Almost 700 participants and more than 50 speakers: SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv took place in Lviv

On 28 October, the VI All-Ukrainian Sports Marketing Conference SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv took place at Barvy Event Hall in Lviv. The event brought together 673 participants and more than 50 speakers who performed on two stages. The guests included representatives of sports clubs, leagues and federations, company heads, marketers, media managers, athletes and specialists working on the development of Ukrainian sport.

The Lviv summit was the first event of this format that the organisers held outside Kyiv. The programme covered a wide range of issues: from state sports policy and investment attraction to marketing strategies, the economics of sports broadcasting, digital transformation, work with fans and the development of veteran sport.

Partner stands: a space you wanted to stay in

Between sessions, guests had no time to get bored. The conference partners turned the summit space into a living exhibition with interactive locations, tastings, games and prizes.

RIEL, the construction partner, introduced visitors to its new projects in Lviv and Kyiv.

The Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine created one of the most active locations at the summit. Here you could freshen up between panels by playing badminton or cornhole, or, on the contrary, rest on soft furniture.

The Sports Office of the Lviv City Council presented the city’s sports projects. The main news was “Hakivka”, Lviv’s first ice arena, which opened on 27 October, literally on the eve of the conference.

Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack was the general partner of the BUSINESS Lounge, a space for exclusive networking and informal conversation. Guests of the lounge could try special cocktails based on Jack Daniel’s, as well as a special version of Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack.

KOKOTASPORTS, the official distributor of the Kappa brand in Ukraine, became the sports equipment partner. The stand showed the best examples of Kappa sportswear, including vintage collections that especially interested admirers of sports aesthetics.

Play Vision, the football partner, presented its own digital platform, created to raise the educational level of football specialists.

UNI FORCE, the summit’s exclusive fitness partner, is a club that combines everything needed for training and recovery in one space. At the UNI FORCE location, guests could measure their body fat percentage and learn more about their health with the help of a medical analyser.

Kostjukowski Apartments, the accommodation partner, spoke about its network of apartments and special offers for partners from the sports and business sectors.

BotsBand, the technology partner, explained how companies from any industry can introduce chatbots into their work and how to use them with maximum efficiency.

The Ukrainian Padel Federation, the sports partner, brought a miniature padel court to the summit. Next to it, representatives of Zalizko Courts explained why padel is one of the most promising areas for investment in sports infrastructure today.

Social focus

Projects related to supporting defenders and veterans took an important place at the conference. The social focus was presented by:

• HeroCar, where you could receive special prizes for a donation;
• the 15th Special Purpose Brigade “Kara-Dag” of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”;
• the KNUBA Veterans Institute.

Flavours of the summit

The partners in drinks and treats took care of the guests’ mood and energy. The PRAVDA brewery brewed a special batch of its signature Blanche for the participants of SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv.

Karpatska Dzherelna was the water partner, DR WITT the functional one, Sky Coffee the coffee one, Obolon the soft-drink one, and BISCOTTI the sweet partner of the conference.

Conference opening and the transformation of Ukrainian sport

The conference began with a welcoming address from the organisers. The participants were also addressed by representatives of the authorities, including the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi and the mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi.

One of the central topics of the first part of the event on the main stage was a discussion about Ukrainian sport in a period of great transformation. Matviy Bidnyi, together with moderator Andriy Kovalskyi, a journalist and host on ICTV, discussed involving children and young people in regular physical activity, opportunities for veterans in competitive, amateur and mass sport, and the distribution of responsibility among the state, communities, federations and the private sector. Special attention was paid to the development of Lviv region’s sports ecosystem.

The panel discussion “Sport as an investment in the future of Lviv region” featured the director of the Lviv City Council Sports Office Anton Nikulin, the director of the Department of Sports, Youth and Tourism of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Roman Khimiak, the head of the Lviv regional branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Yuriy Turianskyi and the first vice president of the Ukrainian Rugby Association and president of the Lviv Region Rugby Federation Petro Adamyk. The conversation was moderated by TV and radio host Mykola Matrosov.

The participants considered sport as a tool for regional development that needs proper infrastructure, systematic work by sports organisations and cooperation with business.

Business, partnerships and new opportunities for sports projects

An important place in the programme was taken by the discussion “The mission of modern business in building a strong society and a resilient country”. Entrepreneurs and representatives of organisations working at the intersection of business and sport joined the conversation: Andriyan Hutnyk, Volodymyr Zabela, Yuriy Zastavnyi, Vasyl Prodan and Roman Fedyshyn. The moderator was the CEO of Sport Business Media Agency, Oleksii Braha. The participants discussed the role of the private sector in supporting sports initiatives, the social responsibility of companies and the possibilities of long-term cooperation with sports organisations.

The marketing part of the programme was continued by Borys Tsomaia, marketing director of RIEL, with the talk “Marketing that starts with the product, not with communication”. The speaker focused on the mistake of trying to please everyone, the signs of an ageing brand and the use of unconventional platforms to promote it.

The head of projects and programmes of a charitable foundation, Anna Klymenko, spoke about international sports partnerships and their impact on the opportunities of Ukrainian children. Her talk “From war to a big dream: how international sports partnerships change opportunities for Ukrainian children” was devoted to sport as a path to big goals, partnership for new opportunities and the development of local initiatives to an international scale.

Sports marketing, football and media rights

A separate block of the conference was devoted to the commercial side of the sports industry, interaction with the audience and the work of the media.

The director of the state institution “Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine”, Andriy Rebryna, raised the issue of getting people who have never done sport involved in physical activity. His talk covered the problems of traditional sports communication, the barriers to the first step – fear, lack of time, lack of company and not knowing the rules – and the possibilities of mobile services and digital tools for attracting new participants.

During the panel discussion “Who pays for sport: the economics of broadcasting, advertising and sponsorship”, the participants examined the financial and media mechanisms of professional sport. The discussion was joined by the president of the Ukrainian Premier League Yevhen Dykyi, MEGOGO commercial director Ihor Zaichuk, Kyivstar TV commercial director Ihor Polosmak, Tribuna.com editor-in-chief Oleh Shcherbakov and the head of the Digital Projects department of 1+1 media Danylo Shchestiuk. The conversation was moderated by UPL TV host and sports journalist Aryna Yevdokymenko.

The speakers represented different segments of the sports media market, which made it possible to consider broadcasting, advertising and sponsorship in the context of interaction between leagues, broadcasters, media and commercial partners.

The general secretary of the Ukrainian Association of Football, Ihor Hryshchenko, also addressed football. His talk “The football fan as the industry’s main asset” covered the link between youth, amateur and professional football, international cooperation and raising the value of national teams for partners and the media.

The CEO of PlayVision Yevhen Kuzmenko devoted his talk to modern educational solutions for developing Ukrainian football. Among the issues raised were the training of coaches, analysts, scouts and managers, a change in development culture and interaction between players, coaches and parents.

Padel, automation and digital solutions

Another strand of the programme was the integration of technology and new sports products into the business environment.

The vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, president of the Ukrainian Padel Federation and rector of KNUBA, Oleksii Dniprov, took part in a Q&A session on padel in Ukraine’s business ecosystem and the prospects for forming a new sports market. The focus was on the impact of physical activity on quality of life and the productivity of society, the integration of sport into the educational environment and university infrastructure, and the possibilities of creating commercial products based on new sports disciplines.

The founder and CEO of BotsBand Rostyslav Tuchak and the company’s Head of Delivery Oleksandr Varniaha spoke about the practical automation of customer service in the sports business. Their talk covered trends in the use of artificial intelligence, the choice of the first process to automate and applied solutions for working with customers.

Visual communication was addressed by an expert in visual communications, presentation director and founder of SHEVCHUK BURO, Andriy Shevchuk. He looked at the principles of building business presentations that help hold the audience’s attention, clearly show a company’s advantages and explain complex information without overloading it.

Veteran sport and barrier-free opportunities

An important part of SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv was the discussion about opportunities for veterans in sport and professional life.

The participants of the panel “Human potential without barriers – new opportunities for veterans in sport and professional life” discussed reintegration, rehabilitation and creating conditions for involving veterans in sports and professional communities.

The conversation was joined by the head of the Institute of Reintegration, Rehabilitation and Professional Development of Veterans “Architecture of Resilience” Artem Honcharenko, co-founder of the veterans’ club “Veterans’ Spirit of Lviv” and veteran of the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade Mykhailo Varvarych, president of the Lviv para ice hockey club “Nezlamni” Roman Hapachylo, two-time Paralympic table tennis champion Viktor Didukh and project manager of the Shakhtar Social charity foundation Iryna Matviichuk. This topic combined the sporting component with a broader social task – creating an accessible environment in which veterans can be physically active, return to active life and find new opportunities for self-fulfilment.

Lviv’s sports code and the identity of the city

The final thematic block of the summit was the discussion “Lviv’s sports code and its role in shaping the city’s identity”.

The participants discussed the significance of sports traditions, clubs, federations and outstanding athletes for the city’s identity. The discussion featured Olympic bronze medallist in karate, co-founder of DuelDuck and the Horuna Cup tournament Stanislav Horuna, CEO of FC Karpaty Andriy Rusol, former player of Karpaty, Dnipro, Shakhtar and the Ukraine national team and UEFA Cup winner Artem Fedetskyi, president of the Lviv City Water Polo Federation Ihor Zinkevych, director of the premium fitness club UNI FORCE and eight-time Ukrainian water polo champion Olha Shvedova and Leo Family Group founder Oleh Shpur. The conversation was moderated by the deputy editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, Yevhen Buderatskyi.

In parallel, talks and discussions on communication in sport, creativity and digital development took place on the Best Practice Stage. The media head of the Ukrainian Karate Federation Marichka Yazh, Stanislav Horuna and the voice of Ukrainian karate Pavlo Hudyma discussed how to talk about athletes so that a wider audience takes an interest in their results.

The co-founder and CEO of Brendari Yevhen Yefimenko looked at creativity as a competitive advantage for a sports brand, in particular the possibilities of unconventional ideas and artificial intelligence for creating content.

The head of communications of the Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine and the Olympic Lab science park, Anastasiia Mykhailovska, devoted her talk to using social media for the development of mass sport, and the editor-in-chief of Tribuna.com Oleh Shcherbakov to new formats of media partnerships, working with reach and the effectiveness of communication.

The thematic programme of the Best Practice Stage was completed by a talk from the director of media, marketing and digital transformation of the Ukrainian Association of Football, Mykola Seredych, on the digital transformation of Ukrainian football, combining content, statistics, services and communication, and ways to hold fans’ attention between matches and tournaments.

Lviv became a venue for dialogue on the future of Ukrainian sport

SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv brought together representatives of different areas of the sports industry around shared questions: how to attract funding, develop partnerships, work with the audience, use technology and create new opportunities for athletes and sports organisations. Holding the conference in Lviv for the first time in the history of SBC Summit Ukraine was an important step in expanding the geography of professional dialogue between sport, business and the media.

Sponsors and partners of SBC Summit Ukraine 2026 Lviv

Co-organisers – Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine and Sports Office of the Lviv City Council

Construction partner – system developer RIEL

Business Lounge partner – Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack

Accommodation partner – Kostjukowki Apartments. Sports equipment partner – Kappa x KOKOTASPORTS. Mood partner – PRAVDA brewery. Location partner – Barvy Event Hall

Football partner – educational platform Play Vision. Official partner – Ukrainian Karate Federation. Social partner – Shakhtar Social foundation. Exclusive fitness partner – UNI FORCE.

Media partner – media service MEGOGO, Ukraine’s largest media service, which streams exclusive sport, TV channels, films from leading studios and educational courses.

Water partner – Karpatska Dzherelna. Coffee partner – Sky Coffee. Functional partner – DR WITT. Sweet partner – BISCOTTI.

Production partner – NAZHYVO Production. Grooming partners – Barbers, Medosan and Joko Blend. Official partner – restaurant group “Marymo svoieiu spravoiu”.

Technology partner – BotsBand. Style partner – YARMICH. Technical partner – PROOVE. General radio partner – Lvivska Khvylia.

Hospitality partner – IBIS hotel cluster. Digital partner – ROAS marketing agency Red5. Business partner – business park “Europasazh”.

Social partner – Veterans Institute “Architecture of Resilience” of KNUBA. Sports partner – Ukrainian Padel Federation.

Media partners of Sport&Business Club – Epicentr, Avtoradio, Kyivstar TV and Setanta Sports. Advertising partner – MS Outdoor.

Information partners – the TV channels “Mi – Ukraina” and “Mi – Ukraina+”, Marketer, Tribuna.com, Football Hub, Interfax, the websites Sport.ua, SportArena.com, UA.NEWS and XSPORT, the news portal “Korol Danylo”, the platform “Football 2.0”, “Egoist” and PEREHOVORKA. Fashion partner – Fashion TV

Source: Sport Business Media (sportbusiness.media), https://sportbusiness.media/2026/11/01/ponad-600-uchasnykiv-i-bilshe-nizh-50-spikeriv-u-lvovi-vidbuvsya-sbc-summit-ukraine-2026-lviv/