Football (soccer)
Football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. Football in Ukraine is governed by the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU). FFU organizes various football
competitions in the country among men, women, youth, handicapped, others as well as facilitates football competitions among professionals, students and in regions.
Format of competitions varies from leagues (round robin) to cup-type (elimination) competitions. FFU also organizes several invitational tournaments (friendlies)
in Ukraine and organizes several national teams that compete at various international tournaments.
Here are popular Ukrainian football players
Andriy Shevchenko (born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former football manager and player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest strikers
of all time and Ukraine's greatest ever player. He is the all-time top scorer for the Ukraine national team.
Shevchenko is ranked as the seventh top goalscorer in all UEFA club competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, he is the second most
prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Inter Milan) with 14 goals.
Quitting football for politics in 2012, he stood for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but his party failed
to win parliamentary representation. He returned to football in 2016, as assistant coach of the Ukraine national team February to July, at the time led by Mykhaylo Fomenko.
In July 2016, Shevchenko was appointed Ukraine's head coach, and led the nation to the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2020. Following a short stint at Genoa, Shevchenko became
the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on 17 November 2022. He left the National Olympic Committee in January 2023 due to disagreement with
the results of the election of its new President Vadym Gutzeit. In January 2024, Shevchenko was elected President of the Ukrainian Football Association.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (born 15 December 1996) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder
for Nottingham Forest, on loan from Premier League club Arsenal, and the Ukraine national team.
Zinchenko began his career at Russian Premier League team Ufa before joining Manchester City in 2016 for a fee around 1.7 million pounds.
He started his career as an attacking midfielder, but eventually converted into a left-back under Pep Guardiola. He won four Premier League titles,
four EFL Cups and an FA Cup with the club. He moved to Arsenal in July 2022 for a fee of 30 million pounds.
A full Ukrainian international since 2015, Zinchenko represented his country at the UEFA European Championship in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Andriy Yarmolenko (born 23 October 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward
for Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv and captains the Ukraine national team.
Yarmolenko has been a full international for Ukraine since 2009, scoring 46 goals in 125 matches and playing at the
UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024.
In 2007, Yarmolenko signed a five-year contract with Ukrainian club
Dynamo Kyiv, where he joined its second team, Dynamo-2, which plays in lower leagues, for a couple of seasons.
The talented youngster was praised as the "new Andriy Shevchenko" by journalists, who noted his qualities of good physique,
shot and especially his speed. The then vice-president of Dynamo, Yozhef Sabo, also praised the youngster, saying,
"Yarmolenko has all the makings to become a top-level player."
On 11 May 2008, Yarmolenko debuted for Dynamo's first team in an away match against Vorskla Poltava and scored
the winning goal in Kyiv's 2–1 victory. He scored 7 goals in 21 games in his first season and 11 in 19 in his second.
He is now regularly used as a left or centre forward.
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