IFMP’s Ukrainian member federation, the Ukrainian Sport Poker Federation, has successfully managed to have Match Poker officially recognised as a sport by the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Match Poker has been recognised as a sport globally by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) when IFMP was granted Observer Status in November 2017.

On 16th August 2018, Minister І. О. Zhdanov of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine released the following order:

According to Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine “On Physical Culture and Sports”, clause 31 of the Regulation on the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 220 dated July 2, 2014 (as amended), Order of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine No. 149 “On Approval of the Procedure for Recognising Sports, Including them into the Registry of Recognised Sports in Ukraine” as of January 27, 2014 registered at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on February 28, 2014 under No. 281/25058 (as amended), the decision of the Commission on recognition of sports in Ukraine dated 03.08.2018 (record No. 1)
I ORDER:
1. “Sports poker” to be recognised as sports in Ukraine.
2. Section ІІ. of the Registry of the recognised sports in Ukraine approved by order of the Ministry of Youth and Sports No. 639 “On Approval of the Registry of the recognised sports in Ukraine” dated March 11, 2015 to be supplemented by such item:
“II. 119. Sports poker”

Sports poker here refers to Match Poker, a sport governed by the International Federation of Match Poker, to which the Ukrainian Sport Poker Federation is its official representative national federation in Ukraine.

London, 25th March 2019: Tournament debutants Ukraine made an instant impact on the fast-growing sport

of Match Poker when they lifted the coveted IFMP Nations Cup at Boyne Hill House, Meath, near Dublin.

They beat off the challenge of holders and hosts Ireland and other nations including fellow newcomers Chinese

Taipei to win the competition, which is the leading international tournament organised by the International

Federation of Match Poker (IFMP).

And Ukraine’s success didn’t end with the title itself. Their female player Olga Iermolcheva delivered a series of

outstanding performances to be awarded Player of the Tournament after overtaking Ireland’s Andy Black who

won it in 2017.

Match Poker was devised and developed by the International Federation of Match Poker – which holds

Observer Status of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and which has over 62

members federations worldwide – as a team-based mind sport where the element of chance inherent in the

“random draw of cards” has been removed. As a result, it conforms to the GAISF definition of a sport as ‘not

relying on any element of luck specifically integrated into the sport.’

IFMP has successfully developed the Match Poker technology including innovative use of smartphones in

game-play and administration, making Match Poker a true 21st century mind sport and an eSport.

Match Poker athletes were subject to anti-doping tests for the first time, reinforcing Match Poker as a sport

and being another major milestone for IFMP.

IFMP President Patrick Nally was delighted with the success of the Nations Cup.

“It was a thrilling tournament played in the best possible spirit and a great way to showcase the skill of our

players and the sheer diversity of the sport of match poker,” he said.

“The teams featured men and women who are able to compete as absolute equals. And we proved that age is

no barrier as one team featured an 82 year-old player who was able to give as good as he got in every contest,”

he explained.

“The Nations Cup shows how fast match poker is gaining traction around the world. Poker is the world’s most

popular card sport and the match poker variant cuts through the cultural barriers and negative perceptions

associated with the root game to enable everybody to compete in competitions which reward skill and not

luck,” he said.

“The competition also allowed us to bed in some new technology which successfully passed its field trials. That

means we can build with confidence for the future and will be working on confirming our major events

calendar for the year.”