Inclusive Football Sections

Unfortunately, in Ukraine, access to sports for many children with disabilities, as well as those with special educational needs, is problematic. There is a noticeable lack of qualified specialists and inclusive equipment in the regions. Such children constantly face stigma and discrimination, and it's painful for us to see this in sports too.

With the project "Inclusive Football Sections," the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) aims to change society's attitudes and help children realize their potential through sports.

Through inclusive football sessions and football festivals, we provide opportunities for thousands of children with disabilities and special educational needs to unlock their potential and improve their psycho-emotional and physical well-being.

The project uses the potential of grassroots football as a powerful tool to introduce inclusive education in Ukraine through innovative game-based activities, and football festivals. It integrates children with disabilities and special educational needs into teams, trains volunteers for regular sessions with these children, and creates a volunteer network through intersectoral teams in partnership with relevant ministries, local authorities, NGOs, and organizes inclusive football sections and supports their sustainable development in communities.

The main project goals:

• Improve the psycho-emotional and physical well-being of children with disabilities and special educational needs through involvement in project physical activities and socialization.
• Change the attitude of Ukrainian society towards people with disabilities and children with special educational needs.
• Provide access to inclusive sports activities.
• Unlock children's potential.
• Unite children and adults, regardless of physical and mental developmental characteristics.
• Motivate children to get into grassroots football, regardless of abilities, gender, or social issues.
• Activate local communities through intersectoral networks (teachers, coaches, psychologists, parents, youth leaders, local authorities, patrons, etc.).

The main expected project results in 2024:

• Establishment of at least 17 stable intersectoral networks to achieve project goals.
• Organization of regular inclusive football sections involving children with disabilities and special educational needs in at least 17 regions (17 sections regularly involving local resources and budgets for sustainable development).
• Involvement of about 300 children in section activities, improving their physical and mental condition through training.
• Ensuring the participation of section participants in football festivals for all children in the community.

According to the UAF, the sections are provided with children's football kits, balls, and necessary sports equipment.

It's worth noting that for the successful implementation of the project last year, coaches underwent training at a UAF seminar in Ivano-Frankivsk, and before this year's start, they participated in a joint UAF and regional football associations webinar.

National Coordination:

Yevheniy Stolitenko, 067-550-81-52, [email protected]

Contacts in the regions:

Vinnytsia Oblast:

Vinnytsia, 107 Keletska Street, Vinnytsia Special School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Coach Chernysh Viacheslav, 096-688-15-42

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Oleksandr Sydoruk, 050-106-80-36, [email protected], [email protected]

Volyn Oblast:

Lutsk, 20 Lesi Ukrainky Street, Lutsk Educational Rehabilitation Center

Coach Hadzinskyi Sviatoslav, 095-899-08-51

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Vasyl Kokhanovskyi, 095-898-65-01, [email protected]

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast:

Synelnykove, 5 Voiniv-Afghantsiv Street, Synelnykove Lyceum No. 7

Coach Rodzin Oleksandr, 050-932-94-83

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Yaroslav Derevyanko, 097-157-33-10, [email protected]

Zhytomyr Oblast:

Zhytomyr, Third Inclusive Resource Center

Coach Hrytsiuk Nadiia

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Ruslan Maievskyi, 067-264-87-50, [email protected]

Zakarpattia Oblast:

Uzhhorod, 28 Zahorska Street, Uzhhorod Specialized General Education Boarding School with Intensive Study of Certain Subjects

Coach Shkura Valeriy, 099-225-95-43

Coordinators from the Oblast Association of Football Viktor Naskalov, 050-267-60-99, Anastasiia Penzova, 050-252-92-48, [email protected], [email protected]

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast:

Kalush, 4 Dzvonarska Street, Kalush Lyceum No. 3

Coach Bohdan Yuriy, 095-837-75-03

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Vasyl Sikora, 050-555-31-61, [email protected]

Kyiv Oblast:

Bila Tserkva, 49 Symyrenka Street, School No. 19

Coach Vitaliy Merkushev, 097-433-89-22

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Volodymyr Maslov, 067-698-77-90, [email protected], [email protected]

Kirovohrad Oblast:

Kropyvnytskyi, 19 Kuropyatnykova Street, Kropyvnytskyi Educational Rehabilitation Center

Coach Horelenko Bohdan, 096-833-93-22

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Oleksii Kravchenko, 099-972-11-78, [email protected]

Lviv Oblast:

Busk, 8 Parkova Street, Busk Organization for People with Disabilities

Coach Tomkiv Ivan, 067-980-32-33

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Stepan Ponaida, 067-341-57-35, [email protected], [email protected]

Odesa Oblast:

Odesa, 16-a Arkhitektorska Street, TB Arkhitektorska, NGO Sportyvnyi Prykhystok

Coach Fedoriaka Vasyl, 097-526-99-16

Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football Serhiy Haliuza, 066-177-12-32, [email protected]

Poltava Oblast:

Poltava, 6 Stanislavskoho Street, Poltava Special School

Coach: Dmytro Fomenko, 066-451-72-91

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Darsaniya Bachuki, 095-686-39-44, [email protected]

Rivne Oblast:

Rivne, 5 Poshtova Street, Invasport; 35 Vidinska Street

Coach: Oleksiy Hladkov, 066-766-69-33

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Oleksandr Hіl, 097-305-84-21, [email protected]

Ternopil Oblast:

Ternopil, 6 Brativ Boychukiv Street, Ternopil Educational Rehabilitation Center

Coach: Nataliya Baranyuk, 068-429-96-67

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Vasyl Zatorskyi, 068-621-28-95, [email protected]

Khmelnytskyi Oblast:

Khmelnytskyi, 8/1 Zavadskoho Street, School No. 33

Coach: Oleh Stolyarchuk, 068-172-81-85

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Mykola Kuznetsov, 067-356-75-75, [email protected]

Cherkasy Oblast:

Cherkasy, 78 Smilyanska Street, Dnipro Sports Club

Coach and Coordinator from the Oblast Association of Football: Bohdan Kulynych, 097-581-76-16, [email protected]

Chernivtsi Oblast:

Chernivtsi, 6 Aksenyna Street, Chernivtsi Regional Educational Rehabilitation Center

Coach: Oksana Plakhova, 050-884-41-92

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Oleksandr Plakhov, 050-660-49-50, [email protected], [email protected]

Chernihiv Oblast:

Chernihiv, 42-a Nezalezhnosti Street, School No. 35

Coach: Tetiana Dzhuman, 063-982-13-16

Oblast Association of Football Coordinator: Anatoliy Svystun, 050-570-01-94, [email protected]