FC Mariupol

Not to be confused with FSC Mariupol.

Mariupol

Full name	Football Club Mariupol
Founded	1960; 65 years ago (1960)
Dissolved	2022; 3 years ago (2022)
Ground	Volodymyr Boyko Stadium, Mariupol
Capacity	12,680
President	Tariq Mahmud Chaudhry[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Head coach	Ostap Markevych
League	Suspended
2021–22	Ukrainian Premier League, 16th (season canceled)
Website	fcmariupol.com
Home colours Away colours

Football Club Mariupol (Ukrainian: Футбольний клуб "Маріуполь" [mɐr^(j)iˈupolʲ] ^ⓘ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Mariupol, that competed in the Ukrainian Premier League. The club ceased to exist as a result of the Siege of Mariupol, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[7]

In 2023 the Brazilian club AA Batel, whose local community is more than 70% Ukrainian or of Ukrainian descent, adopted the name, colours, and badge of the Ukrainian club.^[8]

From 2002 to 2017, the club was named Illichivets Mariupol under which it participated in European competitions. It was renamed as part of decommunization in Ukraine.

History

Metalurh Zhdanov

Previously the city of Mariupol hosted a football team that competed consistently in Ukrainian republican competitions among teams of physical culture (amateur teams). The first mentioning of a Mariupol team could be traced to 1936 when it lost to Dynamo Kryvyi Rih 0:5 as part of the 1936 Soviet Cup. Next season, in 1937, it was seeded to play against another team from Berdyansk as part of the Ukrainian championship, but did not appear for the game and was eliminated. After that there is no evidence a team that represented the city until after World War II. After the war, Mariupol sometimes was represented by two teams, but usually the main was named Metalurh Zhdanov. At the end of 1958 it was renamed into Avanhard Zhdanov.

Azovstal and Azovets

See also: 1959 Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR

Football Club Mariupol traces its history to 1960, when it was established as Azovstal based on a former two teams of physical culture (a type of Soviet amateur clubs) FC Avanhard Zhdanov and FC Shakhtar Rutchenkove.

The new team of masters Azovstal Zhdanov sponsored by the local Azovstal iron and steel works was admitted to Soviet competitions for teams of masters in Class B (at that time the second division). It was eliminated soon in 1964. After skipping one season the club again was admitted for the 1966 Soviet competitions for teams of masters in Class B, now as Azovets. During that time the club stayed in professional competitions a little bit longer and in 1971 changed its name to more recognizable Metalurh. However, soon after changing its name in 1973, the club again was relegated and now for a much longer period of time.

Lokomotyv and Novator

Missing the 1974 season, the club returned to republican competitions in 1975 as Lokomotyv, sponsored now by "Azovmash" which specializes in production of railroad cars as well as mining and metallurgical heavy equipment. Soon before the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the club already playing as Novator was relegated in 1989 to Ukrainian amateur competitions. In 1991 Novator became a champion of the Ukrainian football championship among amateur clubs. Due to reformation of the Ukrainian football competitions, the new amateur champion was admitted to the newly formed Ukrainian First League.

Ukrainian professional club in Mariupol

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, the club changed its name to old one Azovets (part of the Azovmash's SC Novator). In summer of 1995 it merged with FC Dynamo Luhansk and during following spring changed its name again to Metalurh.

FC Metalurh Mariupol changed its name to Illichivets during the winter break of the 2002–2003 season when the club was acquired by the Illich Steel and Iron Works.

Illichivets were relegated to Ukrainian First League in the 2006–07 season after finishing 15th (out of 16). However, they returned to the Ukrainian Premier League the following season after finishing as champions in the 2007–08 Ukrainian First League.

Due to the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the club was forced to play its home games in Dnipropetrovsk during the 2014-15 season.

FC Mariupol

In 2017 as part of the ongoing decommunization process of Ukraine, the club changed its name of Illichivets to simply FC Mariupol, officially adopting on 14 June 2017^[9] for the 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League season.^[10] Its name came from the Illichivets steelworks, which were named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.^[11]

Name change

• 1960–1966: Azovstal, 6 years
• 1966–1971: Azovets, 5 years
• 1971–1974: Metallurg, 3 years
• 1974–1976: Lokomotiv, 2 years
• 1977–1992: Novator, 15 years
• 1992–1996: Azovets, 4 years (repeated, in overall 9 years)
• 1996–2002: Metalurh, 6 years (repeated, in overall 9 years)
• 2002–2017: Illichivets, 15 years
• 2017–2022: FC Mariupol

Crest history

Logo of the original owner Azovstal iron and steel works

Logo of Azovmash, the owner of SC Novator in 1974-1992

Logo of the Illich Steel and Iron Works

Honours

• Ukrainian Premier League U–21
  • Winners (1): 2013–14
• Ukrainian First League
  • Winners (2): 2007–08, 2016–17
• Ukrainian Second League
  • Winners (1): 1995–96
• Ukrainian amateur championship
  • Winners (2): 1974, 1991

Football kits and sponsors

Years[12]	Football kit	Shirt sponsor
1998–1999	Adidas	–
1999–2000	Nike
2000–2001	Adidas
2001–2002	Nike	SKAB
2002–2003	Nike/lotto	–
2003–2007	Lotto
2008–2010	Adidas
2010–2011	Adidas/Nike
2011–2014	Nike
2014–2022	Nike	AIG

Coaches and administration

Administration[13]	Coaching[14] (senior team)	Coaching[15] (U-21 team)
President – Tariq Mehmood Chaudhry[16] Vice-president – Hamza Shafeeq Rahman Executive director – Anwar Arif Abbasi Sports director – Farooq Ali Hussein	Head coach – Ostap Markevych Assistant coach – Oleksandr Ivanov Goalies coach – Ihor Shukhovtsev Coach – Serhiy Atlasyuk Physio coach – Serhiy Yankovyi Analytics coach – Ilya Kononov	Head coach – Hennadiy Orbu Assistant coach – Serhiy Hrybanov Goalies coach – Volodymyr Makarenko

League and Cup history

Soviet Union

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Europe		Notes
Avanhard Zhdanov
1958	Rep	6/8	14	5	2	7	19	25	12
1959	Rep	2/8	14	10	1	3	24	9	21				admitted to Class B
Azovstal Zhdanov
1960	2nd	9	36	11	12	13	30	42	34				Ukraine, Zone 2
1961	2nd	11	36	11	12	13	36	37	34	1/64 finals			Ukraine, Zone 2
		X	2	0	2	0	0	0	2				Play-off
1962	2nd	5	24	11	5	8	39	40	27	1/128 finals			Ukraine, Zone 3
		6	10	3	5	2	14	13	11				Play-off
1963	3rd	2	38	19	11	8	54	37	49	1/1024 finals			Ukraine, Zone 2
		X	2	1	1	0	1	0	3				Play-off
1964	3rd	15	30	5	12	13	19	33	22	1/256 finals			Ukraine, Zone 3
		4	8	1	2	5	7	15	4				Play-off
1965	idle
Azovets Zhdanov
1966	3rd	16	38	11	9	18	43	63	31				Ukraine, Zone 2
		X	2	0	1	1	1	4	1				Play-off
1967	3rd	12	40	16	7	17	50	42	39	1/2048 finals			Ukraine, Zone 2
1968	2nd	11	40	11	17	12	30	30	39				Subgroup 1
1969	2nd	16	42	12	12	18	40	52	36	1/128 finals			Subgroup 3
1970	3rd	6	42	15	18	9	44	34	48	1/64 finals			Zone 1
Metallurg / Metalurh Zhdanov
1971	3rd	11	50	18	15	17	62	55	51				Zone 1
1972	3rd	9	46	20	13	13	56	45	53				Zone 1
1973	3rd	23	44	10	4/4	26	41	84	24				Zone 1[a]
In 1974 - 1989 idle
Novator Mariupol
1990	4th	5	28	15	6	7	55	25	36
1991	4th	1	30	20	10	0	65	19	50
		1	5	4	1	0	9	3	9

Ukraine

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Europe		Notes
Novator
1992	2nd "B"	11	26	10	4	12	36	39	24	1/16 finals			Relegated
Azovets
1992–93	3rd	13	34	9	11	14	34	47	29	1/64 finals
1993–94	3rd	12	42	16	7	19	43	58	39	1/32 finals
1994–95	3rd	12	42	17	6	19	37	55	57	1/64 finals
1995–96	3rd "B"	1	38	30	4	4	70	24	94	1/32 finals			Promoted
Metalurh
1996–97	2nd	3	46	29	6	11	92	56	93	1/16 finals			Promoted
1997–98	1st	12	30	8	9	13	27	48	33	1/8 finals
1998–99	1st	5	30	14	6	10	35	27	48	1/8 finals
1999–00	1st	8	30	13	3	14	49	45	42	1/16 finals
2000–01	1st	4	26	13	4	9	35	26	43	1/2 finals
2001–02	1st	10	26	6	8	12	29	42	26	1/8 finals
Illichivets
2002–03	1st	10	30	8	10	12	34	38	34	1/32 finals
2003–04	1st	8	30	10	10	10	34	36	40	1/4 finals
2004–05	1st	5	30	12	8	10	38	34	44	1/8 finals	UC	2nd qual round
2005–06	1st	4	30	12	7	11	30	34	43	1/2 finals
2006–07	1st	15	30	6	7	17	23	39	25	1/4 finals			Relegated
2007–08	2nd	1	38	26	7	5	65	26	85	1/4 finals			Promoted
2008–09	1st	14	30	7	5	18	31	54	26	1/16 finals
2009–10	1st	12	30	7	8	15	31	56	29	1/8 finals
2010–11	1st	14	30	7	8	15	45	67	29	1/16 finals
2011–12	1st	11	30	8	8	14	28	42	32	1/16 finals
2012–13	1st	9	30	10	8	12	30	31	38	1/8 finals
2013–14	1st	10	28	10	4	14	27	33	34	1/16 finals
2014–15	1st	14	26	3	5	18	25	55	14	1/8 finals			Relegated
2015–16	2nd	4	30	14	11	5	34	23	53	1/16 finals
2016–17	2nd	1	34	25	6	3	61	21	81	1/4 finals			Promoted
FC Mariupol
2017–18	1st	5	32	10	9	13	38	41	39	1⁄2 finals
2018–19	1st	4	32	12	7	13	36	47	43	1/8 finals	EL	3rd qual round
2019–20	1st	8	32	12	9	11	40	46	45	1⁄2 finals	EL	3rd qual round	EL play-offs – Finalist
2020–21	1st	11	26	6	8	12	27	41	26
2021–22	1st	16	18	2	2	14	21	44	8				Season canceled; membership suspended

• 1 tier: 22 (Soviet Union 0 / Ukraine 22)
• 2 tier: 10 (Soviet Union 5 / Ukraine 5)
• 3 tier: 12 (Soviet Union 8 / Ukraine 4)
• 4 tier: 2 (Soviet Union 2 / Ukraine –)

European record

Mariupol first qualified for European competitions in 2004 when they played in the UEFA Cup through the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking award.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponents	Home	Away	Aggregate
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1Q	Banants	2–0	2–0	4–0
		2Q	Austria Wien	0–0	0–3	0–3
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Djurgårdens IF	2–1[b] (a.e.t.)	1–1	3–2
		3Q	Bordeaux	1–3	1–2	2–5
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	3Q	AZ	0–0	0–4	0–4

Managers

• Mykola Pavlov (1 July 1997 – 12 Nov 2004)
• Ivan Balan (13 Nov 2004 – 22 April 2007)
• Semen Altman (1 July 2007 – 14 Dec 2007)
• Oleksandr Ishchenko (2 Jan 2008 – 2 Sep 2008)
• Illya Blyznyuk (2 Sep 2008 – 1 Nov 2010)
• Oleksandr Volkov (interim) (1 Nov 2010 – 27 Nov 2010)
• Valeriy Yaremchenko (27 Nov 2010 – 5 Oct 2011)
• Ihor Leonov (interim) (6 Oct 2011 – 29 May 2012)
• Mykola Pavlov (29 May 2012 – 30 May 2015)
• Valeriy Kriventsov (22 June 2015 – 10 June 2016)
• Oleksandr Sevidov (10 June 2016 – 22 Sep 2017)
• Oleksandr Babych (22 Sep 2017 – 29 July 2020)
• Ostap Markevych (3 Aug 2020 – 2022)

See also

• FC Illichivets-2 Mariupol
• MBK Mariupol, basketball team of the former SC Novator

Notes

1. Note: In 1973, in case of a draw there would be a Penalty shootout. The team that won the shootout would earn a single (1) point, the losing team would receive no (0) points as in case of a regular loss. In case of Mariupol that placed last among 23 teams, it drew 8 games in four (4) of them it won shootouts, in other four (4) it lost shootouts.
2. The game was played in Odesa, due to security reasons of the War in Donbass.

References

1. Kapelka, A. Source: the new president of "Mariupol" – Tarik Makhmud Chaudri – who is he? (Источник: новый президент "Мариуполя" – Тарик Махмуд Чаудри - кто это?) Archived 18 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Footboom. 19 July 2018
2. Tarik Makhmud Chaudri (Тарик Махмуд Чаудри). FC Mariupol.
3. Pakistan-born received FC Mariupol in the inheritance from Boiko (Уроженец Пакистана получил ФК Мариуполь в наследство от Бойко) Archived 18 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. UA-Football. 21 July 2018
4. The president of FC Mariupol became a businessman from Moscow, – added (Президентом ФК "Мариуполь" стал бизнесмен из Москвы, – ДОПОЛНЕНО) Archived 18 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. 0629 (Mariupol city website). 19 July 2018
5. FC Mariupol took over a citizen of Pakistan Tarik Chaudri by the will of Volodymyr Boiko (ФК "Мариуполь" возглавил гражданин Пакистана Тарик Чаудри по завещанию Владимира Бойко) Archived 18 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Mrpl.city. 20 July 2018
6. The offshore football (Офшорний футбол) Archived 28 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Nashi Groshi. 27 February 2014
7. "'An act of bravery to restart football in Ukraine, but I'm worried'". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
8. "War-torn FC Mariupol reborn in Brazil". The Guardian. 25 April 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
9. Illichivets announced about renaming into Mariupol and proposed three choices of its new emblem (Іллічівець оголосив про перейменування в Маріуполь і запропонував три варіанти нової емблеми) Archived 16 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Champion (Ukrayinska Pravda). 14 June 2017
10. Starting with next season Illichivets will be renamed into FC Mariupol (Ильичевец со следующего сезона будет переименован в ФК Мариуполь) Archived 9 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. UA-Football. 2 June 2017
11. Polyanska, Yana; Najibullah, Frangis (15 July 2015). "Lenin Out: Ukrainian Soccer Club To Change Name Amid Decommunization". Radio Free Europe. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
12. Jerseys of Ukrainian clubs Archived 25 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
13. "Руководство | Официальный сайт ФК «Мариуполь»". Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
14. "Тренеры и персонал — Официальный сайт ФК «Мариуполь»". Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
15. "Тренеры и персонал команды U-21 — Официальный сайт ФК «Мариуполь»". Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
16. "Тарик Махмуд Чаудри — Официальный сайт ФК «Мариуполь»". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.

External links

• Official website