SBC Summit Ukraine held outside Kyiv for the first time and gathered 673 participants 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. For the first time in the summit’s history, the organisers held it outside Kyiv, and Lviv responded with a full hall.

More than 50 speakers took the floor on two stages, while 673 participants spent the whole day discussing money, audiences and infrastructure in Ukrainian sport. The event was co-organised by the Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine and the Sports Office of the Lviv City Council.

BETKING was the general sponsor of the summit, RIEL the construction partner, and GGBET the premium sponsor. The partners also included Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack, Kappa, Play Vision, UNI FORCE, a premium sports club in Lviv, and PRAVDA beer, which brewed a special batch of Blanche for the participants. The social side was represented by HeroCar, the 15th Operational Purpose Brigade “Kara-Dag” of the National Guard of Ukraine, and the KNUBA Veterans Institute.

The guests included representatives of clubs, leagues and federations, company executives, marketers, media professionals and athletes. The participants were welcomed by the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, and the Mayor of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi.

The main stage was opened by a conversation between Matvii Bidnyi and ICTV host Andrii Kovalskyi about sport in a time of transformation. They discussed how to get children involved in regular training and how to share responsibility among the state, communities, federations and business.

The regional dimension of the summit was covered most fully by the panel “Sport as an investment in the future of the Lviv region”. Anton Nikulin, Director of the Sports Office of the Lviv City Council, and Roman Khimiak, Director of the Department of Sport, Youth and Tourism of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, spoke about sport as a tool for the development of the region, one that needs modern infrastructure, systematic work by sports organisations and full-fledged cooperation with business. The discussion was also joined by Yurii Turianskyi, head of the Lviv region branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and Petro Adamyk, President of the Lviv Region Rugby Federation; the moderator was Mykola Matrosov.

The commercial core of the programme was formed by the panel “Who pays for sport”. Yevhen Dykyi, President of the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL), together with representatives of MEGOGO, Kyivstar TV, Tribuna.com and 1+1 media, examined the economics of broadcasting, advertising and sponsorship, from broadcasting rights to models of cooperation with brands.

CEO of GGBET Serhii Mishchenko and commentator Vitalii Volochai looked at the 2026 World Cup through the eyes of a bookmaker.

Secretary General of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) Ihor Hryshchenko named the fan as the main asset of the football industry. Andrii Rebryna, Director of the Mass Sports Agency, spoke about the barriers that stop people from taking the first step into sport.

The role of business in the country’s resilience was discussed by entrepreneurs on a panel moderated by Oleksii Braha, CEO of Sport Business Media Agency.

Padel received a separate focus. Oleksii Dniprov, President of the Ukrainian Padel Federation and Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee, answered questions about how the new discipline is forming its own market in Ukraine. The federation brought a miniature court to the summit, beside which Zalizko Courts explained the investment logic of padel infrastructure.

One of the most important conversations of the day concerned veterans. The panel “Human potential without barriers” included two-time Paralympic champion Viktor Didukh, Roman Hapachylo, President of the para ice hockey club Nezlamni, and also representatives of the “Architecture of Resilience” Institute, the club “Veteran Spirit of Lviv” and the Shakhtar Social charitable foundation.

They discussed rehabilitation and the return to active life through sport. The topic had a very tangible Lviv dimension. The day before, on 27 October, the city opened the Hakivka ice rink, equipped for people with disabilities, where the sledge hockey players of Nezlamni will also train. The new facility was presented at its stand by the Sports Office of the Lviv City Council.

The main stage programme ended with a discussion about the sporting code of Lviv. It featured Olympic medallist Stanislav Horuna, Andrii Rusol, general director of Karpaty, and UEFA Cup winner Artem Fedetskyi.

In parallel, the Best Practice Stage addressed media partnerships, creativity and the digital transformation of Ukrainian football.