Football in Crimea is governed by the Republican Football Federation of Crimea. Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Federation joined the Russian Football Union. The professional clubs of Crimea were reincorporated under the Russian jurisdiction and placed in the

Russian Second League The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional Association football, football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the :ru: ...

, while previously competing in various Ukrainian leagues. Due to protest from the

Football Federation of Ukraine The Ukrainian Football Association (, ; UAF) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019, it was known as the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU; ). As a subject of the International Olympic Movement, UAF is a member of the Nation ...

, UEFA ordered to remove Crimean clubs from the Russian professional competitions and instead organized special competitions under auspices of a Crimean Football Union, while preserving the Republican Football Federation of Crimea. The top league in Crimea today is the

Crimean Premier League The KFS Premier-Liga () or simply Crimean Premier League is a professional association football league in Crimea organized by the Crimean Football Union (Krymsky Futbolny Soyuz) and devised by Russia after UEFA refused to allow Crimean clubs to ...

which has 8 teams. At present, Crimean football clubs have no access to European competitions.

History

At the time of the first establishment of an official football governing body in Russia - 19 January 1912 – Crimea was part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The all-Russian Football Union went on to join FIFA on 30 June 1912. After the 1917

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

where Russian empire gave place to

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the later took the seat at FIFA and UEFA which belonged to Russian empire. Since the establishment of the Soviet Union, Crimean clubs participated in the

Ukrainian Soviet competitions Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...

as early as 1920, but soon were withdrawn and restored to Russian competitions. After transfer of Crimea in 1954, the Crimean clubs rejoined Ukrainian competitions, among which were Avanhard Sevastopol, Trud Simferopol, and Metalurh Kerch. Among the most noticeable clubs of the region is

SC Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya () was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League 1992, Ukrainian Premier League making them one of three team ...

that won three championships of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

as well as the

Ukrainian Top League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992Hunc ...

. Despite the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014, the teams from

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

and

Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya () was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League 1992, Ukrainian Premier League making them one of three team ...

, continued to participate in the Ukrainian Premier League until the end of the season. However, they were then disbanded and reformed under Russian laws, seeking to join the Russian league system for the 2014/15 season. Three Crimean clubs finally briefly joined a Russian regional division, but they were expelled after UEFA ruled against the move. In March 2015, UEFA announced that it would treat Crimea as a “special zone,” as neither Russian nor Ukrainian, and that it would help Crimea develop its own soccer system. In return, Russia agreed that the Crimean clubs would not ask to play in European competitions for at least two years.

Players

Several players from Crimea played for the

Ukraine national football team The Ukraine national football team ( ) represents Ukraine in men's international Association football, football, and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukraine's home ground is the ...

, among which Serhiy Lezhentsev,

Serhiy Kovalets Serhiy Ivanovych Kovalets (; born 5 September 1968) is a Ukrainian former footballer and current manager of Podillya Khmelnytskyi. Playing career Kovalets began his playing career in youth sports schools of Podolia region Berdychiv and Krasyl ...

, Denys Holaido,

Serhiy Yesin Serhiy Oleksandrovych Yesin (; born 2 April 1975) is a Ukrainian association football, football coach and former player. Playing career Yesin was born in Kerch.Oleksandr Svystunov, and Oleksandr Yevtushok. Some Crimean players played for the

Russia national football team The Russia national football team () represents Russia in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union (, ), the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and ...

, among which is

Evgeni Aldonin Evgeni Valerievich Aldonin (; born 22 January 1980)Crimean Premier League The KFS Premier-Liga () or simply Crimean Premier League is a professional association football league in Crimea organized by the Crimean Football Union (Krymsky Futbolny Soyuz) and devised by Russia after UEFA refused to allow Crimean clubs to ...

* Crimean Tatars national football team * Crimea national football team

References

External links

Crimean Football Union
{{Football in Europe