Metalurh Zhdanov Previously the city of Mariupol hosted a football team that competed consistently in Ukrainian republican competitions among teams of physical culture (amateur teams). The first mentioning of a Mariupol team could be traced to 1936 when it lost to Dynamo Kryvyi Rih 0:5 as part of the
1936 Soviet Cup. Next season, in 1937, it was seeded to play against another team from
Berdyansk as part of the Ukrainian championship, but did not appear for the game and was eliminated. After that there is no evidence a team that represented the city until after
World War II. After the war, Mariupol sometimes was represented by two teams, but usually the main was named Metalurh Zhdanov. At the end of 1958 it was renamed into Avanhard Zhdanov.
Azovstal and Azovets Football Club Mariupol traces its history to 1960, when it was established as
Azovstal based on a former two teams of physical culture (a type of Soviet amateur clubs)
FC Avanhard Zhdanov and
FC Shakhtar Rutchenkove. The new team of masters Azovstal Zhdanov sponsored by the local
Azovstal iron and steel works was admitted to Soviet competitions for teams of masters in Class B (at that time the second division). It was eliminated soon in 1964. After skipping one season the club again was admitted for the 1966 Soviet competitions for teams of masters in Class B, now as
Azovets. During that time the club stayed in professional competitions a little bit longer and in 1971 changed its name to more recognizable
Metalurh. However, soon after changing its name in 1973, the club again was relegated and now for a much longer period of time.
Lokomotyv and Novator Missing the 1974 season, the club returned to republican competitions in 1975 as
Lokomotyv, sponsored now by "Azovmash" which specializes in production of
railroad cars as well as mining and metallurgical heavy equipment. Soon before the final
collapse of the Soviet Union, the club already playing as
Novator was relegated in 1989 to Ukrainian amateur competitions. In 1991 Novator became a champion of the Ukrainian football championship among amateur clubs. Due to reformation of the Ukrainian football competitions, the new amateur champion was admitted to the newly formed
Ukrainian First League.
Ukrainian professional club in Mariupol After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, the club changed its name to old one
Azovets (part of the Azovmash's SC Novator). In summer of 1995 it merged with
FC Dynamo Luhansk and during following spring changed its name again to
Metalurh. FC Metalurh Mariupol changed its name to Illichivets during the winter break of the 2002–2003 season when the club was acquired by the Illich Steel and Iron Works. Illichivets were relegated to
Ukrainian First League in the 2006–07 season after finishing 15th (out of 16). However, they returned to the
Ukrainian Premier League the following season after finishing as champions in the
2007–08 Ukrainian First League. Due to the 2014
Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the club was forced to play its home games in
Dnipropetrovsk during the 2014-15 season.
FC Mariupol In 2017 as part of the ongoing
decommunization process of Ukraine, the club changed its name of Illichivets to simply FC Mariupol, officially adopting on 14 June 2017 for the
2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League season. Its name came from the Illichivets steelworks, which were named after
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Name change • 1960–1966: Azovstal, 6 years • 1966–1971: Azovets, 5 years • 1971–1974: Metallurg, 3 years • 1974–1976: Lokomotiv, 2 years • 1977–1992: Novator, 15 years • 1992–1996: Azovets, 4 years (repeated, in overall 9 years) • 1996–2002: Metalurh, 6 years (repeated, in overall 9 years) • 2002–2017: Illichivets, 15 years • 2017–2022: FC Mariupol ==Crest history==