FC Polissya Zhytomyr

Football Club Polissya Zhytomyr () is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Zhytomyr, Polissya. It plays in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top tier of Ukrainian football, following promotion from the 2022–23 Ukrainian First League.

The original Soviet team of masters became defunct after the 2004–05 season and for almost decade the city was without its professional club, although the Polissia football academy as a specialized sports school continued to play at local competitions.

History

The club traces its history back to 1959 when there was created the first "team of masters" (Soviet terminology of professional team). However, the team functioned before 1959 at republican level which was considered to be amateur. For example, in 1958 Avanhard Zhytomyr became a champion of Zhytomyr Oblast.

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

In March 2017, the club was renamed into FC Polissya Zhytomyr. The club also adopted a new logo with 1959 year of establishment thus claiming heritage of the original FC Polissya Zhytomyr.

Since mid of 2021, the club began to be financed by the BGV Group which controls a network of ATB-Market retail stores.

In May 2023, FC Polissya Zhytomyr won Ukrainian First League with three rounds left till the end of the tournament, reaching the Ukrainian Premier League for the first time in the club's history. Next year the club finished 5th in Premier League, which led to the club's first ever participation in European competitions.

Stadium

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.

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.

Players

First team squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Polissya Zhytomyr.

;Soviet Union
* Mykhaylo Forkash
* Valeri Kopiy
* Anatoliy Puzach
* Anatoliy Shepel

;Ukraine
* Oleksandr Andriyevskyi
* Pylyp Budkivskyi
* Oleksiy Hutsulyak
* Yuriy Kolomoyets
* Oleksandr Kovpak
* Bohdan Mykhaylichenko
* Serhiy Nahornyak
* Oleksandr Nazarenko
* Ivan Petryak
* Adrian Pukanych
* Artem Shabanov
* Dmytro Yakovenko

;Europe
* Andi Hadroj
* Emil Mustafayev
* Sergey Kostyuk
;Africa
* Béni Makouana

Coaches and administration

Managers

* Andriy Biba (1980)
* Andriy Biba (1995 – 1996)
* Anatoliy Zayayev (2000)
* Ihor Levytskyi (July 2016 – 12 Aug 2017)
* Eduard Khavrov (22 November 2017 – 15 December 2017)
* Oleksandr Pryzetko (27 December 2017 – 21 August 2018)
* Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi (21 August 2018 – 4 July 2020)
* Serhiy Shyshchenko (6 July 2020 – 15 June 2021)
* Yuriy Kalitvintsev (15 June 2021 – 11 March 2024)
* Serhiy Shyshchenko (12 March 2024 – 26 May 2024)
* Imad Ashur (26 May 2024 – 12 May 2025)

Chairmen

* Ruslan Pavlyuk, 2016–2017
* Vitaliy Lyaskovskyi, 2017–present

Logos and emblems

League and cup history

Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)

Ukraine

Zhytychi Zhytomyr (2005–2006)

Polissya Zhytomyr (revived)

European record

All results (home and away) list Polissya's goal tally first.

Awards

* Ukrainian First League
**Winners (1): 2022–23
* Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR
**Winners (1): 1967
**Runners up (2): 1973, 1975
* Football Cup of the Ukrainian SSR mong the Second League teams(2)
**Winners (2): 1972, 1990
**Runners up (1): 1974
* Zhytomyr Oblast
**Winners (1): 1958

Leader

Reserves and the Academy

Polissya-2

It is a team of the Specialized sports school of Olympic Reserve Polissya.

References

External links

Ukrainian Records



Football club FC Polissya
Zhytomyr City Journal. 10 July 2009

Official website
* Buha, Bohdan.
How the Cup was stripped away from the Cup's Masters (ЯК ЗАБРАЛИ КУБОК У «КУБКОВОГО БІЙЦЯ»)
'. uaf.ua. 11 January 2012
* Reshnyuk, M.

'. UA-Football. 8 July 2017
* Maksim Maksimov. ''[https://www.ua-football.com/ukrainian/news/1333528024-hronika-tekuschih-sobytiy-ili-kto-vernet-v-zhitomir-bolshoy-futbol.html The chronological row of current events or Who will return the Big Football to Zhytomir? (Хроника текущих событий, или Кто вернет в Житомир Большой футбол?)]''. UA-Football. 4 April 2012.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polissya Zhytomyr
FC Polissya Zhytomyr,
Football clubs in Zhytomyr
Association football clubs established in 1959
1959 establishments in Ukraine
Avanhard (sports society)
Spartak (sports society)
Ukrainian Premier League clubs
Sport in Korosten
Phoenix clubs (association football)