First documented evidence of introduction to the game of football comes from Western Ukraine. Gymnasiums and teacher
schools in Halychyna carried a football development program which was first published in 1891 in monograph "Sporting games of school youth", written by Professor Cenar, a big fan of the game. He was the one who in
1890 brought a real "foot"-ball to L'viv from the homeland of modern football, Great Britain.Starting in 1892, local achievement Fairs were held every two years with the support of the caesar of Austria-Hungary
Franc-Joseph. Sport, as a new element of the city culture, was a part of the Fair in section 23. A known sports reporter Gemerling was the head of the section, and Professor Cenar was the secretary. According
to the July 10, 1893 protocol, bicycle races and football were added along with gymnastics to the sports section of the Fair by the organizing committee. The first football demonstration in L'viv was held on June 5, 1892
during a break in gymnastics exhibition, which was a part of the Halitian Fair. It was a demonstration of a new sport, which was supposed to interest the youth. In fact, the teachers and gymnasts demonstrated their
skills of ball control.
By the time the second fare was held, the construction of a new stadium was completed in May, 1984 in Stryisky Park. It was an English style stadium with 7,000 seats.
On July 14, 1894, a
football match between the city teams of L'viv and Krakow was held in L'viv as a part of the 2nd congress of the Ukrainian sports society "Sokil". This was the first official match on ethnically Ukrainian land
with the participation of the local citizens who had some football playing skills according to the rules. The game at over-packed stadium was reported by media of Czech, Germany and Belarus.
The first written record of the
match can be found on page 4 of the newspaper "Hazeta Lvivska", No. 161 dated July 17, 1894. An original copy of this newspaper can be found in the National Academy of Sciences Vasyl Stefanyk Library in L'viv.
In the August issue of the sports periodical "Himnastychny Putivnyk" (1894) there is an extensive coverage of the 2nd congress of "Sokil" where the reporter Xavier Fischer described the football match of
1984 in detail.
"On Saturday, July 14, at 17:00 hrs, footballers of Lviv and Krakow came out on the football field of the city stadium. Lviv players were in gray sports pants, and Krakow players were in
blue. Both teams wore white shirts and sports shoes. The football match was refereed by Professor Wyrobek from Krakow."
July 14, 1894 is suggested to be named the Day of Football in Ukraine.
Material was compiled by
