The Ukrainian national beach soccer team, due to the boycott of the game with Belarus, will finish in fourth place in the Euroleague.
Ukrainian Beach Soccer Association
About the page press service of the Ukrainian Beach Soccer Association
The Ukrainian men’s national beach soccer team will not take the field for the third-place match in the Euroleague against Belarus. This information was released by the press service of the Ukrainian Beach Soccer Association on its Facebook page.
After losing in the Euroleague semi-finals to Italy, the Ukrainians were to play Belarus for bronze. However, the current order from the Ministry of Youth and Sports prohibits Ukrainian national teams from participating in matches against teams or athletes from Russia and Belarus that compete under national symbols.
Ultimately the match against the Belarusian national team did not take place; the Ukrainian Beach Soccer Association officially confirmed that the team would not take the field.
The boycott means that Ukraine finishes fourth in the Euroleague for beach soccer. The final for the title between Italy and Spain will be played without the participation of the Ukrainian delegation.
Context of the boycotts and historical cases
Ukraine is not the first to shy away from competition due to the presence of a Belarusian team in the tournament. In 2023 the Ukrainian team refused to participate in the Euroleague because Belarusian athletes were admitted, and subsequently, for the same reasons, withdrew from the 2024 World Championship.
Apart from Ukraine, last year Estonia declined to participate in a match against Belarusians in the Euroleague for beach soccer, and in late July 2025 the Latvian national team did not take the field for its scheduled match.
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