In 1977 Desna was revived now in place of the amateur club "FC Khimik Chernihiv" that won regional competitions.

Desna, along with FC Mariupol, were awarded rights to play in the Ukrainian Premier League in the future case of restoring their infrastructure.

In the season 1958, "Avanhard Chernihiv", signed Viktor Bannikov for one year, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Soviet Union earning the title of the best twice in 1964 and 1970 and distinguished Master of Sport of USSR (1991).

Among them are goalkeeper V.Lomako, field players V.Kravchynskyi, Yu.Shkolnikov, O.Finkelberh, and others, in such way the chairman of regional council of sports societies and organizations V.Tatur informed readers of "Desnyanska Pravda" on 10 February 1960.

These days "Avanhard" will proceed with its training and in already the nearest future in Chernihiv will start reconstruction and upgrade of the city's stadium.

"Desna" skipped forward only Khmelnitsky "Dynamo", and in the overall standings took the 4th place in the championship of the Ukrainian SSR.

At the same period of time in 1976 "Khimik" Chernihiv, led by the former player of the Desna, Yukhym Shkolnykov, won the Ukrainian SSR championship among the physical culture teams, thus gaining an opportunity to participate at professional level, the Soviet Second League.

In 1977 "Desna", the composition of which was formed from the former players of "Khimik" Chernihiv, entered the Soviet Second League.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the proclamation of Ukraine's independence, Desna started playing in the Ukrainian First League, but in the season 1993/94 it was relegated to the third tier.

[12] As a result the FFU Control and Disciplinary Commission prohibited Savchenko and former Desna head coach Kucherenko perform any duties connected with football until the end of the investigation.

Following the 2008/09 season, Desna faced serious financial crisis and the club's players refused to play due to unpaid wages.

[12] In the middle of July 2009 Dunets was forced to take a leave and he tried to fight requesting to be officially relinquished of duties.

[17] After the end of the 2009/10 season Desna was deprived of professional status due to the fact that it did not pass the certification,[18] but the new authority managed to revive the team and declare it in the Second League.

In the Ukrainian Cup in the season 2013–14, the team for the first time in history reached the quarter finals, having beaten "Metalurh" Zaporizhya (1:1, in a penalty shootout – 5:4) on its field.

[27] Both clubs FC Desna Chernihiv and NK Veres Rivne did not play at their home stadiums in the 2016–17 Ukrainian First League.

[32][33] After the draw for the Europa League third qualifying round, Desna got the German team VfL Wolfsburg and on 24 September 2020 they lost 2–0 at the AOK Stadion.

[35][36] In January 2021, the team has won the Fair Play prize in the UPL as the best team in the season 2019–20.The award ceremony was attended by the President of the Ukrainian Football Association, UEFA Executive Committee member Andriy Pavelko, UAF First Vice President Oleh Protasov, UAF Referees Committee Chairman Luciano Luci, UPL Executive Director Yevhen Dyky and PFL President Oleksandr Kadenko.

[41] The team was requalified and new young players has been added into the club with good results at the beginning of the season to the surprise of many people and the press.

[43] The club has few reserve teams, the main one is FC Desna-2 Chernihiv, which in 2008 entered the professional leagues for the first time.

The team had been competing in the Chernihivska Oblast competition and prepared themselves in the fourth-level 2008 Ukrainian Football Amateur League.

[44] The club has, the Youth Sports School called Yunist Chernihiv, where produced players like Andriy Yarmolenko.

[45] The academy of Desna, produced also Illya Shevtsov, which become the top scorer for the Ukrainian Premier League Reserves in the season 2019–20.

During FC Desna Chernihiv matches, the fan area is a strip of white and blue colors.

[59][60] The modern crest, made in the traditional white and blue colors of the Desna, was presented on July 27, 2016.

The golden cross, which holds the eagle, symbolizes the importance of Christianity in the history of the city, one of the main spiritual centers of Ukraine.

Vertical blue and white stripes on the emblem are based on the form in which the players of the Desna have been playing since 1962.

In a friendly match against Hammarby on 22 October 1961, Desna players wore red shirts and blue shorts.

[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.