The vector of reforms is the consistent ideological policy of the UAF aimed at increasing competition in matches for the full development of football players. Such changes have already taken place in the formats of children's and women's competitions. The main principle: the composition of participants should be formed based on sports merit and team strength, not by coercion or geographical factors. Only under conditions of equal competition can footballers grow and properly prepare themselves for future challenges in their careers.

 

U-19 National League

In the

U-19 National League competition, 14 teams will participate. The championship will take place in two rounds according to the "fall-spring" principle.

Composition of participants:

— «Veres» (Rivne);

— «Dynamo» (Kyiv);

— «Karpaty» (Lviv);

— «Kolos» (Kovalivka);

— «LNZ» (Cherkasy);

— «Metalist 1925» (Kharkiv);

— «Obolon» (Kyiv);

— «Oleksandria» (Oleksandria);

— «Polesye» (Zhytomyr);

— «Ruh» (Lviv);

— «Shakhtar» (Donetsk);

— «Lysyj Bereh» (Kyiv);

— «Metallurg» (Zaporizhzhia);

— «Lviv» (Lviv)*.

* FC «Lviv» will join the list of participants upon passing an accreditation procedure. This decision was made in consideration of a collective appeal from clubs regarding the formation of a full roster for the elite division.

During preparations for the new season, several UPL clubs — including «Epicerter», «Kudryvka» and «Zoria» — declined to participate in youth competitions U-19, while «Krivbas» withdrew from the tournament.

To preserve a full-fledged competitive structure, the UAF conducted a survey among candidates for promotion regarding their readiness to join the higher division. The readiness was confirmed by FC «Lysyj Bereh» (Kyiv), which joined the list of participants.

A separate issue was the inclusion of the GS «DYSKH "FC Lviv" in the potential roster of participants. This happened based on a collective appeal from UPL clubs, emphasizing that to ensure competitiveness and create an elite division with 14 teams, it is beneficial to involve graduates of DYSKH "FC Lviv".

In their appeal, the clubs noted the stable presence of the Lviv youth school in competitions U-19 over recent years through cooperation agreements with other clubs:

— from 2018/2019 to 2022/2023 in collaboration with TOV "PFC Lviv";

— for the season 2023/2024 in partnership with TOV "FC Minay";

— for the season 2024/2025 in cooperation with TOV "FC Ingulets";

— for the season 2025/2026 in collaboration with GO "FC Epicerter".

The graduates of DYSKH "FC Lviv" regularly join the squads of national teams across various age categories and also play for leading UPL clubs.

 

U-19 Regional League

The

U-19 Regional League brings together clubs and DYSKH in four groups of 8–10 teams, formed according to territorial principles.

In the first stage, teams will play two rounds within their groups. The winners of the groups will proceed to the playoffs:

— semi-final pairs will be determined by a draw;

— each match will consist of two games;

— the winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final;

— teams that lose will play for third place.

 

Exchange Between Leagues

The key idea of the reform is to ensure open sporting rotation between leagues.

The team occupying 14th place in the National League drops down to the Regional League.

The winner of the Regional League will be promoted directly, provided they meet the requirements of the regulations and have an accreditation (professional or semi-professional).

Three more teams from the Regional League will get a chance at promotion through playoff matches:

— 2nd place in RL against 13th place in NL;

— 3rd place in RL against 12th place in NL;

— 4th place in RL against 11th place in NL.

The playoff matches will consist of two games, and the winner will be determined by the aggregate score of both matches.

In this way, each participant in the Regional League has a real sporting path to the elite level.

 

Semi-Professional Status and Protection for Clubs

Parallel with changing formats, a semi-professional status for clubs is being introduced, which will be granted after passing an accreditation process.

The semi-professional status of a club allows:

— to enter into contracts with football players (employment contract with part-time working conditions);

— to legally formalize the relationship between the club and the player;

— to protect investments made by clubs in preparing footballers.