UPL social media ranking: what place does FC "Kharkiv" hold
The clubs of the UPL have grown their combined audience on social media to 7.4 million subscribers for the 2025/26 season.
The biggest growth was shown by "Shakhtar", "Polissya", LNZ, and "Karpaty".
The Ukrainian Premier League 2025/26 season ended with a result that few expected at the start: "Shakhtar" reclaimed the championship, winning their 16th gold in the club's history and coming close to Dynamo's record (17 titles). The Donetsk team secured the victory ahead of schedule, three rounds before the finish, outpacing the silver medalist LNZ by 12 points. For the Cherkasy club, which debuted in the elite division just three seasons ago and had never risen above seventh place before, the silver became the main sensation of the championship. The bronze was taken by Zhytomyr's "Polissya" - the third consecutive season representing in European competitions.
But the league table is only part of the picture. We traditionally compared the clubs' performance on social media at the start of the season (July 2025) and after its completion (July 2026) on eight platforms: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Telegram, Viber, TikTok, and Threads. And here the hierarchy looks much more dynamic than the league table - the sports result is converted into digital growth not always directly, but often from an unexpected angle.
Instagram: the main platform of the league grows unevenly
Instagram remains the largest social network for the Ukrainian football audience - this is where Reels, behind-the-scenes content, and players' personal stories are concentrated. "Shakhtar" was the first in the league to cross the one million subscriber mark (from 924 thousand to a million, +8.2%). But the most noticeable dynamics are in the clubs of the second tier: "Polissya" added 39.8% (44.7 → 62.5 thousand), LNZ - 31.2% (22.1 → 29 thousand), "Kudrivka" - 91.4% (5.7 → 11 thousand), "Metalist 1925" (now - "Kharkiv") - 24.4% (34 → 42.3 thousand), and "Karpaty" - 22.7% (38.4 → 47.1 thousand).
"Epitsentr" (+68.2%, from 7.4 to 12.5 thousand) and "Oleksandriya" (+18%) also showed noticeable growth. In total, the total audience of clubs on Instagram increased from 1.73 to 1.92 million subscribers, an increase of almost 144 thousand for the season.
Facebook: stable growth almost across the league
Although Facebook has not attracted the youngest audience for a long time, the largest communities of Ukrainian clubs are concentrated here, and almost all 16 league teams showed growth. "Shakhtar" added 200 thousand subscribers (from 1.8 to 2 million, +11%) - the largest increase in absolute numbers.
In relative terms, LNZ (+51.5%, from 6.6 to 10 thousand), "Obolon" (+38.1%), "Kudrivka" (+74%), "Epitsentr" (+55.6%), and "Polissya" (+31%) stood out. The total audience of clubs on Facebook increased from 2.23 to 2.51 million - an increase of almost 238 thousand subscribers.
YouTube: a platform of quality content with gradual progress
On YouTube, clubs focus not on the quantity of publications, but on documentary projects, interviews, and match reviews, so the growth rates here are traditionally lower. "Dynamo" holds the largest audience among UPL clubs (419 thousand, +1.9%).
LNZ showed the most dynamic growth (+16.1%, from 11.8 to 13.7 thousand), "Polissya" (+12.1%), "Karpaty" (+11.2%), and "Kudrivka", which almost doubled its audience (+59.2%, from 1.5 to 2.4 thousand). "Shakhtar" added 5.1%, narrowing the gap with the leader.
Telegram: the main source of breaking news grows the fastest
Telegram confirmed its status as the main channel for breaking news on transfers and lineups. "Dynamo" remains the leader in audience (25.2 → 33.1 thousand, +31.4%), "Shakhtar" added even more actively - 41% (18.9 → 26.6 thousand).
But the brightest dynamics in the league were shown by "Karpaty", almost doubling their channel - from 10.2 to 19.8 thousand subscribers (+93%). Also noticeable growth was seen in "Epitsentr" (+167.5%, albeit from a small base), "Metalist 1925" (now - "Kharkiv") (+35.5%), "Veres" (+33.3%), and "Kudrivka" (+75.2%). The total audience of clubs on Telegram increased from 99.6 to 176.4 thousand subscribers.
Viber: a platform for those who keep the old audience
Viber remains a niche network, with only a few clubs having official pages here ("Shakhtar", "Dynamo", "Karpaty", "Rukh", "Kharkiv"), and the activity on them is noticeably lower than on other platforms. The largest audience among them is held by "Shakhtar" (27.7 thousand after the season).
TikTok: the main growth driver for the championship winners
It was short videos that brought the most explosive numbers of the season - and it is indicative that all three championship winners were among the leaders in growth on the platform. LNZ almost tripled its audience (+142.1%, from 28.5 to 69 thousand), "Polissya" added 56.9% (80.5 → 126.3 thousand), "Shakhtar" - 27.5% (603.9 → 770 thousand). "Kudrivka" (+55.1%), "Kharkiv" (+28.5%), and "Dynamo" (+13.2%) also showed good dynamics.
Additionally, during the season, "Epitsentr" (already with 5.8 thousand subscribers) and SC "Poltava" (1.1 thousand) created their pages on TikTok, expanding the league's digital presence. The total audience of clubs on TikTok increased from 1.19 to 1.53 million subscribers - an increase of almost 292 thousand, the largest among all platforms in percentage terms.
Threads: the youngest network is already forming a noticeable base
Nine out of 16 UPL clubs have set up pages on Threads, and the platform shows significant potential, despite currently lagging behind Instagram and Facebook in audience size.
The largest audiences were gathered by "Shakhtar" (134.8 thousand) and "Dynamo" (64.7 thousand), followed by "Polissya" (10.2 thousand), "Rukh" (8.6 thousand), "Karpaty" (5.4 thousand), "Veres" (2.7 thousand), "Obolon" (1.7 thousand), "Zorya" (1.7 thousand), and SC "Poltava" (0.8 thousand).
The pace of clubs setting up pages indicates that Threads may become a full-fledged communication tool for the entire league in the coming seasons.
Overall rating: the gap between the giants and the rest of the league
The total audience of all UPL clubs on the eight platforms as of July 2026 reached 7.4 million subscribers. "Shakhtar" has over 4.3 million - more than all other 15 league clubs combined. "Dynamo" is in second place with 1.27 million.
Next, with a noticeable gap, is "Polissya" (299.5 thousand), followed closely by clubs with audiences from 100 to 300 thousand: "Kryvbas" (279.3 thousand), "Karpaty" (225.8 thousand), "Rukh" (187.4 thousand), "Veres" (148.1 thousand), LNZ (127 thousand), "Kharkiv" (116.4 thousand), "Zorya" (106.5 thousand), and "Kolos" (104.8 thousand).
The group of clubs with an audience of less than 100,000 is closed by "Oleksandriya" (73.9 thousand), "Obolon" (36.7 thousand), "Kudrivka" (30.6 thousand), "Epicenter" (29.5 thousand), and SC "Poltava" (12.7 thousand) - these clubs showed some of the highest growth rates in percentage terms, which is logical given the small starting base.
The new UPL season starts on August 1. SC "Poltava" and "Oleksandriya" were relegated to the First League on sporting grounds, while "Rukh" remained in the UPL by the decision of the general meetings and will compete in the Second League.
For the newcomers to the elite division, this means access to the most powerful driver of digital growth: as the analysis of the 2025/26 season shows, presence in the Ukrainian Premier League and successful performances in it are converted into the fastest audience growth - especially on TikTok, Instagram, and Telegram.
