Ground Capacity 15,234 Arena/Stadium Neftyanik Stadium Founded 2010 | Chairman Marat Magadeyev Location Ufa, Russia | |
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Nickname(s) Gorozhane (Townspeople) Owner Bashkortostan/Rostelecom Profiles | ||
FC Ufa (Russian: ФК «Уфа», Bashkir: Өфө, Öfö) is a Russian football club based in Ufa that currently plays in the Russian Premier League.
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Tom tomsk vs fc ufa highlights goals 14 08 2016
History
During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second President of the Republic of Bashkortostan, began considering the establishment of a football club with the intention to represent the city of Ufa and also the Republic in the Russian Premier League.
On 23 December 2010, FC Ufa was formed on the base of FC Bashinformsvyaz-Dynamo Ufa, which then plied their trade in the Russian Professional Football League, the third tier of the Russian football league system. The head coaching position of the team was first assigned to two-time English Premier League winner Andrei Kanchelskis, who was tasked with leading the club to the Russian first division.
First season
The first official match of the club was against FC Syzran-2003 in the second round of the Russian Cup, which after a stalemate Ufa lost on penalties.
Ufa made their debut in the Russian league system on 24 April 2011 with a home match against FC Tyumen. Ufa ran out winners, 3–1, with Konstantin Ionov scoring a hat-trick for the hosts.
Ufa continued to build on their initial success to the extent that, coming to the end of the season, they were deadlocked with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at the top of the table with 86 points. However, Ufa's loss away to Nefthekhimik following the stalemate at Dynamo Stadium meant that the latter had a better head-to-head record; Ufa had to postpone promotion to the Russian first division for another year.
However, Dynamo Bryansk's failure to meet the licensing requirements for the 2012–13 Russian first division opened up a slot in the said division, which Ufa took, thus effectively enabling their promotion from the Second division into the First Division.
Life in the First Division
Ufa's debut in the First Division was a success, as their 48-point haul enabled them to finish the season in the sixth position, just four points off the last promotion playoff spot.
The following season showed marked improvement by Ufa, as the club had built on the previous year's showing and managed to end up in the fourth position, thus enabling them to contest the promotion playoff against Tom Tomsk, who finished their campaign in the Russian Premier League in 13th.
On 18 May 2014, Ufa welcomed Tom Tomsk in Dynamo for the first leg of the playoff and, despite the huge difference in the playing strength of the two squads, Ufa managed to overpower Tom 5–1, with club captain and talisman Dmitri Golubov notching a poker. The return leg was played four days later in Tomsk, and despite going down early in the match, Ufa managed to hold on to their aggregate lead; a 3–1 loss to Tom was moot. Ufa therefore claimed a historic promotion to the top-flight Russian Premier League just three seasons playing in the Russian league system.
Current squad
As of 24 February 2017Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Other clubs
A semi-professional football club called FC Ufa-2 plays in the Russian Amateur Football League, the fourth tier of the Russian football system.
WFC Ufa, a female football club, plays in the Russian First Division, the second tier of the Women Russian football system.
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Ufa.