Eastern Ukraine - Ukraine - page 469

Sport
Every Ukrainian will tell you his or her country is sports mad but, as with most ex-USSR
countries, you'll hardly ever see anyone actually engaging in sporting activities, espe-
cially outside the big cities.
For a detailed portrait of all Ukraine's major and minor religions, head to the excellent
www.risu.org.ua , which also offers relevant news and statistics.
Football
Dynamo Kyiv is no longer the only well-known Ukrainian team, with now rather more
successful Shakhtar Donetsk and Metallist Kharkiv regularly appearing in European
competitions (Shakhtar won the UEFA Cup in 2009). The biggest name in Ukrainian
football (soccer) was, until his retirement in 2012, Andriy Shevchenko, who played for
Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea and the national team. After kicking his last ball he
made a highly ineffective attempt to enter politics.
In 2012 Ukraine successfully co-hosted the Euro 2012 football championships with
Poland. The final between Spain and Italy was played at Kyiv's Olympic Stadium and
watched by over 63,000 spectators.
Other Sports
Ukraine also enjoys ice hockey (though the national team brings little joy) and has an in-
ternational presence in boxing with the brothers Vitaly and Volodymyr Klytschko. Vitaly
in particular gained prominence as the world heavyweight champion. Injury forced him
to retire in November 2005, when he was still the titleholder, and this staunch backer of
Viktor Yushchenko announced a desire to become involved in politics. After running un-
successfully for mayor of Kyiv, Klytschko announced a boxing comeback and now holds
the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title. In politics he's tipped by many to
become Ukraine's next president - who says sport and politics don't mix?
Tennis has also gained popularity since independence, and Ukraine now has two men
and two women in the ATP and WTA top 100 rankings. A decade and a half ago there
were virtually no bicycles on Ukraine's roads, but all kinds of cycling has since gained in
popularity, especially mountain biking in the Carpathians and Crimea.
Follow the domestic Ukrainian league at www.ukrainiansoccer.net .