Staying in the game: How FAVBET supports Ukrainian soccer in times of war

Destroyed stadiums, occupied home arenas, the departure of legionnaires, playing in empty stadiums to the sound of sirens – this is the reality of modern Ukrainian soccer, which overcomes obstacles, adapts, but does not even think of giving up.

The first months were extremely difficult, but today the total uncertainty has been replaced by confidence that soccer, as well as the whole Ukraine, will survive. FAVBET, Ukraine's leading Entertainment Tech company, continues to support Ukrainian teams even during the wartime.

With soccer no matter what

Many soccer fans know FAVBET for the FAVBET League, as the Ukrainian Premier League had been called in 2019-2021, as well as the uniforms of “Dynamo Kyiv”, which have had FAVBET’s logos on them for four years now. In fact, for the past four years, the company has gone side by side with almost every club in the top division, as well as many teams in the First League:

Since 2018, FAVBET has sponsored 16 Ukrainian clubs

“In 2022, some of FAVBET's sponsorship plans had to be adjusted as in February and March our first priority was employee safety, their financial support, and military assistance. When the situation stabilized a bit, we started going back to our usual work, including partnerships, because we understood that the longer we stagnate, the harder it will be for us to recover,” says Denys Yakymov, the Head of Sport Marketing in FAVBET.

According to Denys, the company already had valid contracts with “Rukh” and “Dynamo”, therefore cooperation was resumed as soon as the parties settled all organizational and safety issues and the Federation announced the re-launch of the tournaments.

Partnerships for the the 2022/2023 season were also renewed with Uzhgorod’s “Mynai”, “Kolos” from Kovaliv, and Kyiv’s “Obolon”, the teams that FAVBET have cooperated with for over three years now. The first two clubs will continue to play in the Premier League this season, while “Obolon” is set fight to compete for a ticket to the top division in the First League.

This year also marked the renewal of cooperation with “Kryvbas”, which FAVBET supported in 2020-21. Following a strong 2021/22 season in the First League, the team from Kryvyi Rih is once again back to Ukraine’s elite division and ready for more

Another important signing happening in the beginning of the season was a deal with Kharkiv’s “Metalist”. According to the club’s general manager Valery Gryga, cooperation with FAVBET will not only support “Metalist” in the Premier League, but will also help ensure the operation of the team’s youth academy, which has now moved to Chernivtsi.

Partnership instead of sponsorship

“It has always seemed wrong to us to consider sponsorship as a purely commercial or promotional thing. Business, as well as sport, should bring additional value to the society it develops and functions in. That’s why we view all sponsorship contracts as a partnership between the two parties united by common interests and values both on and off the pitch”, says FAVBET’s team.

For instance, on April 28, FAVBET supported Dynamo during the charity match in Zagreb as part of its tour “Match for Peace! Let's stop the war!” where Kyiv’s team went against Croatia’s reigning champion at the Stadion Maksimir and allowed free entrance for all the Ukrainian fans, while FAVBET set up a patriotic fan zone for them.

Similar initiatives were supported by the company in previous years as well. For example, in the 2019/2020 season, FAVBET held a “Come on, Score!” campaign, increasing the amount of donations to Tabletochki charity for each goal scored in the Favbet League. The funds raised were donated in two stages – during the mid-season and at its closing.

“Of course, most of our work right now is focused on the main goal of getting closer to victory. This includes the operation of our own cyber army within our IT department, and the work of FAVBET Foundation, which buys and delivers vehicles and modern technical equipment to our defenders, as well as promotions on our platforms that allows us to further support the army. However, our support for Ukrainian soccer remains at a high level, because it is also a manifestation of Ukraine’s strength and unbreakable spirit,” says Denys Yakymov.