A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dynamo Kyiv 5th title |
| Relegated | Nyva Vinnytsia, Kremin Kremenchuk |
| Champions League | Dynamo Kyiv |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| UEFA Cup | Vorskla Poltava, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
| Top goalscorer | (21) Oleh Matveyev (Shakhtar) |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
The 1996–97 Vyshcha Liha season was the 6th since its establishment. FC Dynamo Kyiv were the defending champions.
Preseason changes
Number of teams in the league was reduced from 18 to 16. Vyshcha Liha became a member of the newly established Professional Football League of Ukraine.
Teams
Promotions
- Vorskla Poltava, the champion of the 1995–96 Ukrainian First League – (debut)
Renamed
Before the start of season CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv was replaced with CSKA Kyiv which played in tier 3.[1] Just before the start of new 1996–97 season a scandal took place related to ownership.[2] Dmytro Zlobenko was removed from the club which with help of the Army was passed to some businessman by name of Mikhail Grinshpon, a president of "Kyiv–Donbas".[3] Concurrently, Mikhail Grinshpon was an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksandr Kuzmuk.[3]
Location
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Managers
Notes: Games between Dynamo Kyiv and CSKA Kyiv were played at the Republican Stadium.
Changes
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Shakhtar Donetsk |  Valeriy Rudakov
|
pre-season | Valery Yaremchenko
|
pre-season | |||
| SC Tavriya Simferopol | Anatoliy Zayayev
|
pre-season |  Serhiy Shevchenko
|
pre-season | |||
| FC CSKA Kyiv | Viktor Chanov
|
pre-season | Volodymyr Lozynsky
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Karpaty Lviv | Volodymyr Zhuravchak
|
pre-season | Myron Markevych
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |  Bernd Stange
|
pre-season | Viacheslav Hrozny
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | Myron Markevych
|
pre-season | Oleksiy Cherednyk
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | Ihor Yurchenko
|
pre-season |  Boris Streltsov
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Kremin Kremenchuk | Valery Yaremchenko
|
pre-season | Mykhailo Bilykh
|
pre-season | |||
| FC Nyva Vinnytsia | Serhiy Morozov
|
pre-season | Pasha Kasanov
|
pre-season |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Kyiv (C) | 30 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 69 | 20 | +49 | 73 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk[a] | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 72 | 28 | +44 | 62 | Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Vorskla Poltava | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 58 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 4 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk[a] | 30 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 55 | |
| 5 | Karpaty Lviv | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tavriya Simferopol | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 44 | |
| 7 | Chornomorets Odesa | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 42 | |
| 8 | Metalurh Zaporizhzhia | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 41 | |
| 9 | Nyva Ternopil | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 39 | |
| 10 | Zirka-NIBAS Kirovohrad | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 36 | |
| 11 | CSKA Kyiv | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 35 | −2 | 35 | |
| 12 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 48 | −24 | 33 | |
| 13 | Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 31 | |
| 14 | Torpedo Zaporizhzhia | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 25 | 56 | −31 | 29 | |
| 15 | Kremin Kremenchuk (R) | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 28 | 57 | −29 | 24 | Relegated to Ukrainian First League |
| 16 | Nyva Vinnytsia (R) | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 19 | 48 | −29 | 18 |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goal scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes: