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Sport in Ukraine

Ukraine is an Eastern European country that was once part of the Soviet Union, and did not compete in world sport under its own name until the 1990s. It is bordered by Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and a few more countries in the region. This has inevitably had an effect on the country both politically and socially but what has been quite noticeable is how Ukraine has never lost its love of sports. The former Soviet Union had placed great importance on physical education and fitness to which Ukraine had greatly benefited because it left Ukraine with many of the facilities that they would have not built on their own.



As with most European countries, Ukraine places special significance on football. There are a number of Ukrainians on the football stage most notably Golden Ball Awardees Ihor Belanov, Oleh Blokhin, and Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukraine national team made their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and reached as far as the quarterfinals where they lost to Italy, the champions of that year.

Ukraine has also produced many notable athletes in other sports like brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko who both held world heavyweight belts in boxing, pole vault world record holder Sergey Bubka who held the indoor world record for a staggering 21 years (1993-2014) and has held the outdoor record since 1994. In basketball, the Ukraine national basketball team has also qualified for the FIBA World Cup in 2014.

Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko on a Ukraine stampVitali and Wladimir Klitschko on a Ukraine stamp

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Ukraine. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.

Popular sports of Ukraine

Ukrainian Sporting Success

Great athletes from Ukraine

Ukraine Sports trivia

Ukraine at major events

Past sporting events hosted in Ukraine

Upcoming sporting events in Ukraine

Annual sporting events held in Ukraine

Sporting Facilities in Ukraine



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