Many Ukrainian sports journalists and commentators have received prestigious international awards. Learn about 8 famous Ukrainian personalities who have built successful careers in sports journalism

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Every year on July 2, the world celebrates International Sports Journalists' Day, a professional holiday that was introduced in 1995 at the initiative of the International Sports Press Association. On this day, it is customary to congratulate media professionals working in the field of sports - journalists, commentators and other industry representatives.

On International Sports Journalists' Day, solemn meetings and award ceremonies are held. In Ukraine, many editorial offices of newspapers, magazines, television channels, news agencies, and radio stations honor the best sports journalists on this day.

On the occasion of their professional holidays, we are telling you about eight talented Ukrainian journalists and commentators who have made a great contribution to the development of Ukrainian sports journalism.

Read about the outstanding Ukrainian athletes who have glorified the country on the international sports scene here.

Valentyn Shcherbachev

A well-known Ukrainian sports journalist, football commentator, writer, founder of the National Register of Records of Ukraine, extreme traveler, organizer and participant of international football tournaments in the most inaccessible places in the world—on the peaks of the Himalayas, at the North Pole and in Antarctica.

Valentyn Shcherbachev is an active participant in the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity. Since 2014, before the large-scale russian invasion, he has organized matches with local amateur football teams in Donbas. 

He is engaged in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. He organizes rehabilitation expeditions to the Himalayas for children affected by the war.

Photo: Borys Korpusenko

Sergiy Saveliy

Ukrainian sports TV commentator, honored journalist of Ukraine, legend of Ukrainian sports journalism, a man whose TV broadcasts have raised many generations of fans. Sergiy Saveliy has worked as a commentator at 12 Olympic Games with the participation of athletes from independent Ukraine, established Ukrainian sports television, trained the country's most famous commentators, and has vast experience.

Sergiy Stepanovych was the first Ukrainian sports journalist to receive the AIPS (International Association of the Sports Press) award, and he was also the Vice President of the Ukrainian Table Tennis Federation. He is a member of the Presidium of the Ukrainian Wrestling Association. 

Currently, he is the deputy director of the creative association "Sport" of the National Television Company of Ukraine.

Dmytro Dzhulai

Ukrainian football commentator and journalist who began his career at the Evening Kyiv newspaper. Until 2007, he commented on UEFA Champions League matches for the First National TV channel (UT-1), and in the 2008-2009 season he commented on matches of the same tournament on TET. He worked on the matches of the 1998, 2002 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, Euro 2000, Euro 2004, Euro 2008, UEFA Champions League finals of 2001-2006 and 2011, UEFA Cup finals of 2007, 2008 and Europa League 2010.

Three times he was recognized as the best commentator in Ukraine by the Ukrainian Football newspaper (2001, 2003, 2004).

In 2023, he created the film "The Defeat near Kyiv", which details how the Ukrainian defense forces managed to inflict one of the most significant defeats on the Russian army in recent history and retain Kyiv. 

Denys Bosianok

Ukrainian sports commentator specializing in Italian football and hockey. He commented on the NHL on the Hockey TV channel. In 2012, he signed a contract with the First National TV channel to comment on Euro 2012 matches. He worked on six matches of the tournament, including the final of the competition (together with Andriy Stolyarchuk).

In 2018, he received an invitation from the Inter channel to comment on the 2018 FIFA World Cup in russia, but declined. Denys Bosianok condemned the channel's anti-Ukrainian stance at such a difficult time for Ukraine. 

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

Photo: TeleCritica

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Viktor Vatsko

Ukrainian football official, journalist and TV commentator. From August 10, 2010 to August 14, 2012, he worked for the Football Channel. From August 15, 2012 to July 22, 2013, he was the vice president of the Karpaty Club. From August 4, 2013, to July 19, 2019, he has been working as a commentator on the Football 1 and Football 2 channels again. 

Six times he received the Teletriumph Award in the Sports Commentator nomination (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). 

Roberto Morales

Ukrainian sports journalist and commentator. He was born in 1976 in Zaporizhzhia. The commentator's father Carlos Benito Morales is Chilean, and his mother Lyubov Oleksiivna is Ukrainian. Until 2005, he held Chilean citizenship. 

He gained his first experience as a commentator while studying: he commented on the Belgium-France game on March 27, 1996 (0:2). He worked for Novyi Kanal, Inter, Megasport ("Openly about Football" together with Ihor Tsyhanik). From 2010 to 2019, he worked at the Football TV channel. Subsequently, he joined the Megogo video service.

From July 2015 to the fall of 2016, he served in the army in the ATO zone. In April 2023, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

Photo: FB Roberto Morales

Ihor Tsyhanyk

Ukrainian sports journalist and commentator. He graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Lviv University (1997–2002).

He commented on football matches at Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008; games of the Ukrainian national team, as well as the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Furthermore, he worked for Inter, UT-1, and Megasport TV channels ("Openly about Football" with Roberto Morales).

Since 2022, he has been the host of the morning news and entertainment show "Weekend Breakfast" on the 1+1 TV channel.

Andriy Stolyarchuk 

Ukrainian sports commentator specializing in football, hockey and biathlon. He has experience commenting on matches of the Champions League, UEFA Cup, national teams, European championships, NHL hockey diaries, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, etc.

Along with the commentary, he hosted a daily news and analysis program "Our Euro", with guests such as Yuriy Kalitvintsev, Volodymyr Muntyan, Vasyl Rats, Maksym Shatskikh, Vladyslav Vashchuk, Yuriy Maksymov, Andriy Gusin, Pavlo Shkapenko, Vitaliy Reva, Yuriy Moroz, Vitaliy Klitschko, Mykhailo Poplavsky, Mykola Tyshchenko and others.

From July 27 to August 14, 2012, he worked in London at the XXX Olympic Games as a commentator. As a result of this work, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Journalist of Ukraine.

In the spring of 2022, he served in the ranks of the terrorist defense in the Khmelnytsky region.

Photo: FB Andriy Stolyarchuk

Ukrainian sports journalists and commentators make a great contribution to the development of Ukrainian sports, have been supporting our athletes for many years and telling Ukrainians about their main achievements. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, many prominent journalists have stood up to defend Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces, volunteering, organizing charity events and supporting soldiers and injured Ukrainians.

We remind you! Ukraine is rich in talented people, and some of them we regularly see on the big screen in movies, without even realizing that they are from Ukraine. Read about world-famous Hollywood movie stars with Ukrainian roots in our previous article.

Main photo: fco.com.ua

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