirati UAE Pro League club Al Ain and captains the ...

, who played for who played for

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

and now plays for

West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, h ...

He also played for under-21 squad for also participated in the

2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played fro ...

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

. He later participated in

and finals of the

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

. With the Ukraine National Team, in the

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...

game against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

, Yarmolenko made his first senior appearance for Ukraine and scored in a 5–0 win. On 2 September 2011, in an international friendly against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

victory over

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

to qualify the nation for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

. In the 2007/08 season Desna took the 4th place in the

, which at that time was the best result of the team in the Ukrainian championship. In November 2008 the club's president Oleksiy Savchenko announced that he sold 50% of the club's stock for ₴10 million and the club's co-owner became Ukrainian parliamentarian of

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

Pavlo Klymets who was the owner of "Olimp" company specializing in production of vodka. After the end of the 2009/10 season Desna was deprived of professional status due to the fact that it did not pass the certification, but the new authority managed to revive the team and declare it in the Second League. In the season 2011–12, the coach was Oleksandr Deriberin that brought the club at the second place in

and gained the playoff.

Promotion to Ukrainian Premier League

In the 2012–13 season Desna won the

title and rose in the class. Following the results of the championship of 2013/14 the team took the 5th position in the First League. In the

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003� ...

in the season 2013–14, the team for the first time in history reached the quarter finals, having beaten "Metalurh" Zaporizhya (1:1, in a penalty shootout – 5:4) on its field. In the match 1/4 finals with the "Shakhtar" "Desna" lost with a score of 0:2. The coach

was elected best coach of the

in the season 2016–17. In the summer 2016, the club signed the striker Oleksandr Filippov, from

FC Avanhard Kramatorsk Football Club Kramatorsk is a professional Ukrainian football club from the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast. The club takes its history from a factory team of the Old Kramatorsk Machine-building Plant (SKMZ). History The club Avangard wa ...

and in 2016/17 season Desna won the silver medals of the First League and for the first time in history gained the right to compete in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. However, on 1 June 2017, it was announced that Desna was denied in receiving license to play in the top division. The argument was that the club is not able to provide guarantees for an adequate financing of infrastructure.Veres passed an attestation and will be playing in the UPL along with a coach Kvartsianyi (Верес получил аттестат и сыграет в УПЛ с тренером Кварцяным)
Sport Arena. 1 June 2017 In reality, the problem was not only in half-shady financial irregularities, but also shady ownership of the club. The license was received by

NK Veres Rivne Narodnyy Klub Veres Rivne ( uk, РНК «Верес») is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Rivne. The club competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top tier of Ukrainian football, after winning the 2020–21 Ukrainian First ...

, the third-placed team during the last season in the second-tier division. Both clubs FC Desna Chernihiv and NK Veres Rivne did not play at their home stadiums in the

2016–17 Ukrainian First League The 2016–17 Ukrainian First League was the 26th since its establishment. The fixtures were announced on 16 July 2016, and the competition commenced on 24 July 2016. The spring session started on 12 March 2017 with the competition ending on 2 Ju ...

. The first one played in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

at the

Obolon Arena Obolon Arena is a football stadium in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is the home ground of football club Obolon Kyiv.Varash Varash ( uk, Вараш), from 1977 to 2016 Kuznetsovsk ( uk, Кузнецо́вськ, links=no), is a city in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Varash urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine and Varash Raion, one of the ...

, at the Izotop Stadium of the

Rivne Nuclear Power Plant The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant ( uk, Рівненська АЕС), also called Rovno is a nuclear power plant in Varash, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. The Rivne Nuclear Power Station were the first VVER-400 reactors to be constructed in Ukraine. As the ...

. The administration of Desna released a letter of protest before a meeting of FFU representative. On 2 June 2017, it was announced about the final composition of the clubs and calendar for the upcoming season. In October 2017 the club's ownership was passed to

Volodymyr Levin Levin Volodymyr Illich (ukr. ''Левін Володимир Ілліч''; born 1 June 1970 in Kyiv), is a Ukrainian politician, and businessman. In 2017 he became the Chairman of the club Desna Chernihiv. Biography Levin was born in Kyiv and ...

. According to the results of the 2017/18 season Desna won the bronze medals of the First League and gained the right to compete in the

through the play-offs against Zirka Kropyvnytskyi. The captain Denys Favorov was elected Best Player

in the season 2017–18. The team got into the Quarterfinals of the

in the season 2017–18 against

Europa League third qualifying round

In 2018 the club signed the experienced goalkeeper

Yevhen Past Yevhen Serhiyovych Past ( uk, Євген Сергійович Паст; born 16 March 1988) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chornomorets Odesa. Club career Early years He is a product of the Chornomorets Ode ...

and in January 2020 the

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n international experience Joonas Tamm and the club during the season 2019–20 got again into the Quarterfinals of the

for the second time of the history of the club. In

in the season 2019–20, Desna got the 4th place, through the play-offs for the Championship round table, winning also against club like

at the NSC Olimpiyskiy on 15 September 2019 for 1–2 (

Vladyslav Kalitvintsev Vladyslav Yuriyovych Kalitvintsev ( uk, Владислав Юрійович Калітвінцев; born 4 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Oleksandriya. Born in Russia, he has represented Ukraine at yout ...

40', Artem Besyedin 49, Oleksandr Filippov 56). Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine The COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Ukraine when the country's first case was confirmed to be hospitalized in Chernivtsi Oblast on 3 March 2020, a ...

and based on resolutions of the

Cabinet of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

and the UAF Executive Committee, on 11 March 2020 the UPL adopted a decision to conduct games of the league's championship as well as under-21 and under-19 championships without spectators until 3 April 2020 (the first two rounds of the season's second stage). FC Desna Chernihiv, started the play-offs for the Championship round table, 15 March 2020 with

drawing 1–1 at the NSC Olimpiyskiy. Due to pandemic situation worldwide, the League was temporally suspended. The play-off started again 30 May 2020 and FC Desna Chernihiv won away 0–2 against

FC Kolos Kovalivka FC Kolos Kovalivka ( uk, Колос Ковалівка) is a professional Ukrainian football club from the village of Kovalivka, Kyiv Oblast which competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, having been promoted from the Ukrainian First League on ...

and 5–1 away against

FC Oleksandriya Football Club Oleksandriya ( uk, Футбольний клуб Олександрія), commonly known as Oleksandriya, is a Ukrainian professional football club based in the city of Oleksandriya, Kirovohrad Oblast. Founded in 1948, the club pla ...

on 14 June 2020. Next match Desna lost 3–2 against

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

6 June 2020. Desna made incredible performance winning 5–1 away against

15 June 2020. On 21 June 2020, the club lost 1–2 at home against

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( uk, ФК «Зоря» Луганськ ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk is based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, because of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team play their games at Slavutych-Arena in Zapori ...

and one week later FC Desna won 3–2 at home against

in an incredible match . On 5 July 2020 the club won 5–1 at home against

and be the team that scored most goals during the play off Wednesday 8 July 2020, Desna qualified mathematically for the Europa League third qualifying round, for the first time in the history of the Club since 1960, following the victory of the

against Vorskla Poltava and being the third best attach and the third best defence in the season. Also

was the goalkeeper with most clean sheets in 11 matches together with the international Ukrainian goalkeeper

Andriy Pyatov Andriy Valeriyovych Pyatov ( uk, Андрій Валерійович П'ятов; born 28 June 1984) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. Club career Artemida K ...

Fair Play prize of Ukrainian Premier League

In summer 2020, the captain Denys Favorov, left the club after 4 years with big surprise of many people as the club didn't extend the contract and elected

Ukrainian Footballer of the Year The Ukrainian Footballer of the Year is an annual journalist award given by the ''Ukrainskiy Football'' ("Ukrainian Football") newspaper to the best professional Ukrainian footballer since 1991. The Ukrainian Footballer of the Year award is given to ...

in 2020. The striker Oleksandr Filippov was sold for 1.5 million of euro, becoming the most expensive player sold by the club, also with some Italian clubs interested in the player. After the draw for the Europa League third qualifying round, Desna got the German team

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

and on 24 September 2020 they lost 2–0 at the

AOK Stadion AOK may refer to: Language * A-ok, an expression popularized by Shorty Powers * A-OK hand gesture, symbolized by a joined thumb and forefinger with remaining fingers extended Places * Karpathos Island National Airport, IATA airport code Organ ...

Vladyslav Kalytvyntsev with Ukrainian Cup

In October 2020 Yukhym Konoplya (on loan from

), has been called for the

Ukraine national football team The Ukraine national football team ( uk, Збірна України з футболу) represents Ukraine in men's international football and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukr ...

, for friendly match against France and

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

matches against Germany and Spain on 7, 10 and 13 October 2020 respectively, becoming the first player of playing in Desna Chernihiv, called in the Ukrainian National Team. In January 2021, the team has won the Fair Play prize in the UPL as the best team in the season 2019–20.The award ceremony was attended by the President of the Ukrainian Football Association, UEFA Executive Committee member

Andriy Pavelko Andriy Vasylyovych Pavelko ( ua, Андрій Васильович Павелко, Andriy Vasylyovych Pavelko; born 7 October 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and sports functionary. On 6 March 2015, he was elected as president of the Football Fe ...

, UAF First Vice President

Oleh Protasov Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov ( uk, Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the ...

, UAF Referees Committee Chairman Luciano Luci, UPL Executive Director Yevhen Dyky and PFL President Oleksandr Kadenko. In summer of 2021 the club fails to qualify for the cups and according with the president of the club,

, said that the club has a 4-month debt to the players for the payment of salaries and the management of the UPL club decided to cut the budget for the 2021/22 season. A number of players have left Desna. The club begins the rejuvenation of the team, leaving starting players who have made the history of the club and begins to develop the team's academy and choose some of Desna 2 players. The team was requalified and new young players has been added into the club with good results at the beginning of the season to the surprise of many people and the press. In September 2021,

has been included in the reserve team of

against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, becoming the first player belong to Desna to been called in the

Infrastructure

Stadium

The team play in the Olympic sports training center "Chernihiv" (formerly Stadion Yuriya Gagarina). The Stadion Yuri Gagarin in

was built in 1936 for 3,000 spectators in eastern portion of a city park (garden) that exists since 1804 and where previously was located residence of the Chernihiv Archbishops. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Chernihiv Stadium was heavily damaged and in the 1950s was completely reconstructed, included stadium walls and two stands for 11,000 spectators. In 1961, it was named after the Russian Soviet cosmonaut

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

. On 25 May 1964, Gagarin in person attended the stadium. In the mid 1980s, the stadium capacity was increased to 14,000.

Training centre

Desna Chernihiv, train in the "Olympic sports training center" and sometime in Chernihiv Arena, which is belong of

FC Chernihiv Football Club Chernihiv ( uk, ФК Чернігів) is a Ukrainian football club based in Chernihiv that currently plays in the Ukrainian First League.