Fans of Kyiv "Dynamo": features of a social portrait

"Ukrainian sociological group" from July 8 to 12, 2022 conducted a survey of Ukrainian citizens. A total of 3,003 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed. The sample conditionally represents the adult population of the controlled territories of Ukraine as of February 23, 2022, according to the main socio-demographic characteristics: gender, age, type of settlement and area of ​​residence. The statistical error formally does not exceed 1.5%.

The survey method is a survey using a chat bot in the Viber and Telegram messengers. A random selection (random number generation) was made in the database of mobile telephone numbers, and an invitation was sent to subscribers to take part in the survey. Subsequently, the sample was adjusted in accordance with demographic quotas.

August 2022 Key survey results (see end of press release for full wording of questions and univariate distributions of responses to questions).

Football championships are expected to resume in Ukraine in August this year. Respondents were asked to indicate which football team among the participants of the Ukrainian Premier League championship they would support. (Respondents could choose more than one answer). Most respondents indicated the following football clubs:

Dynamo (indicated by 50.4% of respondents)
Shakhtar (17.6%)
SC "Dnepr-1" (8.6%)
Metalist (6.6%)
Chernomorets (6.5%)
FC Lviv (6.2%).

The remaining football clubs were indicated by less than 3.0% of respondents (in each particular case).

Note on the indicators: in this case, we are talking more about showing sympathy (solidarity) for a certain club than a real intention to follow the performance of the team, watch matches with its performance. It is more correct to say that 50.4% of respondents sympathize with the Dynamo (Kyiv) team. In other words: half of all respondents are Dynamo (Kyiv) sympathizers.

Among Dynamo fans, only 22.0% over the past year followed the performance of the team, watched broadcasts of matches with its participation. It is these respondents that should be identified as Dynamo (Kyiv) fans. The rest of the club's sympathizers either learned about the team's achievements sporadically (by chance) or did not follow its performances at all.

Among all the respondents, fans of Dynamo (Kyiv) make up 11.2%. The analysis showed that the vast majority of Dynamo fans are men (77.1%). This is due to the fact that men are much more interested in football than women. At the same time, the share of Dynamo female fans is also quite high (22.9%).

Young people are usually especially interested in football. Persons aged 18-39 among Dynamo fans account for 40.1%.

Residents of regional centers and the capital dominate among Dynamo fans: their share is 38.8%. Almost half of them are from Kiev (16.8%).

If in the general structure of the adult population rural residents make up a third (32.8%), then only a quarter (23.3%) of Dynamo fans. In other words, the vast majority of Dynamo fans are city dwellers, and, as a rule, residents of big cities.

Both before the war and now, about a third of Dynamo fans are residents of the central regions (33.3 and 36.2%, respectively). And about half of them are Kievans.

When public opinion is being studied, it is important that the respondent has a certain understanding (competence) regarding the subject of discussion. Therefore, the question about the attitude towards the leadership of the football club "Dynamo" (Kyiv) was asked only to persons who during 2021 followed the performances of the team, watched broadcasts of matches with its participation (i.e., the actual fans of "Dynamo").

The survey showed that the vast majority (87.1%) of Dynamo (Kyiv) fans to one degree or another trust the head coach Mircea Lucescu. Moreover, almost half of the fans (44.0%) fully trust the head coach of the club. The index of distrust is 8.7%.

The attitude of Dynamo fans towards the president of the club, Igor Surkis, is not so unambiguous, but quite positive. The majority of the surveyed fans (62.7%) trust the club president to some extent.

As a result, if we take into account the modal values ​​of the characteristics, the socio-demographic portrait of a typical fan of the Dynamo football club (Kyiv) looks like this:

- a man under the age of 40;
- lives in a big city (most often - in the regional center or the capital);
- a resident of the central regions of the country (often a resident of Kiev);
— during the championship of the Ukrainian Premier League, he supports Dynamo, monitors the performance of the team, regularly watches broadcasts of matches with its participation;
- definitely trusts Dynamo head coach Mircea Lucescu;
- fully trusts the president of the club Igor Surkis.