FC Polissya Zhytomyr

Football Club Polissya Zhytomyr (Ukrainian: Футбольний клуб «Полісся» Житомир) 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.

Polissya Zhytomyr

Full name	Football Club Polissya Zhytomyr
Founded	1959; 66 years ago (1959) (as Avanhard Zhytomyr) 2016 (as MFC Zhytomyr)
Ground	Tsentralnyi Stadion, Zhytomyr
Capacity	5,928
Owner	Hennadiy Butkevych
General Director	Volodymyr Zahurskyi
Manager	vacant
League	Ukrainian Premier League
2023–24	Ukrainian Premier League, 5th of 16
Website	polissyafc.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

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.^[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]

Since mid of 2021, the club began to be financed by the BGV Group which controls a network of ATB-Market retail stores.^[5]

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.^[6] Next year the club finished 5th in Premier League, which led to the club's first ever participation in European competitions.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

Players

First team squad

As of 6 November 2024^[10][11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  UKR Oleh Kudryk 2 DF  ALB Andi Hadroj 4 DF  CRO Matej Matić 5 DF  UKR Eduard Sarapiy 7 FW  UKR Oleksandr Nazarenko 8 MF  UKR Ruslan Babenko 9 FW  URU Facundo Batista 10 MF  ISR Tomer Yosefi 11 MF  UKR Oleksiy Hutsulyak 13 DF  BRA Lucas Taylor 14 MF  ISR Ofek Biton 15 DF  UKR Bohdan Mykhaylichenko 18 MF  UKR Oleksandr Andriyevskyi 19 MF  CGO Borel Tomandzoto 23 GK  UKR Yevhen Volynets

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 FW  BIH Admir Bristrić (on loan from Olimpija Ljubljana) 30 MF  UKR Bohdan Lyednyev 31 DF  GEO Giorgi Maisuradze 34 DF  BRA João Vialle 37 MF  BRA Talles Costa 40 FW  POR André Gonçalves 44 DF  UKR Serhiy Chobotenko (captain) 55 DF  UKR Borys Krushynskyi 58 DF  UKR Serhiy Korniychuk 60 MF  UKR Maksym Melnychenko 70 FW  CGO Jerry Yoka 73 DF  UKR Danylo Beskorovaynyi 90 FW  BRA Cauã Paixão (on loan from Vasco da Gama) 99 GK  UKR Viktor Ulihanets

Other players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  UKR Yevheniy Mykytyuk

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  UKR Nikita Petruk

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  AZE Emil Mustafayev (at Chornomorets Odesa until 30 June 2025) — MF  UKR Mykhaylo Rasko (at Mynai until 30 June 2025) — FW  VEN Luifer Hernández (at Vinotinto until 31 December 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  MKD Dimitar Trajkov (at Dugopolje until 30 June 2025) — FW  CGO Béni Makouana (at LNZ Cherkasy until 30 June 2025) — FW  BRA Wendell (at Veres Rivne until 30 June 2025)

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

Administration[12]	Coaching (senior team)[13]	Coaching (U-19 team)[13]
President – Hennadiy Butkevych General director – Volodymyr Zahurskyi Financial director – Anna Petrushenko Vice-president – Vacant Sporting director – Dario Drudi Marketing director – Oleksandr Denysov	Head coach – Vacant Assistant manager – Volodymyr Knysh Assistant manager – Anton Dyachenko Goalkeeping coach – Mykhaylo Fedunov Coach – Serhiy Pinchuk Fitness coach – Oleksandr Tkachenko Individual coach – Andriy Hitchenko Analytics coach – Bohdan Shyrkov Analytics coach – Maksym Svirskyi	Senior coach – Hennadiy Lytovchenko Assistant coach – Serhiy Nazarenko Assistant coach – Oleksandr Maksymov Goalkeeping coach – Serhiy Krakovskyi Fitness coach – Oleksiy Hulin

Managers

• Andriy Biba (1980)
• Andriy Biba (1995 – 1996)
• Anatoliy Zayayev (2000)
• Ihor Levytskyi (July 2016 – 12 Aug 2017)
• Eduard Khavrov (28 August 2017 – 20 November 2017)
• Volodymyr Mazyar (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

Logo in 2001

League and cup history

Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Europe		Notes
Avanhard Zhytomyr
1958	Rep "2"	6/8	13	3	5	5	18	22	11	1⁄16 finals			Admitted to Class B
1959	2nd "2"	9/15	28	9	9	10	41	34	27		SU	Conference Final
Polissia Zhytomyr
1960	2nd "1"	7/17	32	16	6	10	58	38	38
		won relegation playoff over Shakhtar Korostyshiv
1961	2nd "1"	6/18	34	13	8	13	47	41	34		SU	Conference 1⁄2 finals	to 11th place playoff
		lost two-leg playoff to Shakhtar Horlivka											placed 12th
		won relegation playoff over Chervona Zirka Malyn
1962	2nd "1"	2/13	24	14	3	7	33	24	31		SU	Conference 1⁄8 finals	to 1st place group
		5/6	10	3	2	5	10	15	8				placed 5th / Relegated
1963	3rd "1"	4/20	38	21	7	10	58	36	49		SU	Conference 1⁄2 finals	to 7th place playoff
		won two-leg playoff over Burevisnyk Melitopol											placed 7th
1964	3rd "1"	1/16	30	18	8	4	32	11	44		SU	Conference 1⁄4 finals	to 1st place group
		3/6	10	4	3	3	9	7	11				placed 3rd
1965	3rd "2"	8/16	30	12	5	13	34	33	29		SU	Conference 1⁄8 finals	to 19th place group
		4/6	10	3	4	3	6	8	10				placed 22nd
1966	3rd "1"	10/20	38	14	11	13	33	27	39				to 19th place playoff
		lost two-leg playoff to Bukovyna Chernivtsi											placed 20th
Avtomobilist Zhytomyr
1967	3rd "1"	1/21	40	23	13	4	45	12	59		SU	1⁄32 finals	to Final group
		1/6	5	4	1	0	7	2	9				Champions / Promoted
1968	2nd "1"	4/21	40	17	16	7	38	19	50		SU	1⁄32 finals
1969	2nd "3"	4/22	42	21	9	12	57	31	51		SU	1⁄8 finals	Relegated
1970	3rd	3/22	42	20	15	7	61	27	55		SU	1⁄16 finals
1971	3rd	3/26	50	25	15	10	58	30	65
1972	3rd	8/24	46	19	15	12	44	31	53	Winner
1973	3rd	2/23	44	25	3/(2)	14	62	36	53	1⁄4 finals
1974	3rd	8/20	38	15	11	12	50	39	41	Finalist
1975	3rd	2/17	32	13	14	5	41	21	40	1⁄16 finals
1976	3rd	6/20	38	14	14	10	44	31	42	1⁄2 finals
Spartak Zhytomyr
1977	3rd	8/23	44	18	14	12	51	34	50
1978	3rd	10/23	44	19	7	18	50	40	45
1979	3rd	6/24	46	22	12	12	57	41	56
1980	3rd	7/23	44	17	17	10	55	43	51
1981	3rd	11/23	44	15	13	16	38	47	43
1982	3rd	7/24	46	23	8	15	68	46	54
1983	3rd	7/26	50	21	14	15	66	50	56
1984	3rd	9/13	24	10	6	8	32	29	26				First stage Group 1
		4/14	38	14	11	13	50	48	39				Consolation tournament
1985	3rd	14/14	26	4	5	17	17	40	13				First stage Group 1
		12/14	40	9	13	18	31	50	31				Consolation tournament
1986	3rd	9/14	26	8	8	10	27	29	24				First stage Group 2
		6/14	40	14	10	16	46	48	38				Consolation tournament
1987	3rd	12/27	52	22	12	18	72	59	56
1988	3rd	13/26	50	18	15	17	55	58	51
Polissya Zhytomyr
1989	3rd	15/27	52	16	16	20	59	62	48				Relegated
1990	4th Zone 1	4/19	50	28	13	9	67	38	69	Winner
1991	4th Zone 1	10/26	50	22	7	21	64	66	51	1⁄8 finals			fall of the Soviet Union

Ukraine

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Europe		Notes
Polissia Zhytomyr
1992	2nd Gr. "A"	10/14	26	10	5	11	30	31	25				Relegated
Khimik Zhytomyr
1992–93	3rd	2/18	34	20	9	5	53	29	49				Promoted
1993–94	2nd	10/20	38	14	8	16	39	47	36
1994–95	2nd	4/22	42	20	15	7	61	37	75
1995–96	2nd	14/22	42	16	10	16	55	57	58
1996–97	2nd	18/24	46	15	10	21	44	61	55
Polissya Zhytomyr
1997–98	2nd	6/22	42	21	5	16	58	64	68
1998–99	2nd	12/20	38	15	7	16	40	55	52
1999–00	2nd	15/18	34	11	7	16	36	51	40				Relegated
2000–01	3rd	1/16	30	22	4	4	61	17	70				Promoted
2001–02	2nd	4/18	34	17	10	7	43	33	58				Lost promotion play-offs
2002–03	2nd	11/18	34	12	7	15	30	38	43
2003–04	2nd	18/18	34	3	7	24	22	67	16				Avoided relegation
2004–05	2nd	18/18	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	8/16	28	10	11	7	38	34	41				withdrew

Polissya Zhytomyr (revived)

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Other		Notes
MFC Zhytomyr
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
Polissia Zhytomyr
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
2021–22 was terminated		9/16	18	7	4	7	21	17	25	1⁄32 finals			began on 24.02.2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
2022–23	2nd "A"	1/8	14	13	1	0	34	6	40	Not played			to Promotion group
		1/8	14	10	2	2	25	9	32				Promoted
2023–24	1st	5	30	14	8	8	39	30	50	1/2 finals
2024-25		4	24	11	8	5	33	23	41	1/2 finals	2024–25 UEFA Conference League	Second qualifying round

European record

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

Season	Competition	Round	Opposition	Home	Away	Aggregate
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	Second qualifying round	Olimpija Ljubljana	1–2	0–2	1–4

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 [among the Second League teams] (2)
  • Winners (2): 1972, 1990
  • Runners up (1): 1974
• Zhytomyr Oblast
  • Winners (1): 1958

Leader

Footballer with the most games played for the club

Place	Footballer	Games	Years in club
1.	Volodymyr Shyshkov	469	1974, 1978, 1981–1993
2.	Stefan Baran	458	1981–1992
3.	Yuriy Strykharchuk	391	1982–1985, 1987–1992
4.	Serhiy Yermakov	361	1977–1987
5.	Mykola Batyuta	348	1969, 1971, 1973–1981
6.	Ihor Talko	340	1977, 1980–1983, 1989–1992, 1993
7.	Andriy Zheltonosov	326	1981–1983, 1985–1991
8.	Vitaliy Horbach	305	1969–1976
9.	Ihor Rutkovskyi	299	1981–1983, 1986–1995
10.	Yuriy Leonov	294	1982–1983, 1986–1991, 1992–1994, 1997–1998

Footballers with the most goals scored for the club

Place	Footballer	Goals	Years in club
1.	Volodymyr Shyshkov	192	1974, 1978, 1981–1993
2.	Pavlo Parshyn	82	1998–2004
3.	Yuriy Leonov	68	1982–1983, 1986–1991, 1992–1994, 1997–1998
4.	Yevhen Naumov	66	1974–1981
5.	Stefan Baran	59	1981–1992
6.	Valeriy Sofilkanych	58	1993–2002
7.	Ihor Talko	54	1977, 1980–1983, 1989–1992, 1993
8.	Yuriy Nesmiyan	49	1970–1972
9.	Anatoliy Lukashenko	49	1985, 1988–1995, 1999
10.	Mykola Vasyutin	48	1969–1976

Reserves and the Academy

Polissya-2

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