Yurii Turianskyi: “The Olympic movement is a platform where business, government and sport must come together”

The head of the Lviv regional branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Yurii Turianskyi, outlined at SBC Summit Ukraine Lviv 2026 what the development of sport at the regional level depends on. Among the key conditions he named accessible infrastructure, the work of coaches, cooperation between sports organisations and local authorities, and attracting private business.

Turianskyi paid particular attention to working with children and young people. In his view, the task of the sports community is to create conditions in which as many children as possible can try themselves in different sports. This requires joint work by federations, clubs, schools, communities and business.

Infrastructure as the foundation for the development of sport

An Olympic result is formed long before the competition. Behind it stand the work of a coach and the conditions in which an athlete trains. Turianskyi believes that creating these conditions is the responsibility of local and national authorities.

“When we look at an Olympic champion, what do we see? We see the first victory, the Olympic medal, we see the flag of Ukraine rising to our Ukrainian anthem. But what stands behind this Olympic medal? Years of exhausting training, the great, inspired work of a coach who gives everything they have: knowledge, emotions, strength, experience, intellect. It is the capacity of local and national authorities to create proper conditions and infrastructure.”

The influence of sports infrastructure on the development of particular sports can be seen in the example of ice arenas. In Novyi Yavoriv such an arena made it possible to develop hockey and figure skating. Another example is the “Hakivka” ice arena in Lviv. Turianskyi links the further development of these disciplines and the appearance of new coaches to its operation. In the same way, sports grounds in communities can become the basis for the development of other sports.

“Where there is no infrastructure, there is no development of a particular sport. Where there is no youth sports school or coach, there is no development. So, if we have, for example, an ice arena in Novyi Yavoriv, then hockey and figure skating develop there. Today we have ‘Hakivka’, and it will pull development along with it, there will be coaches. If we now have multifunctional sports grounds developing across the Lviv region, then there will be sport there.”

A separate question is how to get children interested in sport and help them find an activity they will want to devote time to. Turianskyi views the Olympic movement more broadly than the training of professional athletes: he considers work with young people and the promotion of physical activity an important part of it.

“The Olympic movement is not only about Olympic sport and not only about the development of children, it is also about communication. The Olympic movement is a way to win over the minds of our children. As Mr Petro just said, so that they do not sit in their gadgets. They should go outside and do some physical activity. They should try their own sport, fall in love with it and go forward to those very Olympic victories. And this is a hard fight for the children.”

Business must understand why it invests in sport

For sports organisations, attracting private business requires clear arguments. Companies must see what exactly a partnership with sport gives them. Turianskyi believes that the sports sector should be transparent and that cooperation with it should be clear to potential investors.

“Business will not come by itself and say: here you are, this much for you, this much for you. It must still find a rationale for itself to fund. So sport must be so transparent and so clear to business that it understands: I invested, and for me that means image, that means social responsibility”.

However, proposals from sports organisations alone may not be enough. Turianskyi drew attention to the legislative conditions that could make it easier for companies to take part in funding sport.

“This is the legislative framework we have been talking about for a long time, so that it can include this in its costs. And so that it can choose where to invest. And so that sport is one of those platforms that are worth investing in. And it is profitable. And it is our future.”

The war affects every sphere of the country’s life, but according to Turianskyi, the development of sport cannot be put off for later. This applies especially to children and young people, because the conditions created for them today will influence what the next generation of Ukrainians will be like.

“Because today Ukraine is at war, it is fighting. And in this way we are tempering the future generation. We will probably have to fight for more than one decade. That is why we must invest in sport. And it is timely. Those who say that today is not the time to invest in sport, I think, are deeply mistaken. That is why this synergy is needed.”

The NOC branch as a platform for cooperation between communities and sports organisations

The NOC branch can become a point of interaction for various participants in the sports sphere. Turianskyi includes in this work business, local authorities, coaches, sports officials and young people. Such cooperation, in his opinion, should help to align efforts and to work together on the development of sport in the region.

“The Olympic movement is a platform where business, local authorities, sports officials, coaches and young people must come together. And all of this together is to produce a positive result. For example, I will tell you about our case: as a public organisation, the Lviv regional branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, we currently receive funding neither from local nor from state authorities. We have to be good marketers to find an offer for business so that business cooperates with us. And we do that, and we have been doing it for more than one year.”

The NOC tries to involve in the Olympic movement not only the sports community of the regional centre. Turianskyi explained why meetings with famous athletes are especially important for children in small settlements.

“If we have more than 70 communities in the Lviv region, we practically cooperate constantly with about half of them. We go to these communities, we do not work only with the Lviv community but try to reach the remote ones too, because children there really value visits by outstanding athletes.”

Meeting a famous athlete may interest a child, but further training requires an accessible section, a coach and a place to train. That is why work with young people must be linked to the development of sports infrastructure and the opportunity to do sport regularly.

“We need to find mechanisms to interest those young people and involve them in cooperation, in a healthy lifestyle, in sport, so that this person, this young person, develops as a personality. Because sport and the Olympic movement make it possible to build a healthy nation. And we must all invest in it.”

Joining forces is the main priority

Summing up, Turianskyi returned to the topic of cooperation between business and the sports community. For him, the concept of sport covers all participants, from coaches and professional athletes to children who are only starting out in sports clubs.

“Joining forces. First of all, of business and sport. Sport is a very capacious concept. It includes coaches, athletes, and the child who has just come to some section. And who has started a healthy, sporting way of life. Because together we are shaping the future Ukrainian nation. Healthy, strong. And the one that wins.”

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/yurij-turyanskyj-olimpijskyj-ruh-cze-platforma-na-yakij-mayut-obyednatysya-biznes-vlada-i-sport/