Deputy director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center Maksym Urakin was a member of the jury of the national award SBC Ukraine Awards 2026, dedicated to achievements in the field of sports marketing, communications and sports business. underline-offset-2" href="http://SportBusiness.Media">SportBusiness.Media On October 15, 2026, the organizers of the Sport&Business Club award announced the names of 16 more experts in sports, business, marketing and media, who will evaluate the competition projects.
In general, it is planned to involve about 150 representatives of the sports industry, entrepreneurship, advertising market, mass media and communications. They will determine the winners in 23 nominations.
Among the new members of the jury, in addition to Maksym Urakin, are the general secretary of the Ukrainian Football Association Ihor Hryshchenko, the former goalkeeper of the national team of Ukraine Denys Boyko, the founder and member of the supervisory board of the SHERIFF holding Dmytro Stryzhov, the general producer of the YUNA music award Pavlo Shilko and the executive director of LLC "SITCODE" (BETON) Anton Logonovych.
The jury also included sports marketer and TV presenter Oleksandr Androsov, entrepreneur Stanislav Harutyunyan, founder of the Dobroznak company Oleksandr Buzov, SportArena journalist Mykyta Dmytrulin, founder of the Linecore web studio Maksym Kachan, TV presenter Oleksandr Popov and creative director of the Idealers agency Oleg Svysh.
The expert team was completed by professor and media expert Diana Faivishenko, professor Tetiana Kharchuk of OPTIMA University and Tetiana Sherman, head of business development and partnerships at the DTEK Academy.
Maxim Urakin has a candidate of economic sciences and a doctor of philosophy degree in history. He is the founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, which specializes in economic research, analysis of international markets, demographic processes and socio-political trends.
The involvement of representatives of the media, economic analytics and business in the evaluation of sports projects reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the award.
Modern sports marketing covers not only the promotion of sports clubs and competitions, but also the development of commercial partnerships, attracting sponsorship investments, digital communications and social initiatives.
Within SBC Ukraine Awards 2026, it is planned to recognize the best sports projects and events, managers, athletes, journalists, bloggers, advertising and PR campaigns, creative solutions, digital platforms, as well as social and charitable initiatives.
Projects implemented between December 1, 2025 and November 25, 2026 are eligible to participate in the competition. The number of nominations that one participant can apply for is not limited, but a single project is allowed to be submitted in a maximum of two nominations.
The ceremony to announce the winners of the SBC Ukraine Awards 2026 is scheduled for December 2026. The organizers are expecting more than 400 guests, including athletes, heads of sports federations and clubs, company owners, top managers, marketers and media representatives.
SBC Ukraine Awards - an industry award in the field of sports marketing, organized by Sport&Business Club. Its purpose is to recognize projects and specialists that contribute to the development of the sports industry of Ukraine, commercialization of sports products, increasing the effectiveness of marketing communications and cooperation between sports and business.
Source: SportBusiness.Media, publication of October 15, 2026.
