} The modern professional team of Zorya Luhansk, during its Soviet period known also as Zaria Voroshilovgrad/Lugansk and for a short period Zorya-MALS, was created in 1964 as the city's team of masters by merging the factory team with another team of masters "Trudovye Rezervy". Before 1964, the factory team played mostly in republican competitions of the
Ukrainian SSR. The history of football in the city of Luhansk begins in the early 20th century. The first Luhansk team was created in the Russian Empire in 1908 when the workers of the
Russischen Maschinenbaugesellschaft Hartmann (today "Luhansk Locomotive") created the "Society of Rational Recreations". One of the disciplines was a game of kickball headed by the Czech specialist Henrich Drževikovski from
Prague, who originally was an instructor of gymnastics of the factory's ministerial school. That team played its games and conducted its training on the empty lot near the factory where today the sport hall "Zorya" is located. The first mention of games involving the Luhansk team dates back to 1911. In 1913 in
Kostyantynivka the first regional football league of
Donets basin was created. During World War I and the subsequent Soviet and German hostilities, the league was suspended until 1920, by which time the situation in the region had stabilized. In 1922 in the city of
Luhansk was built a new stadium, possibly "on the personal order" of
Vladimir Lenin and later named after him. In 1923 the workers of the Luhansk
steam train factory of the
October Revolution (hence – the club's logo with a locomotive) organized their football team
"Metalist" which became the forerunner of today's Zorya. The following year there the championship of the newly created
Luhansk okruha (
district) was created. In the final game the collective city team of Luhansk was victorious against their rivals from the city of
Snizhne, winning the title after extra time 1–0. In 1926, the All-Ukrainian Committee of the Mining Workers' council organized a team of Donbass miners, players from
Kadiivka, for a tour in Germany (
Weimar Republic). There the Donbass team won four of their eight games. The following year an international game took place in Luhansk, in which the city team was challenged by their rivals from
Austria. The Donbas players lost the game. In 1936 the football teams
"Metalist" and
"Dynamo" (KGB team) merged to form the united Luhansk city-team which the following year was named
Dzerzhynets Sports Society (; DZV). The name
"Dzerzhynets" derives from the steam locomotive that was produced at the
steam train factory FD –
"Felix Dzerzhinsky". The team was composed of the following players: Pavlo Svidynskyi (goalkeeper), Mykhailo Sukharev, Semen Myroshnikov, Oleksandr Kulahin, Hryhoriy Nosko (all defenders), Mykola Krasyuk, Artavazd Akopyants (both halfbacks), Kostiantyn Pyrohov, Pyotr Buyanov, Mykola Lokotosh, Petro Yurchenko (all forwards).
Post war revival After
World War II, the club was not revived right away. The city of Luhansk was represented by
Dynamo Luhansk, while in 1949–1951 there was as well a team of the Luhansk regional party administration "Trudovi Rezervy". In 1948 "Dzerzhynets" was re-established in the lower leagues of the Ukrainian championship. Due to the liquidation of Trudovi Rezervy, Dzerzhynets was allowed to compete among the "mater teams" (Soviet terminology for their professional level). Due to a bleak performance of "Avanhard" in 1957 in the city of Voroshilovhrad, it was revived as another club "Trudovi Rezervy" was established.
Modern period During the already ongoing 1964 season and playing several rounds, on 10 April 1964 the Soviet Football Federation issued its decision about merger of two clubs "Trudovi Rezervy" and OR Factory team (SC Zorya) into FC Zorya Voroshilovhrad. In 1972 Zorya did not only win its only Soviet championship, but also represented, re-enforced with only three players from other clubs, the USSR at the
Brazilian Independence Cup (
Taça Independência) mid-year. However, only
Volodymyr Onyshchenko represented the club at the
Final of the European Football Championship few weeks earlier. In 1992 the club was acquired by a Moscow Science-Production Association "MALS" and participated in the competition of the
Ukrainian Top League. In the season 2005–06 the team won first place in the
Persha Liha, and had been promoted to the
Vyscha Liha. Zorya was one of the original twenty teams to debut for
the first season of the
Ukrainian Premier League. The team played for five seasons until the
1995–96 season in which they finished eighteenth and were sent down to the Persha Liha. Zorya relegated to
Druha Liha in 1996–97 season but she returned to
Persha Liha in 2003–04 season. The
War in Donbas which started in 2014 made the team relocate to
Zaporizhzhia, as Luhansk was seized by the Russian-backed
Luhansk People's Republic forces. In 2016 the team had advanced sufficiently in the standings that they were involved in the European wide play-offs in the
UEFA Europa League. In the 2016-17
Europa League season, Zorya Luhansk played group matches against
Feyenoord,
Fenerbahçe, and
Manchester United.
Names ;Predecessors • 1923–35: FC Metallist Lugansk
(city was renamed to Voroshilovgrad in 1935) • 1936–40: FC Dzerzhinets Voroshilovgrad
(dissolved due to the war; named after Felix Dzerzhinsky) • 1948–53: FC Dzerzhinets Voroshilovgrad
(team transferred under Avanhard sports society) • 1953–59: FC Avangard Voroshilovgrad
(reorganized, city was renamed to Lugansk in 1958) ;Trudovi Rezervy • 1949–51: Trudovye Rezervy Voroshilovgrad
(team liquidated, criminal proceedings) • 1957–64: Trudovye Rezervy Lugansk
(new team; team merged into SC Zorya) ;Zorya • 1960–64: SC Zaria Lugansk
(revived as the OR Factory sports club and reorganized) • 1964–70: FC Zaria Lugansk
(merged with Trudovi Rezervy to united football club) • 1970–90: FC Zaria Voroshilovgrad
(city was renamed to Voroshilovgrad in 1970) • 1990–91: FC Zaria Lugansk
(city was renamed back to Lugansk in 1990) • 1992–96: FC Zorya-MALS Luhansk
(renamed with adding of the sponsor name) • 1996–present: FC Zorya Luhansk
(Ukrainian period, modern team) ==Colours and badge==