Full nameFootball Club Ukraine United
Founded2006
StadiumCentennial Park Stadium
Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario
Capacity2,200
Owner(s)Andrei Malychenkov
Evgen Ishchak
ManagerEvgen Ishchak
CoachMykhailo Hurka
LeagueCanadian Soccer League
2019Regular season: 3rd
Playoffs:Final
WebsiteClub website

FC Ukraine United is a Canadian soccer club founded in 2006. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Soccer League a league that is not sanctioned by any FIFA recognized body. Their home venue is located at Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario. The club is the only team in the CSL to represent the Ukrainian diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area.

History

In 2006, Yuriy Hlyva, and Vladimir Koval, former professional footballers from the former Soviet Union established a club in order to accommodate and combine talent from the various Eastern Bloc countries located in Canada.[1][2] As a result, FC Ukraine United were formed with a Ukrainian identity due to the majority of players originating from Ukraine. Malychenkov was given head coach responsibilities, while Koval served as the general manager. In 2007, the club initial began playing indoor soccer at Soccer City.[2] In the spring of 2007, Ukraine United joined the Ontario Soccer League in the Multi Jurisdictional West Division. In their debut season in the OSL the team finished third in the standings and won the George Finnie Cup.[3] The following season United won promotion to the Central Regional Division by winning the league.

During their three seasons in the Central Regional Division the team managed to win the Great Lakes Cup and secured a promotion to the Premier Central Division in 2011.[4] During their time in the Premier Division United participated several times in the Diaspora World Cup hosted in Ternopil, Ukraine, and finished runner's up in the 2015 regular season. In 2016, Ukraine United was promoted to the professional ranks by joining the Canadian Soccer League.[5][6][7]

In preparation for play in the CSL First Division Malychenkov recruited several import players with experience in the Professional Football League of Ukraine.[8][9][10] Ukraine United made their professional debut on June 5, 2016 against Scarborough SC where they lost by a score of 2–0.[11] On June 12, 2016 United recorded their first victory over Hamilton City SC in a 3–2 victory with goals coming from Ivliev and Derevlov.[12] In their debut season the western Toronto side competed with York Region Shooters over the First Division title and managed to achieve a second-place ranking in the standings and recorded the league's big offensive record.[13][14][15]

In the first round of the postseason, Ukraine United faced Brantford Galaxy and with goals coming from Oleksandr Muzychuk, Derevlov, and Shutov they advanced to the semifinals with a 3–0 victory.[16][17] Their opponents in the next round were the Serbian White Eagles, but were eliminated from playoff contention from a 1–0 loss.[18] For the 2017 season, Ukraine United voluntarily relegated themselves to the Second Division and produced a perfect season.[19] The following season they returned to the First Division, and secured the division title.[20] In 2019, they reached the CSL Championship final, but were defeated by Scarborough SC.[21][22]

Players

Current squad

As of October 9, 2021[23]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF Israel ISR Alon Badat
- GK Ukraine UKR Andriy Bandrivskyy
- DF   Mikhail Bershov
- DF Ukraine UKR Vasyl Chornyi
- DF   Andrei Gapanenko
- MF   Romario Guma
- MF   Evgen Ishchak
- MF   Oleksandr Kaplun
- MF   Andi Kararaj
- MF Ukraine UKR Stanislav Katana
- FW   Geri Kraja
- MF Ukraine UKR Taras Kryvyi
- DF Ukraine UKR Ivan Kucherenko
- MF Ukraine UKR Roman Kukharskyi
- DF   Yaroslav Maliborsky
No. Pos. Nation Player
- FW Ukraine UKR Nazar Milishchuk
- DF Ukraine UKR Volodymyr Plishka
- FW Ukraine UKR Roman Pitsur
- FW   Basel Rashrash
- DF Ukraine UKR Maksym Rohovskyi [24]
- MF   Novin Saraci
- DF Ukraine UKR Serhiy Savchenko [25]
- FW   Serhiy Semenov
- FW Canada CAN Artur Shaparov [26]
- FW   Ihor Sorotoskyi
- DF Ukraine UKR Andriy Sukhetskyi
- FW   Sandor Varga
- GK   Arthur Zaslavski

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs
2007 Multi Jurisdictional Division West OSL Third
2008 Multi Jurisdictional Division West OSL Champions
2009 Central Regional Division OSL Eleventh
2010 Central Regional Division OSL Fourth
2011 Central Regional Division OSL Fourth
2012 Premier Central Division OSL Eighth
2013 Premier Central Division OSL Eighth
2014 Premier Central Division OSL Third
2015 Premier Central Division OSL Second
2016[13] First Division CSL Second Semifinal
2017[27] Second Division CSL First Champions
2018[28] First Division CSL First Semifinal
2019 First Division CSL Third Final

References

  1. ^ "fcukraineunited". fcukraineunited. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Turnbull, John (September 25, 2013). "Canada | Far west of the Carpathians, Ukraine unites : The Global Game". The Global Game. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "FC Ukraine United are the winners of George Finnie Ontario Cup!!! | f…". archive.is. August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.((cite news)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Ukraine United торік і тепер | Український тижневик Міст". archive.is. August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  5. ^ Adamson, Stan (January 19, 2016). "CHANGING UKRAINIAN PRESENCE IN CANADIAN SOCCER….CSL bid by FC Ukraine United | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  6. ^ "CSL SET FOR MAY KICKOFF | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. April 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "FC Ukraine United: Український острів у канадських футбольних водах". archive.is. August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  8. ^ "2016 "Юкрэйн Юнайтед" Торонто". footballfacts.ru. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  9. ^ "FC Ukraine United | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  10. ^ BABENCHUK, Andriy (October 1, 2017). ""Воркута" выиграла "регулярку" чемпионата Канады и вылетела в полуфинале". Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  11. ^ Adamson, Stan (June 6, 2016). "LATE GOALS GIVE SCARBOROUGH VICTORY……York Region down Hamilton City | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  12. ^ Adamson, Stan (June 13, 2016). "FIRST VICTORY FOR EXPANSION TEAM FC UKRAINE UNITED …..Ivliev and Vukovic each score twice | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  13. ^ a b "2016 First Division Standing | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  14. ^ Hayakawa, Michael (August 1, 2016). "Ukraine United spoils York Region Shooters' perfect Canadian Soccer League season". YorkRegion.com. Vaughan Citizen. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Hayakawa, Michael (September 19, 2016). "York Region Shooters blank FC Ukraine United, clinch CSL First Division regular season title". YorkRegion.com. Vaughan Citizen. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 16, 2016). "UKRAINE UNITED, SERBIAN EAGLES ADVANCE……..CSL playoffs continue Sunday | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Hayakawa, Michael (October 17, 2016). "York Region Shooters rout Milton SC, advance to CSL Championship semis". Vaughan Citizen.
  18. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 24, 2016). "SERBIAN EAGLES, HAMILTON CITY IN CSL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  19. ^ "CSL EXPANSION TEAMS VORKUTA AND ROYAL TORONTO GIVE NEW LOOK……End of May kickoff | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. April 29, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  20. ^ Stanchev, Stancho (October 11, 2018). "Играещият мениджър от Брежани К. Димитров изведе отбора си на втори финал в Канада". Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  21. ^ источники, Внешние (October 29, 2019). "Українська команда стала фіналістом Канадської футбольної ліги". www.ua-football.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  22. ^ Stanchev, Stancho (October 28, 2019). "От Третия Огит! Брежанецът К. Димитров триумфира с шампионската титла в Канада". Вестник Струма (in Bulgarian). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "TEAM". fcukraineunited. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  24. ^ "Футболіст Роговський Максим – Інформаційно-статистична база ФФУ". footpass.ffu.ua. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  25. ^ "Футболіст Савченко Сергій – Інформаційно-статистична база УАФ". db.uaf.ua. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  26. ^ "Artur Sharapov – 2017 – Men's Soccer". St. Thomas University Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  27. ^ "2017 Second Division Standings | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  28. ^ "2018 CSL First Division Standings – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.

External links

Canadian Soccer League
Sports teams based in Ontario
Sports in the Greater Toronto Area
Categories