2016–17 Ukrainian First League
The 2016–17 Ukrainian First League was the 26th since its establishment. The fixtures were announced on 16 July 2016 and the competition commenced in 24 July 2016. The spring session started on 12 March 2017 with the competition ending on 2 June 2017.
Teams
Promoted teams
Originally, as per competition regulations the top three teams were promoted from the 2015–16 Ukrainian Second League. However, prior to the season commencing at the Conference of the PFL in preparation for the season the committee decided to expand the competition to eighteen teams and include the fourth, fifth and sixth placed teams. Six teams promotion beat the previous record of five teams that was set back in 2002.- Kolos Kovalivka – champion of the 2015–16 Ukrainian Second League '
- Veres Rivne – runner-up '
- Inhulets Petrove – 3rd placed '
- Bukovyna Chernivtsi – 4th placed '
- Skala Stryi – 5th placed '
- Arsenal Kyiv – 6th placed '
Relegated teams
Withdrawn teams
Two teams were withdrawn before the season:- Dynamo-2 Kyiv
- Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih
Location map
Stadiums
The following stadiums are considered home grounds for the teams in the competition.| Rank | Stadium | Capacity | Club | Notes |
| 1 | Yuvileiny Stadium, Sumy | 25,800 | PFC Sumy | |
| 2 | Vorskla Stadium, Poltava | 24,795 | FC Poltava | Used in Round 28 |
| 3 | Central City Stadium, Mykolaiv | 16,700 | MFC Mykolaiv | |
| 4 | City Stadium, Ternopil | 12,750 | FC Ternopil | |
| 5 | Illichivets Stadium, Mariupol | 12,680 | Illichivets Mariupol | |
| 6 | Chernihiv Stadium, Chernihiv | 12,060 | Desna Chernihiv | |
| 7 | Bukovyna Stadium, Chernivtsi | 12,000 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | |
| 8 | Central Stadion, Cherkasy | 10,321 | Cherkaskyi Dnipro | |
| 9 | Sokil Stadium, Stryi | 6,000 | Skala Stryi | |
| 10 | Kolos Stadium, Boryspil | 5,654 | Arsenal Kyiv | |
| 11 | Naftovyk Stadium, Okhtyrka | 5,256 | Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka | |
| 12 | Obolon Arena, Kiev | 5,100 | Obolon-Brovar Kyiv | |
| 12 | Obolon Arena, Kiev | 5,100 | Desna Chernihiv | Used in Round 2, 11 and Spring session. |
| 13 | Sonyachny Stadium, Kharkiv | 4,924 | Helios Kharkiv | |
| 13 | Sonyachny Stadium, Kharkiv | 4,924 | Desna Chernihiv | Used in Round 4, 6 and 8 |
| 14 | Avanhard Stadium, Rivne | 4,500 | Veres Rivne | |
| 15 | Avanhard Stadium, Kramatorsk | 4,000 | Avanhard Kramatorsk | |
| 16 | Kolos Stadium, Berezne | 3,800 | Veres Rivne | Used in Round 19 |
| 17 | Izotop Stadium, Varash | 3,000 | Veres Rivne | Used in the Spring session |
| 18 | Lokomotyv Stadium, Poltava | 2,500 | FC Poltava | |
| 18 | Yunist Stadium, Horishni Plavni | 2,500 | Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni | |
| 20 | Kolos Stadium, Kovalivka | 1,850 | Kolos Kovalivka | |
| 21 | Inhulets Stadium, Petrove | 1,720 | Inhulets Petrove | |
| 22 | Knyazha Arena, Shchaslyve | 1,000 | Arsenal Kyiv | |
| 23 | Ltava Stadium, Poltava | 640 | FC Poltava | Used in Round 30 |
| 24 | FC Viktorya Stadium, Mykolayivka, Bilopillia Raion, Sumy Oblast | 500 | FC Sumy | Used in Round 6 |
| 24 | Poltava Training Base Stadium, Kopyly, Poltava Raion, Poltava Oblast | 500 | FC Sumy | Used in Round 20 |
Managers
Managerial changes
League table
Results
Position by round
Relegation play-off
The draw for relegation play-off scheduling was held on 3 June 2017.First leg
Second leg
PFC Sumy wins 3–1 on aggregate and remains in First League. FC Balkany Zorya loses but later was promoted to the 2017–18 Ukrainian First League, due to sanctions against FC Dnipro.Top goalscorers
The season top goalscorers were:| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
| 1 |  Ruslan Stepanyuk | Veres Rivne | 24 |
| 2 | Ruslan Kisil | Illichivets Mariupol | 17 |
| 3 | Oleksandr Bondarenko | Kolos Kovalivka | 13 |
| 4 | Illya Kovalenko | Obolon-Brovar Kyiv / Desna | 12 |
| 4 | Viktor Berko | MFC Mykolaiv | 12 |
| 6 | Oleksandr Filippov | Desna Chernihiv | 11 |
| 7 | Levan Arveladze | Naftovyk-Ukrnafta / Desna | 10 |
| 7 | Oleksandr Pozdeyev | Kolos Kovalivka | 10 |
| 9 | Ruslan Fomin | Illichivets Mariupol | 9 |
| 9 | Aderinsola Habib Eseola | Arsenal Kyiv | 9 |
Awards
Round awards
Season awards
The laureates of the 2016–17 season were:- Best player: Ruslan Stepanyuk
- Best coach: Oleksandr Ryabokon
- Best goalscorer: Ruslan Stepanyuk