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.
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.
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.
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]
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.[6]
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.[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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 – present)All results (home and away) list Polissya's goal tally first.
It is a team of the Specialized sports school of Olympic Reserve Polissya.