About Ukraine

The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF), formerly the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU), was established on 6 March 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It traces its roots to an All-Ukrainian Football Union founded in 1918 and the Football Federation of the Ukrainian SSR, which operated from 1959 to 1991. The UAF gained FIFA affiliation on 3 July 1992 and UEFA affiliation on 25 June 1992, and adopted its current name in May 2019 to align with European terminology.

Ukrainian club football quickly established itself on the European stage, with Dynamo Kyiv reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 1999 under coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi — himself one of the most influential tactical minds in football history. Shakhtar Donetsk won the UEFA Cup in 2009 and became a regular Champions League presence. The national team qualified for its first major tournament at UEFA Euro 2006 qualifiers and made its World Cup debut in Germany in 2006, reaching the quarter-finals with Andriy Shevchenko — one of the greatest strikers of his generation — leading the attack. Andriy Shevchenko was elected UAF president in January 2024.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian football has operated under extraordinary circumstances. The Ukrainian Premier League was suspended and later resumed in modified form, with clubs playing home matches abroad or in safer parts of the country. The national team has continued to compete in UEFA qualifying while the war continues, serving as a symbol of national resilience.