PFC Sumy


PFC Sumy was a professional Ukrainian football team based in the city of Sumy, which last played in the Persha Liha. In April 2019 the Ukrainian Football Federation deprived the club of its professional status.
The club was the second football project in the city, established in 2008 based on the local Krasnopillya football school. The club's emblem is based on Krasnopillya's as well. The original professional club was established in 1982 as Yavir, renamed as Yavir-Sumy when it relocated to the city in 1998. In 1999, the club was renamed Spartak Sumy. It then got promoted to the Ukrainian First League and played there until the end of the 2006–07 season, after which it folded. The Krasnopillya football school then re-opened the current club.
Since 2009, FC Sumy played in FC Spartak Sumy's former stadium, the Yuvileiny Stadium. The stadium was completed in 2001, and seats 25,830 spectators. It did cost the investors over 50 million euros to construct, making it the most expensive and largest stadium that any Ukrainian Second League club uses.

Brief history

FC Yavir Krasnopillia

FC Sumy's predecessor, FC Yavir Krasnopillia, was established back in 1982 at the Krasnopillia Forestry and competed at regional competitions of Sumy Oblast. In 1991 the club entered the republican amateur competitions. After dissolution of the Soviet Union, the club was admitted to the Ukrainian Transitional League. Yavir Krasnopillia became a champion of the 1994–95 Ukrainian Second League and was promoted to the First League.
After the main team of the Sumy Oblast, FC Ahrotekhservis Sumy, was relegated out of the Second League in 1996, there were talks to revive football in Sumy. On the initiative of the regional government in 1998 Yavir was transferred to the regional center and renamed as Yavir-Sumy. Later it was transformed into FC Spartak Sumy. With that the main city stadium, formerly Spartak Stadium was finally finished and renamed as Yuvileinyi Stadium.
In 2000 Yavir Krasnopillia was revived in its home town and restarted its participation in regional competitions, while Spartak Sumy competed in the First League. In 2002 Yavir again was admitted to the Second League. In 2006 Spartak Sumy went bankrupt and was dissolved. Again there surfaced talks about bringing big football back to Sumy. In 2008 the new Yavir was again moved to Sumy.

FC Sumy

The city of Sumy for quite some time used to have its own football teams during the Soviet period, such as Spartak, Frunzenets, and others which eventually were disbanded. The "FC Sumy" football project was another attempt to reestablish the football tradition in the city.
FC Sumy played in the vastly superior Yuvileiny Stadium which can hold 25,830 spectators.
In the fall of 2008 they changed their name once again to FC Sumy. They play in the yellow and green colors of their former stadium Kolos, which can accommodate up to 3,000 spectators. After the 2009–10 Ukrainian Second League season the club again found itself in financial distress and failed attestation, which was followed by their license being withdrawn by the PFL. On 16 June 2010 it was announced that the club is being sponsored by the Russian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin. In July 2010 FC Sumy were readmitted to the Ukrainian Second League – please refer to 2010–11 Ukrainian Second League for details.
In June 2017 it was announced that "Sumy Engineering" transferred its corporate rights on the club to the Romny-based company "Ahrobiznes TSK". Ahrobiznes TSK has its own football club since 2014 that was playing at amateur and regional levels.
In April 2018 the local news media announced a sudden death of director of Romny Ahrobiznes and a member of regional council. On 15 June 2018 FC Ahrobiznes TSK Romny announced that it is dissolved due to financial difficulties.
On 13 August 2018 head coach of PFC Sumy Zolotnytskyi announced that the club has salary debts to players and is forced to get relocated to Okhtyrka. which team recently was dissolved. In October PFC Sumy acknowledged that it has problems with financing, in addition earlier this month it was accused in match-fixing.
On 9 January 2019 there appeared information that the club might not finish the 2018–19 Ukrainian First League. On 11 April 2019 the Ukrainian Football Federation indeed did deprived the club of its professional status. This was done due to match fixing by players of the club who were also banned from playing professional football in addition to president of the club Rostyslav Kozar.
PFC Sumy received new ownership during winter break of the 2018–19 season in the face of Serhiy Vashchenko who earlier that season was supposed to become the owner of Kobra Kharkiv. The new head coach was announced also former head coach of Kobra, Oleksandr Oliynyk. According to the former club's director Anatoliy Boiko, on 1 December 2018 PFC Sumy did not have any players on contract. On 11 April 2019, the FFU Control and Disciplinary Committee adopted its decision to strip the club of professional status and exclude the club from any competitions that it is participating currently or in the future. However the club has a right to file an appeal. Additional separate sanctions will be also applied against the club's playing and administrative personnel. On 14 April 2019, the chairman of the FFU committee of ethics and fair play Francesco Baranka noted that PFC Sumy has earned some 10 million euros in match fixing. More to it, Ukrainian coach Oleksandr Sevidov who held post of head coach consultant in PFC Sumy and previously managed FC Illichivets Mariupol received a lifetime disqualification.
On 1 October 2019 there appeared some information that the club has intentions to resume its participation in football competitions for the 2020–21 season.
On 10 October 2019 the chief editor of magazine "Futbol" Artem Frankov informed the UAF Committee of Appeals cancelled the decision of the UAF Control and Disciplinary Committee in regards to PFC Sumy.

Previous names of the club

;Current
;Former

Honors

;FC Yavir Krasnopillya
;FC Sumy