Football Club Arsenal Kyiv (Ukrainian: Футбо́льний Клуб Арсена́л–Київ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal factory team which traces its history back to 1925. The original factory team used to compete in the Soviet Class B (later reorganized as Soviet Second League), but was relegated in 1964 and officially dissolved (lost professional status).
The football club of the Ukrainian post-Soviet period was created in 1993 and brought to Kyiv from Boryspil by a geological company Geoton which was one of main sponsors of the Football Federation of Ukraine and Ukraine national football team in the beginning. In 1995–2001 through a merger, the club was reconstituted by the Ministry of Defense as a separate government enterprise not part of the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During that period (1995–2001) it competed in the Ukrainian Top League under CSKA Kyiv brand as its senior (main) squad, while the original army squad continued to compete in lower leagues. In 1995 it was relocated to Kyiv playing at CSK ZSU Stadium and carried such names as CSKA-Borysfen and CSKA, while the original FC CSKA Kyiv competing in lower leagues changed its name to CSKA-2 as its reserve squad. Due to difficulty of financing, the ownership of senior squad was transferred to the Kyiv city authorities during the winter break of 2001–02 as part of Oleksandr Omelchenko political project and the newly acquired squad was renamed as Arsenal in memory of the factory team.
Between 2002 and 2008, Arsenal was a municipal club of Kyiv city and played its games at the Olympiyskiy National Sports Complex. Later when the club was sold to the Ukrainian politician Vadym Rabinovych who promised to build the club's own stadium within the Kyiv city limits, but instead came up with a campaign to revive the history of another Arsenal Kyiv, a factory team of Kyiv Arsenal, which was dissolved in the 1960s and consider the current Arsenal Kyiv a phoenix club of its predecessor. In 2013 soon after Rabinovych sold the club to another Ukrainian politician it was abandoned and dissolved.
Due to the efforts of Ukrainian racer Oleksiy Kikireshko, the club was revived in 2014 as Arsenal-Kyiv and based in Shchaslyve located right on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv.
Contents
History
Timeline and names
1925–1963: During this period the first installment of the club was originally formed as Mashynobudivnyk (Machinist) and then later, Arsenal.
In 1963 Arsenal was dissolved and replaced by Temp Kyiv, its sports school continued to compete at city competitions.
1993–2013: The second installment of the club was formed under the name Borysfen and later changed names due to several events during this period.
1993: Borysfen → Nyva–Borysfen : the club merged with FC Nyva Myronivka in the Transitional League in the middle of the 1992–93 season as Nyva–Borysfen.
1993: Nyva–Borysfen → FC Borysfen Boryspil : started out in the Second League in place of FC Nyva Myronivka, due to the merger, for the 1993–94 season under the new name of FC Borysfen Boryspil.
1994: FC Borysfen Boryspil → FC Boryspil : then changed its name to FC Boryspil during winter break and gained promotion and the end of the season.
1994: FC Borysfen Boryspil → FC CSKA–Borysfen Boryspil : merged with CSK ZSU Kyiv as FC CSKA–Borysfen Boryspil for the 1994–95 season
1995: FC CSKA–Borysfen Boryspil → FC CSKA–Borysfen Kyiv : relocated to Kyiv, which saw another name change to highlight its base at the CSK ZSU Stadium in Kyiv, which belonged to the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
1996: FC CSKA–Borysfen Kyiv → FC CSKA Kyiv and FC Borysfen Boryspil : a disagreement with members and key stakeholders of the club brought about the splitting of FC CSKA–Borysfen Kyiv to form FC CSKA Kyiv and FC Borysfen Boryspil.
2001: FC CSKA Kyiv → FC Arsenal Kyiv : during this year, the Kyiv City governing body purchased the club from Ministry of Defense and adopted new name to draw on the history and significance of the former identity.
Soviet period
Created on 14 July 1925, as a multi-sports club of the Arsenal Factory in Kyiv, before World War II the club played mostly in regional competitions for factory workers. In 1936 Arsenal Kyiv took part in the Soviet Cup in football where it was eliminated after the first round of competition after a replay.
After World War II the club played in the Ukrainian Soviet competitions under the name of FC Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv (the SC Arsenal Kyiv also used to have a hockey team, HC Zenit Kyiv). In 1958 Mashynobudivnyk won the competitions and was accepted to the Soviet Class B under the name of FC Arsenal Kyiv. In 1959–1964 the club played in the Soviet Class B. In 1964 the teams of master Arsenal Kyiv was dissolved. In reality however, FC Arsenal Kyiv either lost its relegation play-off or simply yielded its place to already existing FC Temp Kyiv which represented the Kyiv aviation factory Aviant (today part of Antonov corporation). After the season Temp was withdrawn and until the end of 1960s played at the Soviet competitions among collectives of physical culture (KFK).
Later the Arsenal factory also was fielding its football team in the competitions among collectives of physical culture in 1972 – 1977, 1979 and 1980.
Nyva-Borysfen, FC Boryspil, and CSKA-Borysfen (1993–2001)
The club takes its roots from the appearance of FC Boryspil and that fact is well documented. FC Boryspil was established on 9 March 1993 by Ukrainian geologist and entrepreneur Dmytro Zlobenko (1961–2013) along with his partner Ihor Kovalevych and his science production firm "Geoton". Zlobenko managed to find ways in cooperation with local administrations of Myronivka and Boryspil raions (districts in the southeastern part of Kyiv Oblast). With the ongoing season, the club merged with the already existing FC Nyva Myronivka that competed at the Ukrainian Transition League (at that time was considered to have semi-professional status) and took over their brand temporary renaming into Nyva-Borysfen, while the original Nyva restarted as FC Nyva Karapyshi in the Kyiv Oblast Championship. The idea of club's organization, in the beginning, came from another former football player and coach from Kyiv, Ivan Terletskyi who also offered to seek help from Mikhail Oshenkov, a son of Oleg Oshenkov and worked closely with Valeriy Lobanovskyi. Among other people who were involved in creation of the new club were children coach out of Kuchakiv, Viktor Haiduk, director of the local "Kolos" sports society Mykola Kostianets, head of the Boryspil Raion state administration, Mykhailo Muzyka, and Boryspil mayor, Oleksandr Prydatko.
The original coach Volodymyr Kolomiets was left managing the club. Some new players were brought to the squad like Igoris Pankratjevas from FC Dynamo Kyiv and Oleksandr Ivanov from FC Metalist Kharkiv. With the help of Anatoliy Kroshchenko (at that time coached FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv), Nyva-Borysfen's squad was increased with Dynamo Kyiv's young footballers. The same year (1993) Nyva-Borysfen won the Kyiv Oblast Cup, in order to participate in the Ukrainian Cup competitions. The new Nyva-Borysfen started out with a home loss to FC Naftokhimik Kremenchuk, while its next game it surprisingly won away in Kerch against the local FC Voikovets. The first recorded game of the merged club took place on 3 April 1993.
Fielded squad: Ruslan Novikov, Serhiy Kalian, Serhiy Yaroshenko, Vyacheslav Nivinskyi, Oleksandr Otlyotov, Andriy Mikhno, Yuriy Hetman (Kostiantyn Chupys, 40; Oleh Balyuk, 80), Ihor Symonenko, Serhiy Hura (Mykhailo Bezruchko, 55) Yuriy Zhabynskyi, Oleg Solovyov. Coach – Volodymyr Kolomiets.
At the same time in Boryspil started out reconstruction of Kolos Stadium. Already since 15 May 1993, Nyva-Borysfen played its home games at the CSK ZSU Stadium. Nonetheless, the team failed its goals placing just outside the promotion zone in a tournament table. Luckily, the FFU Executive Committee decided to expand leagues and the "Myronivka Boryspilians" obtained the opportunity to jump on a last train car of the amateur "train" that was moving towards the official professional competitions, while heading back there was a more sad "train" that carried to the Transition League relegated from the last place FC CSK ZSU Kyiv. During the inter-seasonal break there were almost no changes made to the club's squad and coaching staff, except for a few players who went on to play for Borysfen Boryspil.
FC Arsenal Kyiv (2001–2013)
After the 2000 financial crisis at CSKA, the club, as a state company of the Sports Committee of Ministry of Defense, had its budget cut and was on the brink of being dissolved. On 9 October 2001 Oleksandr Danylchuk was calling rumours and populistic claims when commenting on the declarations about CSKA Kyiv will become Arsenal Kyiv. Transferring of CSKA under jurisdiction of the city authorities is not taking placing. There is no "Arsenal". Not me, nor the Ministry of Defense will make any kind of deal. The words of Oleksandr Omelchenko have no actual confirmations. There is no any commercial entities and no people's deputies who participate in creation of "Arsenal". Those are all empty talks that take place not one year already. During that time, the city did not invest a single dime in the club.
On 19 October 2001 after a meeting with the deputy minister Ivan Bizhan, the city mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko and the CSKA honorary president Oleksandr Danylchuk, it was decided to create on the base of the Army team a new entity, Arsenal Kyiv. On the proposition of CSKA–Kyiv (part of "Unіsport Consaltіng Ltd"), in the same day the Kyiv city mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko issued an order on constituting a limited liability company FC Arsenal Kyiv where 51% of the company owned by the Kyiv city community. The other 49% was still owned by the Ministry of Defense and CSKA as a company. On 8 November 2001 the Kyiv City Council adopted the decision on the creation of the club and increase the constituent fund to 80% (₴9,440), while the other 20% (₴2,360) belonged to other members of the company. The First League second team CSKA-2 Kyiv continued to be affiliated with the Ministry of Defense and once again became the primary team of the Army football club, FC CSKA Kyiv.
Arsenal was created as the Kyiv's city team and fully funded by the Kyiv City Administration with an annual budget of ₴40 million (~US$8 million). Transformation of CSKA into Arsenal was not a single day process and after 1 January 2002 the process was still ongoing. Under the Omelchenko's guardianship Arsenal played at the main national football venue (today Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex) without any concerns, yet later it was "kicked out" of the capital and for sometime was forced to play in Boryspil or rent the Dynamo's home venues. Omelchenko who was a political opponent of Surkis brothers (Hryhoriy Surkis and Ihor Surkis) insisted that Dynamo should be playing at its home venue Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium.
While under the city government's ownership, Arsenal struggled financially, resorting to loaning many of its first team's squad players. Soon after election of a new mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi, the city had decreased funding to the club significantly as it sought to reduce its numerous sports holdings and on 13 July 2006 adopted a decision to sell it at auction scheduled on 14 November 2006 and starting at ₴1.1 million. Preparations to sell the club started earlier and no later than 1 June 2006. The initial auction failed to occur and was rescheduled, while the starting was lowered to ₴770,000. In May 2007, it was announced that the club would be demoted due to financial issues, however soon afterwards it was revealed that Arsenal would be purchased by Ukrainian oligarch, Vadim Rabinovich. The new owner started actively financing the club and its transfers. In January 2009 the Mayor of Kyiv Leonid Chernovetskyi bought Arsenal Kyiv for ₴1 from Rabynovich; Chernovetskiy's 30-year-old son Stepan became the club's president. On 20 January 2009 in the newspaper "Ukraynskyi futbol" appeared a "satirical" article about the club's purchase "There will be stadiums on Mars" (На Марсі будуть стадіони?!), which told that the financial transaction of the club was connected with a real estate around the Ukrainian capital. Upon the purchase, the club's situation was critical and there were talks about merger with another Kyiv's club Obolon. The following year Rabinovich bought the club back due to the poor management.
FC Arsenal-Kyiv (2014–2019)
The Arsenal team that was re-founded in 2001 went bankrupt in late 2013, but the club was soon reformed and currently plays as an amateur team in the Kyiv City League competition.
In January 2014 an initiative group of former club players and fans with the help of Kyiv businessman and rally driver Oleksiy Kikireshko re-established the club as FC Arsenal-Kyiv.
After its last game of the 2014 Kyiv city championship on 9 November 2014, which was won by FC Arsenal-Kyiv, the club's president Kikireshko announced that the club submitted a preliminary application on participation in the Ukrainian Second League for the 2015–16 Ukrainian Second League season. It was accepted.
The club appointed Andriy Annenkov in February 2014, but he resigned after an unsuccessful start to a new season on 8 August 2015.
In February 2018, it became known that a new president of the club and its co-owner became the club's former player from Croatia Ivica Pirić. The other 50% of the club belong to a former football referee Oleksandr Moskalenko.
On 28 April 2018, FC Arsenal Kyiv announced that since the next season it could be called FC Arsenal-CSKA Kyiv. Later the club's director Oleksandr Moskalenko told that the club will play at Bannikov Stadium if it gets promoted to the 2018–19 Ukrainian Premier League. The stadium however does not meet the league's threshold requirements for the minimum capacity.
During the winter of 2018–19 FC Arsenal-Kyiv was involved in business conflict over its home base which is connected with the Russian financial institution Sberbank. FC Arsenal-Kyiv shares its home base in Shchaslyve with the Shakhtar football academy.
Supporters and rivalries
Due to predominant right-wing football supporters in Ukraine, the Arsenal supporters "Mad Rebels" lean strongly towards the anti-fascist movement and in the majority perceived as left-wing supporters. Colors of the Arsenal fans coincide with those of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's flag, while the Kyiv Arsenal factory is associated with pro-Bolshevik sentiment during the Kiev Arsenal January Uprising in 1918 following which Kyiv was overrun by the armed forces of Soviet Russia. The Arsenal supporters could also be associated with Partizan Minsk who have similar political beliefs. Arsenal fans were interviewed by the BBC in 2012 for a documentary on football hooliganism called Stadiums of Hate, before the UEFA Euro 2012, however their interviews were omitted from the final edit, leading some people to criticise the BBC for ignoring them in order to push their message of fascism further.
Arsenal's archrivals are the majority nationalist and right-wing Dynamo Kyiv, with whom they contest the Kyiv derby. They also have a rivalry with the other Kyiv team, CSKA Kyiv, not only along political lines but also due to the controversial intertwining of the two club's histories. Other fierce rivals are Karpaty Lviv and FC Dnipro.
Stadiums and home fields
The original and first home stadium became Kolos Stadium. The club's main training facility are located in one of Kyiv's suburbs Shchaslyve, just outside of the Kyiv's city limits on the way towards Boryspil.
In 1995, the club became affiliated with the Armed Forces of Ukraine as CSKA-Borysfen and played at CSK ZSU Stadium which belongs to the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In 2001 after becoming the Kyiv municipal team the club "pushed" out of Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, the leader of Ukrainian football, FC Dynamo Kyiv and reserved the arena until its renovations in 2008 for its preparation to the Euro 2012.
Later Arsenal played at various smaller stadiums such as Bannikov Stadium, Obolon Arena, and others.
Presidents
1993–1995: NPF Geoton Boryspil (Dmytro Zlobenko) as FC Borysfen Boryspil → FC Boryspil → FC Borysfen Boryspil → FC CSKA–Borysfen Kyiv
1995–1998: Kyiv–Donbass (Mikhail Grinshpon) as FC CSCA–Kyiv
1998–1999: Kyiv–Donbass (Viktor Topolov)
1999–2000: Andriy Artemenko
2000-2001: Unіsport Consaltіng Ltd (Oleksandr Danylchuk)
2001–2007: Kyiv city administration (Oleksandr Omelchenko and Leonid Chernovetskyi, team transformed into Arsenal Kyiv)
2007–2013: Vadym Rabinovych
2013: Oleksandr Onyshchenko (club dissolved)
2014–2018: Oleksiy Kikireshko (club was reestablished as Arsenal-Kyiv)
2018: Ivica Pirić (co-owner)
Honours
Soviet factory team
As "Mashynobudivnyk Kyiv"
Championship of the Ukrainian SSR
Winners (2): 1954, 1958
Ukrainian team
As "FC Boryspil"
Ukrainian Second League
Winners (1): 1993–94
As "CSKA-Borysfen"
Ukrainian First League
Runner up (1): 1994–95
As "CSKA Kyiv"
Ukrainian Cup
Runner up (2): 1998, 2001
As "Arsenal Kyiv"
Ukrainian First League
Winners (1): 2017–18
League and cup history
European competitions
Arsenal Kyiv appeared in the European competitions for the first time as CSKA Kyiv in 1998 (1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) in away game against the Irish Cork City F.C. which CSKA lost 1–2. The first two qualifications to European competitions were achieved by reaching the final of the Ukrainian Cup in 1998 and 2001. During that time Arsenal Kyiv was known as CSKA Kyiv.
The first appearance in the European competitions under Arsenal brand the club made in 2012.
CSKA Kyiv
UEFA Cup Winners Cup
UEFA Europa League
Arsenal Kyiv
UEFA Europa League
Notes
Note 1: UEFA awarded Mura 05 a 3–0 win due to Arsenal Kyiv fielding a suspended player in the first leg. The original match had ended in a 3–0 win for Arsenal Kyiv.
Managers
Viktor Kolotov (1993)
Volodymyr Bezsonov (1994)
Mykhailo Fomenko (1994–1996)
Viktor Chanov (1996) (caretaker)
Volodymyr Lozynskyi (1996–1997)
Serhiy Morozov (1997)
Oleksandr Shtelin (1997–1998)
Volodymyr Bezsonov (1998–2000)
Mykhailo Fomenko (2000–2001)
Oleh Kuznetsov (1 July 2001 – 30 June 2002)
Vyacheslav Hroznyi (1 July 2002 – 30 June 2004)
Oleksandr Baranov (1 July 2004 – 1 Nov 2005)
Oleksandr Zavarov (10 Nov 2005 – 28 Jan 2010)
Vyacheslav Hroznyi (28 Jan 2010 – 16 April 2010)
Yuriy Bakalov (interim) (22 April 2010 – 18 May 2010)
Yuriy Bakalov (18 May 2010 – 29 May 2011)
Leonid Kuchuk (2 June 2011 – 31 Dec 2012)
Yuriy Bakalov (5 Jan 2013 – 21 Nov 2013)
Serhiy Zakarlyuka (22 Nov 2013 – 31 Jan 2014) (caretaker)
Andriy Annenkov (1 Feb 2014 – 8 Aug 2015)
Angel Chervenkov (13 Aug 2015 – 15 Dec 2015)
Arsenal–2
FC Arsenal-2 Kyiv was a Ukrainian football team based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Like most tributary teams, the best players are sent up to the senior team, meanwhile developing other players for further call-ups.
The team appeared once in the 2003–04 Ukrainian Second League serving as a junior (reserve) squad for the FC Arsenal Kyiv franchise. It was allowed to skip amateur competitions, but was withdrawn after a season. The team did not perform well and withdrew before the end of the season, placing the dead last.