FC Ufa
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| Full name | Football Club Ufa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Citizens (Горожане) | |||
| Founded | 2009[1][2] | |||
| Ground | Neftyanik Stadium, Ufa | |||
| Capacity | 15,234 | |||
| Executive director | Sergey Feldman | |||
| Head coach | Yevgeni Kharlachyov | |||
| League | Russian First League | |||
| 2023–24 | Russian Second League Division A Gold Group, 1st of 10 (Promoted) | |||
| Website | http://fcufa.pro | |||
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FC Ufa (Template:Lang-ru, Template:Lang-ba) is a Russian football club based in Ufa that played in the Russian Second League in the 2023–24 season, returning to the Russian First League after achieving promotion.[3]
History
During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second President of the Republic of Bashkortostan, began considering the establishment of a football club with the intention to represent the city of Ufa and also the Republic in the Russian Premier League.
On 23 December 2010, FC Ufa was formed on the base of FC Bashinformsvyaz-Dynamo Ufa, which then plied their trade in the Russian Professional Football League, the third tier of the Russian football league system. The head coaching position of the team was first assigned to Andrei Kanchelskis, who was tasked with leading the club to the Russian First Division. The club also inherited Dynamo Stadium from the former team.
First season
The first official match of the club was against FC Syzran-2003 in the second round of the Russian Cup, which after extra time Ufa lost on penalties.
Ufa made their debut in the Russian league system on 24 April 2011 with a home match against FC Tyumen. Ufa ran out winners, 3–1, with Konstantin Ionov scoring a hat-trick for the hosts.
Ufa continued to build on their initial success to the extent that, coming to the end of the season, they were equal with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at the top of the table with 86 points. However, Ufa's loss away to Nefthekhimik following the draw at Dynamo Stadium meant that Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk had a better head-to-head record; Ufa had to postpone promotion to the Russian First Division for another year.
However, Dynamo Bryansk's failure to meet the licensing requirements for the 2012–13 Russian First Division opened up a slot in the said division, which Ufa took, enabling their promotion from the Second Division into the First Division.
Life in the First Division
In their first season in the First Division Ufa finished in sixth, four points off the last promotion playoff spot.
The following season showed improvement by Ufa, as the club had built on the previous year's showing and managed to end up in fourth, thus enabling them to contest the promotion playoff against Tom Tomsk, who finished their campaign in the Russian Premier League in 13th.
On 18 May 2014, Ufa welcomed Tom Tomsk in Dynamo for the first leg of the playoff and Ufa managed to overpower Tom 5–1, with club captain Dmitri Golubov scoring four goals. The return leg was played four days later in Tomsk, and despite going down early in the match, Ufa managed to hold on to their aggregate lead; a 3–1 loss to Tom was moot. Ufa therefore claimed a historic promotion to the top-flight Russian Premier League after just three seasons playing in the Russian league system.
Premier League period and two relegations
Italian singer and composer Maria Luisa Pensabene composed an anthem for Ufa in English and Italian, coinciding with the club's Russian Premier League debut.[4]
Ufa moved from Dynamo Stadium to Neftyanik Stadium after the latter's completed renovation in 2015.
At the end of the 2017–18 season, they secured 6th spot in the Russian Premier League, which qualified them for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League due to FC Tosno, the Russian Cup winner, not applying for the UEFA license in time.
Ufa played their first ever European game at home against Slovenian side NK Domzale. The game finished in a goalless draw. Domzale dominated the return leg in Slovenia but Ufa didn't give up and a late goal saw them draw 1-1 and progress on away goals. Next was Progres Niederkorn for the Russian side, and another late goal in the return leg in Luxembourg send Ufa through 4–3 on aggregate and set them up against Scottish side Rangers in the play-off round. They lost 1–0 at Ibrox, and drew 1–1 at their stadium, which caused them to be eliminated from the play-off rounds of the Europa League.[5] For the 2020-21 season, the club changed its colour scheme from red to purple and mint green.
In the 2021–22 season, Ufa avoided direct relegation by winning a dramatic away game against FC Rubin Kazan on the last matchday of the regular season, Dilan Ortiz scored a go-ahead goal in the 90th minute and Rubin's Vitaly Lisakovich missed the added-time penalty kick for Rubin, which would mean Ufa's direct relegation if scored, instead Rubin was relegated directly and Ufa qualified for the relegation play-offs.[6] In the subsequent play-offs against FC Orenburg, Ufa was ahead 2–0 in the first leg away game before Orenburg came back and equalized 2–2. In the return leg on Ufa's home field, the score was 1–1 (which would keep Ufa's Premier League spot on away goals rule) before Orenburg's Andrei Malykh scored the winning goal in 4th added minute to ensure Ufa's relegation to FNL.[7]
In July 2022, FC Ufa stopped cooperation with its sponsor, BetBoom and the team's home stadium, BetBoom Arena, has returned to its former name - Neftyanik.[8] With the financial situation uncertain, by 18 October 2022 Ufa planned the lay-off of 250 employees.[8] However on 19 October 2022, the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Bashkortostan agreed to become a sponsor and cover the club's financial needs with the order signed by Head of the Republic Radiy Khabirov.[8] At the end of the 2022–23 season, Ufa suffered second consecutive relegation to the Russian Second League.[9]
In the 2023–24 season at the Russian Second League, Ufa managed to consistently stay in Group Gold. In Stage 1, Ufa finished in 2nd place, keeping it's place in the group for Stage 2. In Stage 2, Ufa finished in 1st place of the group, winning the first automatic promotion back to the First League for the season.[3] Initially the licence for the 2024-25 First League was denied by the Russian Football Union.[10] On 4 June 2024 after a successful appeal, the licence was granted by the Russian Football Union.[11]
Domestic history
European history
Ufa made their UEFA competition debut in July 2018, entering the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 2Q |  Domžale
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0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 (a) |
| 3Q |  Progrès Niederkorn
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2–1 | 2–2 | 4–3 | ||
| PO |  Rangers
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1–1 | 0−1 | 1–2 |
Others
Ufa was a participant of the Korantina Homes Cup in Cyprus for 2017 and 2018, coming 1st place in both competitions.[12]
Current squad
- As of 9 June 2024[13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve team
Coaching staff
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Aleksei Stukalov
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| Assistant coaches | Nikolai Safronidi
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| Dmitri Beznyak
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| Goalkeeping coach | Anatoli Zarapin
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| President | Marat Magadeev
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| Sporting Director | Ildus Biglov
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| Director | Shamil Gazizov
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Past Head coaches
- Andrei Kanchelskis (2010—2012)
- Andrei Malay (2012, acting)
- Igor Kolyvanov (2012—2015)
- Yevgeny Perevertaylo (2015-2016)
- Sergei Tomarov (2016, acting)
Viktor Goncharenko (2016)- Sergei Semak (2016—2018)
- Sergei Tomarov (2018)
- Dmitri Kirichenko (2018—2019)
- Vadim Yevseyev (2019—2020)
- Rashid Rakhimov (2020—2021)
- Nikolai Safronidi (2021, acting )
- Alexei Stukalov (2021—2022)
- Sergei Tomarov (2022)
- Denis Popov (2022)
- Arslan Khalimbekov (2022—2023)
- Sergei Gurenko (2023)
- Yevgeni Kharlachyov (2023 —present)
Other clubs
WFC Ufa, a female football club, plays in the Russian First Division, the second tier of the Women Russian football system.[citation needed]
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Ufa.
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Sponsorship
Sponsors
| Period | Partner |
| 2010—2015 | OJSC "Bashinformsvyaz" |
| 2012—present | Fund for Social Targeted Programs |
| 2018—2022 | BetBoom |
| 2022—present | Republic of Bashkortostan |
Technical partners
| Period | Partner |
| 2011—2012 | Puma |
| 2012 —present | Joma |
References
- ^ "Футбольный клуб "Уфа" вышел в РФПЛ, обыграв по сумме двух стыковых матчей "Томь"" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
- ^ "Russia - FK Ufa - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
- ^ a b "Ни одной ошибки: ФК «Уфа» разгромил «Краснодар» и обеспечил возвращение в Первую лигу". УФА1.ру - новости Уфы (in Russian). 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "Итальянская певица написала гимн футбольному клубу «Уфа»". УФА1.ру - новости Уфы (in Russian). 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ "Ufa 1-1 Rangers: Steven Gerrard's nine-man side reach Europa League groups". BBC Sport. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ ""Уфа" обыграла "Рубин" и вытеснила казанцев с 14-го места" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ ""Оренбург" вырвал победу у "Уфы" и завоевал право играть в РПЛ" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 28 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Башкирия вошла в число учредителей ФК «Уфа»". РБК (in Russian). 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ ""Уфа" – во Второй лиге! Был шанс спастись на финише, но проиграли дома и провалились" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 3 June 2023. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ "РФС выдал лицензии клубам для участия в Мелбет Первой лиге на сезон 2024/25". Российский футбольный союз (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "«Уфа» получила лицензию РФС для участия в Первой лиге". matchtv (in Russian). 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "Футбольный клуб "Уфа"". www.fcufa.pro (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "FC Ufa roster by Russian Second League". Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
External links
- Official website (in Russian)