Sports in Ukraine have a great history and over the years it has helped in shaping the culture of the people of Ukraine. While sports may be a voluntary decision for the citizens to take up or not, the government fully supports people who wish to take up sports and the government also regulates the Sporting activities of the country which has helped Ukraine become one of the growing Nations in International Sports.
Being dominated by Russia since the 18th century, Ukraine mostly has its Sporting history based in Russia and has had a great impact on the history of the Russian sport. Football and wrestling are the most common and the most popular sports in Ukraine.
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine is a part of the International Olympic Committee and regulates the Olympic sports in the country. The non-Olympics sports are regulated by the specific organizations created by the government of Ukraine. Ukraine also has a strong Paralympic team.
Today we will check out the most popular sport in Ukraine.
Top 5 Most Attended Soccer Games
Football
Football is the game that has been at its peak nowadays for its immense popularity, Football Players are nowadays the most followed Stars in Social Media Platforms.
The Football Federation of Ukraine governs over the Footballing activities in the country. The FFU has formed the Ukrainian Premier League and the Professional Football League of Ukraine.
The strongest and highest-tier league is the Premier League, which was also known as Vyshcha Liha (Top League, Higher League). The second-ranking league is Persha Liha (First League). The next league down is Druha Liha (Second League), which is divided into two groups, East(B) and West(A), according to their location.
The national team of Ukraine is also in its growing stage with the greatest Ukrainian in the history Andriy Shevchenko creating a great impact. Ukraine also hosted the 2012 European Championship along with Poland.
Wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art and combat sport which involves grappling with the opponent to gain advantage by throwing or using Different techniques to defeat your opponents but the techniques to be used should be within the given rule set.
There are a number of grappling techniques that have been used over the years which are clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pin down and other grappling holds which have been mentioned in the specified rule sets.
Some of the very famous and very successful wrestlers, such as Vladimir Kozlov and Dmytro Pyshkov making their name in the international stage have helped boost the growth of Wrestling in Ukraine.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, usually each with five players, compete against one another on a rectangular court with the main goal of stopping the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop while using a basketball with a diameter of about 9.4 inches (24 cm) to go through the defender’s hoop, which is a basket with a diameter of 18 inches (46 cm) mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court.
Basketball has always been dominated by the Ukrainians and a major part of the USSR National Basketball team which dominated Europe and the whole World consisted mostly of the Ukrainians.
Ukraine was set to host the 2015 Euro Basket but it was later moved due to political reasons. Ukraine hosted the 2013 under 16 FIBA championship. The highest level of Basketball league in the country is Ukrainian Basketball Super League.
Boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and a martial art where two people wear boxing gloves and other necessary equipment like mouth Guards and wraps throw punches at each other to win a match in a predetermined period of time inside the boxing ring.
Some of the well known boxing techniques which have evolved over the years are kickboxing, bare-knuckle boxing, muay thai, Lethwie, Savathe and Sanda. The techniques of boxing have also started to be used in martial arts and have also been introduced in a number of military defense techniques.
Ukrain is well known for producing some of the best boxers in history including the Klitchsko brothers who won several awards and honours and they dominated the heavyweight division for quite a long time which came to be known as the Klitchsko Era internationally.
Ice Hockey
Hockey, sometimes known as ice hockey or just hockey, is a team sport that is played on ice skates on a surface that has been specially marked out for the activity. Ice hockey is a member of the hockey family of sports.
A closed, vulcanized rubber disc called a “puck” is controlled, advanced, and shot into the opposing team’s goal by two opposing teams using ice hockey sticks. One point is awarded for each goal.
The winning team is the one with the most goals scored. In a formal game, each side has six skaters on the ice at once, with the goaltender being one of them, barring any penalties.
Ukraine has its own Ice Hockey league, known as the Professional Ice Hockey League. Their most notable and historic team is Sokil Kyiv, where the highest-level team in the country is HC Donbass, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League till the 2014-2015 season. Their national ice hockey team has competed in several World Championships and the Olympics.
