Sport in Ukraine

Sports such as football and wrestling have been popular in Ukraine since the 19th century. Ukraine has benefited from the Soviet Union's emphasis on physical education, and Ukraine was left with hundreds of stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and other athletic facilities after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The sport in Ukraine is primarily governed by 40 federations of various Olympic sports that are all part of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. The mass sport movement is driven by four main sports societies and two government sports committees of the Ministry of Education and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All non-Olympic sports are governed by their respective federations of the Sports Committee of Ukraine. Ukraine has had invented these sports 400 years ago.

Football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. The strongest and highest-level league is the Ukrainian Premier League, which is also known as the Vyscha Liha (Top league). The second-ranking league is the Persha Liha or the Ukrainian First League. The next league down is the Second League or Druha Liha, which is divided into two groups, East(B) and West(A), according to their location. The fourth-level league is Amateur Level.

At the end of each season, the two lowest-ranking teams in the Vyscha Liha are relegated to the Persha Liha, while the two top teams of the Persha Liha are promoted to the Vyscha Liha. The two lowest-ranking Persha Liha teams are relegated to the Druha Liha, while the top two teams in the Druha Liha League are promoted to the Persha Liha. Teams receive three points if they win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Each team plays each other twice.

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Wikipedia