For so long, the popularity of professional soccer in the United States has trailed dozens and dozens of other countries. Aside from more impassioned interest during World Cup years, soccer has been viewed as more of a niche sport inside the USA, one that not only lagged in recognition compared to other nations around the world but also registered as little more than a blip on the radar of other North American staples like football (NFL, NCAA), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB) and hockey (NHL).

Recently, however, things have started to change. Major League Soccer (MLS) has never been more popular in the United States. Signs of growth have become undeniable.

“Qwest Field from the Southwest corner during a MLS Seattle Sounders FC Match” is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Football in Ukraine has transformed in recent years. Since the Vyshcha Liha became the Ukrayinska Premier Liha in 2008, the national league has become more competitive. Though Dynamo Kyiv is the most popular club, Shakhtar Donetsk has also become a favorite amongst football fans.

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“The Cossacks” is a series of animated shorts produced in the USSR by the Ukrainian film studio “Kievnauchfilm”. The following cartoon about how the Cossacks play football was filmed in 1970.

The cartoon surprisingly accurately predicted the group of Ukraine at the recent European football championship 2012, and even the order of the matches is correct: Sweden, France, England. The score of the match Ukraine-Sweden (2-1) is also correctly predicted.

And finally there is a scene with heavy rain that is similar to what happened during the match Ukraine-France in Donetsk.

Tags: Euro 2012

Tags: Donetsk city · Euro 2012

The European Football Championship 2012 begins today. The championship is hosted by two countries: Poland and Ukraine. The opening ceremony will be held in Warsaw (Poland).

Tomorrow the first Ukrainian matches will be played: Germany Vs Portugal at the stadium “Arena Lviv” in the city of Lviv and Netherlands Vs Denmark at the stadium “Metalist” in Kharkov.

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Tags: Donetsk city · Euro 2012 · Kharkov city · Kiev city · Lviv city

The regional sports complex “Metalist” is a multifunctional stadium located in Kharkov. It is the central stadium of the city primarily used for football matches; the venue for home matches of FC “Metalist”.

December 5, 2009 the stadium was opened after renovation. Today the main football arena of Kharkov can accommodate more than 37 thousand people. The infrastructure of the stadium meets all the requirements of UEFA. Photos by Oleg Stelmakh

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Tags: Euro 2012 · Kharkov city

The year of 2012 will be particularly important for Ukraine’s national football team because Ukraine together with Poland will be the hosts of the European Football Championship – Euro 2012. The matches in Ukraine will be played on the stadiums of Lviv, Kiev, Kharkov and Donetsk.

According to the draw the Ukrainian team will compete with teams from England, France and Sweden.

So far Ukrainian team had the greatest success in 2006, when Ukrainians made their way to the World Cup, and reached the quarterfinals stage. Good luck to the Ukrainian team at Euro 2012!

Tags: Euro 2012

National sports complex “Olimpiyskiy” (“Olympic”) is a multipurpose sports facility in Kiev, Ukraine. The stadium is the main sports arena in Ukraine and one of the largest stadiums in Europe.

The stadium is located in the center of the city, on the slopes of Cherepanovaya Mount. Address: Kiev, Krasnoarmeyskaya Str., 55 (Pechersky District). The nearest subway stations are “Olympic” and “Palace of Sports”.

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Tags: Euro 2012 · Kiev city

In the very center of Kiev, at the bottom of the Cherepanova Hill, there is the place where one of the biggest clusters of sports facilities in Europe is located.  Since 1996 it has the name of National Sports Complex “Olympic”.

After being reconstructed the stadium connects Ukrainian sports history of 80 years with European experience and ultramodern technologies. Among all sports arenas that are being prepared for Euro-2012 Olympic NSC is the largest, the total capacity will be 70,050 spectators’ places (68,055 places for EURO-2012).

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Tags: Euro 2012 · Kiev city

An excellent example of how you can stay in shape in old age by Yuri living in Merefa town of Kharkov oblast, Ukraine.

Tags: Kharkov oblast