In the late 1990s Bucha had neither a stadium nor a real team. The settlement's footballers met on Sundays on a school pitch.
Exactly 25 years ago, on 14 October 2001, Yuvileinyi opened here. People who were there remember that almost 8,000 fans came to the first match.
In a quarter of a century the stadium has seen cup finals, international matches, professional football, the occupation and a concert that sang in unison. This is what happened at Yuvileinyi over 9,131 days.
In brief: four things to know
- A centenary gift. Yuvileinyi opened on 14 October 2001 for the centenary of the settlement of Bucha.
- Almost 8,000. That many fans came to the first match against Dynamo veterans, six to seven times today's capacity.
- A cup and Europe. It saw the Ukrainian Amateur Cup won, youth internationals of Iceland, Latvia and Turkey, and First and Second League clubs.
- Occupation and a record. The stadium survived the occupation, and in summer 2026 drew a record 15,000 people to Artem Pyvovarov's concert.
A promise nobody believed
Bucha began in 1901 as a halt on the Kyiv–Kovel railway. Within a few years people from Kyiv were coming here to their summer houses.
A 1910 guidebook promised holidaymakers a pine forest, clean air and a 45-minute journey to Kyiv. Ninety years later Bucha was still an urban-type settlement.
Photo: D. Markov / Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Daryna Slipenko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Alekas_Gol / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0Bucha, 1910
- 29 versts from Kyiv, about 31 kilometres.
- Up to 12 passenger trains a day.
- 45 minutes to an hour on the road.
- 35–50 roubles per room for the season, 75–100 for two rooms with a kitchen and a veranda.
- The market only opened in March 1909.
“A young mixed forest dominated by pine, clean air, no fog and a flowing pond for swimming — all of this speaks in the settlement's favour”
Source: 1910 dacha guide, Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
In 1999 residents registered FC Bucha. Vasyl Oleksiuk became its head, and the settlement head, Anatolii Fedoruk, took football under his wing.
People remember Fedoruk coming to the school where local footballers played on Sundays. He suggested creating a settlement team and promised to build a stadium. Few believed it at the time.
Photo: Bucha FM archiveFor its centenary the settlement received a coat of arms, a flag, a renovated station and a stadium, named accordingly: Yuvileinyi, “Jubilee”.
Who is Vasyl Oleksiuk
- Born on 22 May 1974 in Bucha; went to Bucha school No. 4.
- An officer: graduated from the Kyiv Institute of the Land Forces and served until 1998.
- In 1998–1999 he taught military training and PE at Bucha school No. 4.
- President of FC Bucha since 1999. On Yuvileinyi's opening day he scored the stadium's first goal, past Yevhen Rudakov, at the age of 27.
- Under his leadership the club won the 2011 Ukrainian Amateur Cup.
- Secretary of Bucha city council in 2012–2021 and a councillor for four terms.
- Head of the Bucha city football federation since 2016 and a member of the Kyiv region football federation's executive committee since 2009.
- A volunteer: in 2014 he founded the Bucha Varta group, and since 2023 he has led the Kvit Kalyny inclusive town project for people disabled by the war.
14 October 2001: opening day
A stone plaque by the ground still marks the date: “Sports complex built for the centenary of the settlement of Bucha. 2001.”
Photo: Bucha FM archiveThe ribbon was cut at the wrought-iron gates, and thousands of people stood in the stands and along the pitch. The hosts' opponents were Dynamo Kyiv veterans.
Photo: Bucha FM archive
≈8,000
Almost as many fans, people who were there remember, came to the opening of Yuvileinyi on 14 October 2001.
Source: eyewitness memories; the archive video shows the stands full along the whole pitch
In goal for the visitors was Yevhen Rudakov, a Dynamo legend, then 59 years old. The match ended 1-1, and Bucha's goal came from a run by Oleksandr Hovardovskyi and a shot by Vasyl Oleksiuk.
Photo: Bucha FM archive
Photo: Bucha FM archiveCommentator, Bucha v Dynamo veterans14 October 2001, archive recordingI don't know whether Yevhen Rudakov knew the name Oleksiuk, but today he will remember it.
Who was in goal
- Yevhen Rudakov kept goal for Dynamo Kyiv from 1964 to 1977.
- Seven-time USSR champion, winner of the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1975, European Championship runner-up in 1972.
- He kept 208 clean sheets.
- He died on 21 December 2011, a few weeks after Bucha won the Ukrainian Amateur Cup.
Home of a champion
Yuvileinyi became home to FC Bucha. As early as 2002 the team won the Kyiv region championship, and in 2011 it reached the biggest trophy of its life, the Ukrainian Amateur Cup.
That season Bucha played ten cup matches: seven wins, a draw and two defeats, with a goal difference of 24:7. The final was decided over two legs against Hvardiiets from Crimea.
Bucha won the first 3-1 away and the second 4-1 at home, at Yuvileinyi. The cup was lifted here, in Bucha, on 12 November 2011.
The 2011 cup run: ten matches across Ukraine
- Bucha August 2011: Bucha enter the Ukrainian Amateur Cup.
- Zhytomyr Qualifying round, Lehion: 4-0 and 0-2.
- Uman Round of 16, Umanfermash: 1-1 and 6-0.
- Plysky Quarter-final, Yednist-2 from Chernihiv region: 3-0 and 1-2.
- Sambir Semi-final, FC Sambir: 1-0 and 1-0.
- Hvardiiske Final, Hvardiiets from Crimea, now temporarily occupied: 3-1 away.
- Bucha 12 November 2011: 4-1 at home at Yuvileinyi, and the cup is lifted in Bucha.
Sources: AAFU, Wikipedia.
Photo: Kyivshchyna Sportyvna
Photo: Bucha FM archiveThe cup opened the way to the professional Ukrainian Cup. On 25 July 2012 Second League side UkrAhroKom came to Yuvileinyi, and 400 spectators saw the hosts lose 1-2.
Bucha's only goal, a penalty, was scored by Serhiy Zakarlyuka, a former Ukraine international with nine caps.
When Europe played in Bucha
In October 2016 Yuvileinyi became an international venue. It hosted three qualifiers for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
Between 200 and 450 spectators came to watch.
Iceland's first goal against Latvia was scored by Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen. His father Eiður played for Chelsea and Barcelona, his grandfather Arnór for Iceland, and Sveinn himself later made his debut for the national team too.
U-19 European qualifiers at Yuvileinyi
- Latvia2:2Turkey
- Turkey2:1Iceland
- Iceland2:0Latvia
Qualifying for the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Source: Wikipedia.
Yuvileinyi in numbers
- 9,131 days from the opening on 14 October 2001 to the 25th anniversary
- 59 Yevhen Rudakov's age when he kept goal against Bucha
- 208 clean sheets in Rudakov's career, and one goal from a Bucha player in 2001
- 24:7 Bucha's goals for and against in ten cup matches in 2011
- 7,480 square metres in the 110 by 68 pitch, room for more than 28 tennis courts
- 3 generations of Guðjohnsens played for Iceland, and the grandson scored at Yuvileinyi
A square instead of a stadium?
In the 2020/21 season Yuvileinyi became the home ground of Obolon-2 Bucha in the Second League, and Polissia Zhytomyr played a First League match here.
In 2021 the stadium came under threat for the first time. In November Bucha was discussing changes to the city's general plan.
Vadym Naumov, head of the city council's urban planning and architecture department, explained that the city needed a central square and a modern 5,000-seat stadium near Parkova Street.
He said dismantling Yuvileinyi could only be considered once a new football pitch had been built. Three months later the full-scale war began, and the stadium still stands where it always has.
Photo: Daryna Slipenko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0A pitch scarred by shrapnel
In spring 2022 Bucha lived through the russian occupation. According to Tribuna.com, the fighting damaged Yuvileinyi's administrative rooms, fence and scoreboard, and shrapnel tore up the pitch.
Photo: Tribuna.com
Photo: Tribuna.com
Photo: Tribuna.comAs early as 3 September 2022 the stadium hosted a Second League match: Nyva Buzova beat Chaika 3–0. Before kick-off they raised the flag that Canadian-Ukrainian Dmytro Mihal carried onto the field at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where he danced the hopak with it.
The first kick was taken by Ukrainian soldier Anatolii Korol. Children's football clubs in the community received balls from the Ukrainian Association of Football.
Anatolii FedorukMayor of Bucha, 3 September 2022From sporting victories to Ukraine's victory!
Photo: Bucha City CouncilIn November 2022 the stadium staff cleared the running track of snow by hand. First League matches at Yuvileinyi in 2023 were played without spectators.
In October 2023 damaged sections of the fence were repaired, the goal nets were replaced, the turf was renewed and the irrigation was restored. Obolon brewery, the municipal company Buchazelenbud and Tekhpromservis helped.
From empty stands to 15,000 people
Photo: Bucha City Council
Photo: Tribuna.com
Photo: Bucha City CouncilFrom here to the Premier League
After Bucha's liberation Yuvileinyi became home to professional clubs. In the 2022/23 season Nyva Buzova played its home games here — and won the Second League.
Nyva spent 2023/24 in the First League and finished sixth out of 20. On 21 October 2023 Karpaty Lviv visited, won 1–0 and went up to the Premier League at the end of that season.
Photo: Mykola Tys / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Nyva later became Kudrivka-Nyva and merged with Kudrivka. In 2024/25 Kudrivka played its home matches in Bucha and won promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Today Yuvileinyi is home to UCSA from Tarasivka. On 31 July 2026 Oleksandriya came here — Ukraine's 2025 runners-up, relegated from the Premier League. The match ended 4–4, and UCSA's Paraguayan forward Pablo Castro scored a hat-trick.
A club that played its home games at Yuvileinyi is now in the Premier League
- Obolon-2 Bucha Second League
- Nyva Buzova Second League · league winners
- Nyva Buzova First League · 6th of 20
- Kudrivka First League · promoted to the Premier League
- UCSA Tarasivka First League
- UCSA Tarasivka First League
Sources: PFL, UPL, Wikipedia.
The stadium that brings Bucha together
On 28 June 2023 Yuvileinyi hosted the final of the first-ever Bucha District Cup. Olimp from Dmytrivka beat Bilhorod on penalties.
Photo: Bucha City CouncilOn 1 June 2024 football stars took on Ukrainian soldiers. The stars' team included Oleh Husiev, Yaroslav Rakytskyi, Yevhen Seleznyov and Taras Mykhalyk.
Normal time ended 7–7 and the stars won on penalties. Around UAH 800,000 was raised online alone for reconnaissance drones.
Photo: Bucha City CouncilOn 17 September 2025 Polissia Stavky and Shakhtar Donetsk met here in the Ukrainian Cup. Shakhtar won 1–0 thanks to a goal by Luca Meirelles.
Photo: Bucha City CouncilOn 3 October 2025 FC Bucha veterans played a team of Ukrainian mayors, community heads from 10 regions.
Photo: Bucha City CouncilOn 31 May 2026, 500 tunics of soldiers missing in action were laid out on Yuvileinyi's stands. The Match of Waiting was organised with Bucha's NGO Voices of Silence, and former prisoners of war Volodymyr Maior, Oleksandr Rzhavskyi and Illia Iliashenko, who came out of Azovstal, attended.
Bucha City Council31 May 2026As long as every Ukrainian soldier is not home, we have no right to get used to the silence
Photo: Bucha City CouncilOn 13 June 2026 the stadium had the biggest day in its history. More than 15,000 people came to Artem Pyvovarov's first stadium concert — some watched the show from balconies and rooftops nearby.
The whole stadium sang “Dumy” in unison, and the money from tickets and donations was turned into vehicles for the front.
Bucha City Council14 June 2026Culture during the war can be action. It unites people, supports those who defend the country and helps meet the real needs of the front
Photo: Bucha City Council25 years on
The club the stadium was built for returned as Bucha Fortuna. In 2024/25 the team won the Bucha district league and cup, and in 2025 made its debut in the Kyiv region top division.
On its 25th birthday Yuvileinyi again hosted the Ukrainian Amateur Cup. Before the quarter-final against Tytan from Kyiv the anniversary was marked, and former Bucha players came for the occasion.
Photo: Bucha City Council
Faces of Yuvileinyi
- Yevhen Rudakov Kept goal for the Dynamo veterans on opening day. Seven-time USSR champion, 1975 Cup Winners' Cup winner. He was 59.
- Oleh Volotek Ukrainian champion and cup winner in 1992/93; late in his career he played for Bucha-KLO and later coached Bucha's Kryshtal.
- Oleksandr Omelianov A forward who played for Bucha in the year the stadium opened; later a Second League silver medallist.
- Habib Gock A Mekan A defender from Cameroon. After a season in Kazakhstan's Premier League he moved to amateur Bucha, and returned in 2013.
- Serhiy Dorofieiev A Ros and Arsenal Kyiv player who played for Bucha in the 2011 cup season.
- Oleh Mazurenko An Obolon and Illichivets top-flight midfielder who ended his career at Bucha.
- Serhiy Zakarlyuka Nine caps for Ukraine; scored for Bucha in the Ukrainian Cup against UkrAhroKom.
- Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen Scored for Iceland's youth team; son of Eiður Guðjohnsen and grandson of Arnór Guðjohnsen.
- Charity match stars Oleh Husiev, Yaroslav Rakytskyi, Yevhen Seleznyov, Taras Mykhalyk and others, against Ukrainian soldiers.
- Danyl Mashchenko Born in Bucha, a graduate of the Bucha youth sports school founded the year Yuvileinyi opened. Now plays in Estonia.
- Artem Pyvovarov The biggest concert in the stadium's history: more than 15,000 people.
The stadium through the years
In 1969 Bucha had 17,000 residents; at the start of 2026 it had 49,287. Switch between the years to see the city grow around the stadium.
Photo: Bucha FM archive
Photo: IgorTurzh / Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alekas_Gol / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Bucha City Council
Still from the Bucha v Tytan match broadcastHow many people Yuvileinyi has seen
- 15,000+ at Artem Pyvovarov's concert on 13 June 2026, the stadium record
- ≈8,000 at the opening on 14 October 2001
- 1,200 seats in the stands today
- 400 at the Ukrainian Cup match against UkrAhroKom on 25 July 2012
One figure is 100 people. Had only Bucha residents come to the concert, it would have been one in three of the city's people: Bucha had 49,287 residents in February 2026.
Test yourself
How many passenger trains a day passed through Bucha in 1910?
How old was Yevhen Rudakov when he kept goal against Bucha?
By what score did Bucha win the home leg of the 2011 Ukrainian Amateur Cup final?
Whose son scored at Yuvileinyi in 2016?
Which club won promotion to the Premier League after a season of home games at Yuvileinyi?
How many people came to Artem Pyvovarov's concert at Yuvileinyi?
Which anniversary was the stadium built for?
What Yuvileinyi has seen
Bucha halt
The future Bucha appears near Yablunka on the Kyiv–Kovel railway.
Dacha Bucha
A dacha guide promises a 45-minute trip to Kyiv.
FC Bucha
The club is founded; settlement head Anatolii Fedoruk promises a stadium.
The opening
For the centenary, a match against Dynamo veterans: 1-1, almost 8,000 spectators.
Kyiv region champions
Bucha's first regional title.
Ukrainian Amateur Cup
Home leg of the final against Hvardiiets, 4-1; the cup is lifted at Yuvileinyi.
Ukrainian Cup
Bucha v UkrAhroKom 1-2, goal by Serhiy Zakarlyuka.
U-19 European qualifiers
Three qualifiers: Iceland, Latvia, Turkey.
Second and First League
Home of Obolon-2 Bucha; Polissia play a First League match here.
A square instead of a stadium?
A new stadium and a square on Yuvileinyi's site are discussed.
Occupation
Shrapnel tears up the pitch.
Football returns
First match after liberation: Nyva 3–0 Chaika.
Repairs
Fence, goals, turf and irrigation repaired.
Karpaty in Bucha
Nyva (Buzova) v Karpaty (Lviv) 0-1 in the First League.
Stars v soldiers
7-7, the stars win on penalties; about UAH 800,000 for drones.
Kudrivka
Play at home in Bucha and win promotion to the Premier League.
Shakhtar in Bucha
Polissia Stavky 0–1 Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Cup.
Match of Waiting
500 tunics of missing soldiers in the stands.
The record
More than 15,000 people at Artem Pyvovarov's concert.
UCSA v Oleksandriya
4–4 and a Pablo Castro hat-trick.
25 years
Ukrainian Amateur Cup quarter-final, Bucha v Tytan.
Questions and answers
Why is the stadium called Yuvileinyi?
Yuvileinyi means “jubilee”. It was built for the centenary of Bucha, which began in 1901, and opened on 14 October 2001.
How many seats does the stadium have?
1,200; the pitch measures 110 by 68 metres.
What is the biggest crowd Yuvileinyi has seen?
More than 15,000 people at Artem Pyvovarov's concert on 13 June 2026.
Have international matches been played here?
Yes. In October 2016 it hosted three U-19 European Championship qualifiers involving Iceland, Latvia and Turkey.
Did Yuvileinyi host Euro 2012 matches?
No. Bucha was on the list of 38 recommended team bases, but as the Obolon training centre, not the stadium.
Was Yuvileinyi going to be demolished?
In November 2021 the city council discussed a new 5,000-seat stadium near Parkova Street and a square. Dismantling Yuvileinyi was only considered once a new pitch had been built. The stadium still stands today.
Who plays at Yuvileinyi now?
UCSA from Tarasivka in the First League, and FC Bucha in the Ukrainian Amateur Cup.
How we know this
- Archive photos and video from 14 October 2001: Bucha FM archive; memories of people who were there
- 1910 dacha guide and the Sokolohorskyi dacha postcard: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
- Wikipedia (Ukrainian): Bucha, FC Bucha, Yuvileinyi stadium, Anatolii Fedoruk, Vasyl Oleksiuk, Yevhen Rudakov, Serhiy Zakarlyuka, Nyva Buzova, FC Kudrivka; Euro 2012 team bases
- Wikipedia: 2011 Ukrainian Amateur Cup, 2012–13 Ukrainian Cup, 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, 2020–21 Ukrainian Second League, 2023–24 Ukrainian First League, Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen, Stadion Yuvileinyi
- AAFU (Ukrainian Amateur Football Association): cup winners and finalists; UPL match reports (First League 2024/25); Sport.ua (31.07.2026); UA-Football (19.10.2025)
- Bucha city council youth and sports department: Yuvileinyi stadium; PFL: Yuvileinyi stadium
- Buchanski Novyny: on the new square and Yuvileinyi's future (22.11.2021), football stars v soldiers (01.06.2024)
- Tribuna.com: the Bucha stadium that survived the occupation; OBOZ.UA: Artem Pyvovarov's concert in Bucha; THEBUCHACITY: football stadiums renovated
- Bucha City Council, Telegram: 03.09.2022, 28.11.2022, 29.06.2023, 16.10.2023, 17.09.2025, 31.05.2026, 14.06.2026
- The plate on the 2011 cup and the plaque on the stone by the stadium
Credits
- Text Bucha FM
- Archive photos and video, 2001 Bucha FM archive
- Sambir photo, 2011 Kyivshchyna Sportyvna
- Damage photos, 2022 Tribuna.com
- Photos 2022–2026 Bucha City Council
- 1910 postcard D. Markov / Wikimedia Commons
- Stadium photos, 2010–2023 IgorTurzh, Alekas_Gol, Daryna Slipenko, Mykola Tys / Wikimedia Commons
- Bucha station, 2024 Daryna Slipenko / Wikimedia Commons
- 2026 still Bucha v Tytan match broadcast
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