All teams that qualified for the Championship group after the first stage expressed their desire to pass the qualification for participation in the UPL championship. Therefore, one can expect a fierce competition for promotion in the league this spring.

The football players of "Metalist 1925" were the first to start preparing for the second part of the season on January 8th. On January 18th, the Kharkiv team will play a friendly match against amateurs from "Rebela", then they will face "Left Bank" and "Ingulets". Overall, the Slobozhans, who during their second training camp will be stationed at the Zamyshsky base of "Ruh" in Vinnitsa, will play 17 friendly matches.

The first winter newcomer to the Slobozhans is Pedro Arthur — a graduate of the famous Brazilian club "Flamengo". To Patrick van Leeuwen's coaching staff joined Israeli specialist David Ori. The Dutchman worked with him at "Maccabi" in Tel Aviv.

Another team from the top group, "Kudryvka", held a week-long training camp at the end of December, which concluded with a friendly match against FC "Lesne" (3:3), and their players will start full preparation for new challenges on January 20th. The ranks of "Kudryvka" have left experienced Vladyslav Nekhtiy and Yaroslav Kvasov.

The Chernivtsi football team, "Bukovyna", followed a similar schedule. First, they participated in the Christmas tournament, and full training will begin at the start of February. Vitaliy Faraseyenko, Davronbek Azizov, and Ivan Budnyak will no longer play for "Bukovyna".

Representatives of "Podillya" also have ambitious plans. The leader, "Epitsentr", will start February by playing friendlies against amateur teams — Polissya (Stavki) and Lesne. At the moment, only Yevgen Pavluchenko remains in the team; it is expected that coach Serhiy Nagornyak will strengthen the squad with three qualified newcomers.

And neighbors from "Agrobiznes" convinced their striker Maxim Voytikhovskiy of the need to extend his contract. In other clubs, Daniil Volkov, Serhiy Zaiets, Vitaliy Myachin, and Mykola Fomin will continue their careers.

Already for the second time serious personnel changes are expected at "Minay", which may lose more than ten players. In particular, one of the leaders of Zakarpattia — Arthur Remennyak — has already obtained the status of a free agent.

And now the outsider, "Kremenchuk", has already bid farewell to all its players; only club director Andriy Fil and head coach Igor Klimovskiy remain in the team. The second half of the season will be played by young footballers who will start arriving for trials in mid-February. The best among them will have the opportunity to prove themselves in the first league.