Unlike previous seasons, the competition will not take place in two groups based on territorial principles but rather under a round-robin system over two rounds.

Teams that finish first and second will be promoted directly to the UPL. Teams finishing third and fourth will play promotion-relegation matches against opponents who finish 14th and 13th in the elite division.

Teams finishing 15th and 16th in the first league will drop down to the second league. Teams finishing 13th and 14th will participate in promotion-relegation matches against third and fourth-placed teams from the second league.

Currently, among the participants of the first league, only "Bukovina" and "Ingulets" have publicly announced their desire to secure a spot in the UPL. By the way, they will determine their standings in the central match of the opening round on August 2nd in Petrove.

The Chernivtsi team has conducted quality selection work by signing players with Premier League experience. The latest summer newcomers are defender Vitaliy Dakhnovskyy and midfielder Vasyl Hakhman from "Veres" (by the way, Hakhman is the only native of Chernivtsi football in Bukovyna's current roster). Under the guidance of Serhiy Shyshchenko, they have long been claiming an unofficial title as pre-season champions but conceded to "Phoenix-Maripol" (1:3) and drew with Ternopil's "Niva" (0:0).

"Ingulets" did not strengthen its roster with well-known players in the off-season, but the team's trump cards are experience, fighting spirit, and creativity from head coach Vasyl Kobin.

However, "Bukovina" and "Ingulets" need to be cautious because they could face tough competition for top positions from "Agrobusiness," "Metalist," "Left Bank," and "Chornomorets," whose captain is former national team player Yaroslav Rakitskyi.

As for the prestigious "Vorskla," after its relegation, it has lost all of its top players. The club's management tasked new head coach Oleksandr Babych with finishing sixth in the first round with a slight gap from the leaders and then strengthening the squad during the winter break to improve their tournament standing.

Finally, it should be noted that the composition of participants is quite balanced, so one shouldn't expect easy matches. Of course, this only adds to the interest in the first league tournament.