Rossinskyi A. Sociocommunicative Technologies of Football Mediatization: Global Context and Ukrainian Experience in Wartime

The dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of the socio-communicative technologies of football mediatization within the global media space, identifying their transformation patterns in Ukraine under wartime conditions. The theoretical and methodological foundations for researching sports communications during a prolonged crisis are substantiated, defining the role of digital technologies and social media in shaping football's new media logic. Based on an analysis of sports infrastructure, its decisive influence on competition representation models in wartime realities is proven. Special attention is given to the "UPL.TV" platform as a representative model of the national broadcasting pool, ensuring the communicative resilience and autonomy of sports institutions in the digital environment. The topic's relevance stems from the need to scientifically rethink the football media space's transformation at the intersection of global digitalization and the extreme challenges of Ukraine's wartime reality. The study conceptualizes football as a complex communicative media phenomenon, where mediatization drives industry adaptation—from updating branding strategies to implementing interactive fan engagement models. Particular emphasis is placed on Ukraine's unique experience (2014–2026), where hybrid threats and full-scale invasion shifted communication paradigms toward the dominance of digital platforms, social networks, and OTT services to maintain stable audience interaction. Given the lack of systemic studies on sports discourse during prolonged crises, the research conceptualizes universal and specific mediatization mechanisms, identifying development vectors for the national media landscape amid permanent threat and socio-political uncertainty. The objective of the study is a comprehensive analysis of modern football's socio-communicative mediatization technologies in Ukraine during the wartime transformation of society, determining the role of digital communications, and identifying sports media space development patterns in a crisis period. The scientific novelty lies in the theoretical substantiation and resolution of defining football mediatization characteristics under wartime conditions. For the first time, the theoretical-methodological foundations for studying sports communications in extreme conditions are conceptualized based on interdisciplinary, historical-comparative, and crisis-oriented approaches. A comprehensive analysis of "UPL.TV" establishes it as a unique national broadcasting pool model adapted to martial law security challenges. The impact of infrastructure destruction and club relocations on mediatization models is typologized into a systematized analytical model. The socio-communicative potential of fan tokens as an innovative digital interaction technology, which ensures audience engagement despite limited stadium access, is determined. The study deepens approaches to analyzing the audiovisual component of mediatization, specifically the transformation of sports commentary linguistic strategies and media discourse digitalization. It expands theoretical understandings of OTT platforms as crucial for preserving football media space integrity during crises. Further development is achieved in researching digital practices involving influencers and categorizing fans based on Ukraine's changing socio-demographic landscape. The understanding of sports mediatization is generalized as a highly adaptable, continuous socio-communicative metaprocess transforming the sports industry via media logic. It is proven that modern football has evolved from a purely athletic competition into a complex media product driven by digital demands and market strategies. "UPL.TV's" launch marks a transition to the communicative autonomy of Ukrainian football, ensuring legal content access and global integration despite closed stadiums. The work concludes by formulating strategic directions for modernizing the platform for its further integration into the global media space.