Cyprus offers stability and opportunity for the relocated sports media platform

Sports media platform Tribuna.com co-founder Dmitry Navosha has shared his story with the Cyprus Mail in an in-depth interview covering the company’s transformation from Ukraine’s leading sports media outlet into a global digital platform, a journey marked by war, relocation, and reinvention.

Speaking candidly, Navosha explains how the Russian invasion of Ukraine upended the lives of his team, forcing them to seek stability and opportunity abroad. Cyprus emerged as their new base of operations, offering a supportive regulatory framework, a vibrant tech and media ecosystem, and a welcoming community.

From rebuilding the business after losing over 90 per cent of revenue to launching a new global app and engaging with local initiatives, Navosha outlines how Tribuna.com is positioning itself as a serious rival to the world’s largest sports media players.

In this interview, he reflects on the challenges, advantages, and ambitions shaping the company’s future from its new home in Cyprus.

CM: Tribuna.com has undergone a remarkable transformation from a leading Ukrainian sports outlet to a global digital platform. What were the biggest challenges in that transition, especially during wartime?

The war has profoundly changed the lives of everyone in Ukraine, including ours. When the full-scale invasion began, most of our team at Tribuna.com was still based in the country. Like millions of others, our lives were turned upside down, and for seven of my colleagues who went to the front lines, that change was even more drastic.

But beyond the human toll, the economic shock was immediate and brutal. Before 2022, we were the country’s leading and profitable sports media outlet. Practically overnight, we lost over 90 per cent of our revenue. That forced us to rethink everything, to rebuild, to look for new markets and growth channels.

It was the beginning of our transformation into an international sports startup. Today, we continue to serve over four million Ukrainian users, proof that even war cannot extinguish the country’s passion for sport.

CM: You’ve positioned Tribuna.com as a potential rival to the largest sports media and services. What sets your product apart in such a competitive space?

Tribuna was founded in a region long known for its deep talent in both tech and marketing, and we’re building on that foundation. A core focus for us is nurturing genuine communities of sports fans around our content and services, rather than simply chasing clicks or traffic.

More broadly, we take a non-orthodox, innovation-first approach, something essential for any media company navigating not only geopolitical shocks but also the equally disruptive wave of technological change.

As a result, we believe our websites and apps are truly modern. And, more importantly, better at meeting the real needs of sports fans than many legacy players.

CM: How did your team manage to maintain momentum and cohesion during the relocation process caused by the war in Ukraine?

The shock of the war was profound, and in many ways, it still hasn’t fully passed. It’s impossible to fully adjust to such a reality, even after several years. The scars of war can last for decades, something the people of Cyprus, unfortunately, know all too well.

At the same time, that experience has given us a powerful sense of motivation to keep building in new markets. At the very least, we want to uphold the mission of Tribuna.com. We hope to emerge from this stronger and capable of achieving even more than before.

CM: Why did you choose Cyprus as your new base of operations, and how has the local ecosystem supported your company’s ambitions?

When we were looking for a new base of operations, Cyprus stood out for a combination of reasons. The regulatory environment here is clear and supportive, particularly for IT and media companies. The relocation process, including obtaining residency and work permits for our engineers and marketers, is straightforward and predictable. The widespread use of English was also a major factor, although my teammates who have already moved to Cyprus and I are learning Greek. We see it as a respectful gesture toward the country that has offered us stability and comfort.

Another key advantage is the well-developed local ecosystem. Many of our industry peers and partners are already based here. In addition, Cypriot legal and financial professionals are well equipped to support companies like ours as we scale and expand.

CM: What are some of the advantages and perhaps challenges of building a global digital media platform from Cyprus?

One challenge worth mentioning is that Cyprus is no longer as affordable as some of the other Eastern European options available to us. However, the advantages far outweigh the downsides.

Most of the real challenges for Tribuna.com are market-driven. Our focus is on how quickly we can reinvent ourselves in a new environment and build strong competitive advantages that allow us to create truly global digital products.

CM: Are you engaging with the local tech or media community in Cyprus, and if so, in what ways?

Absolutely. In fact, the strength of the local community was one of the reasons we initially chose Cyprus. We’re actively taking part in conferences, meetups, and informal gatherings with fellow professionals.

Initiatives like Cyprus_IT by Oleg Reshetnikov, TechIsland led by Tanya Romanyukha, and events hosted by individual companies across Larnaca, Limassol, and Nicosia all contribute to a strong sense of connection. They create a real feeling of being understood and welcomed.

I’ve already had the opportunity to speak at a local conference, as we’ve built significant expertise in several areas of media and marketing that we’re glad to share. On top of that, three of our current clients are international companies that, like us, have chosen Cyprus as their base for global growth, and we hope to see that number grow.

CM: With over 10 million monthly users and a new global app launching this spring, what’s next for Tribuna.com in terms of product development or market expansion?

Our current focus is on accelerating audience growth and increasing the value we deliver to sports fans. Globally, over a billion people count sport among their interests, which means we’ve only just crossed the one per cent threshold of our potential market. Our ambition is to grow by an order of magnitude in the coming years.

We’re also putting dedicated effort into developing the Tribuna.com brand. While it’s already well known among fans in Ukraine and parts of Eastern Europe, brand recognition still lags behind the quality of our product in Western Europe and other global markets. Closing that gap is one of our key priorities.

CM: How do you tailor your club-specific and localised apps to meet the needs of fans in different countries?

Our mobile apps are initially installed by fans as a trusted media source, a reliable way to get timely and accurate updates on the performance and daily life of their favourite teams. But our broader vision is captured in the phrase, come for the content, stay for the community. As I mentioned earlier, community is what truly shapes and influences your life.

Fans of clubs like Barcelona, Liverpool, or any other major team are spread across the globe, and they absolutely have things to share and discuss. Even if they’re watching a match from their couch in New York, Singapore, Paphos, or Cairo rather than from the stands, it can still be a deeply social experience. At Tribuna.com, we strive to make that connection possible.

CM: Dmitry Navosha is not only a media entrepreneur but also a political exile. How do his personal values and experiences shape Tribuna.com’s mission and culture?

Running a media company is not just a business. It may be the only type of business explicitly mentioned in the constitutions of many countries, because access to independent information and diverse opinions is a fundamental human right. It has a direct impact on politics and the direction in which societies develop.

I come from Belarus, where a brutal dictatorship has taken hold. Some of my close friends are now in prison. In Ukraine, a country that is no less dear to me, there is a full-scale war, and many of my friends and colleagues are now on the front lines.

Both personally and as a company, we cannot remain indifferent to the challenges facing our countries. We try, wherever possible, to contribute to positive change. Yes, this has led to persecution by the Belarusian regime, but I’m far from alone. There are tens of thousands of people like me in Belarus today.

CM: Looking back at everything Tribuna.com has endured and achieved, what does success look like for you in the next two to three years?

If we manage to deliver on what we’ve set out to do, it will be a breakthrough not just for Tribuna.com, but for the media industry as a whole, which, globally, is facing serious challenges.

In many ways, we’re working to reinvent what media can be. We’re building new models that aren’t limited to sport alone, but could be applied far beyond it. That, for us, would be real success over the next two to three years.