FC Desna Chernihiv

Football Club Desna Chernihiv (Ukrainian: ФК «Десна» Чернігів) is a Ukrainian football club based in Chernihiv. The original name of the club was "Avanhard" (FC Avanhard Chernihiv) during its first year of existence as part of a republican Avanhard sports society. Between 1961 and 1970 the club was called Desna. In 1972, it was replaced with SC Chernihiv (team of the SKA Kyiv) that played in Chernihiv for the next couple of years. In 1977, the Desna name was revived in place of the amateur club "FC Khimik Chernihiv" that won regional competitions. Due to the infrastructure of the club being destroyed by the Russian military during the Siege of Chernihiv in 2022, the club pulled out of professional tournaments and plays irregular amateur-level matches (e.g. the Chernihiv Oblast Championship). Desna, along with FC Mariupol, were awarded rights to play in the Ukrainian Premier League in the future case of restoring their infrastructure. In 2025, both clubs were excluded from the Premier League, with the question of determining their professional status being delegated to the Ukrainian Association of Football.