A meeting took place at the Football House in Kyiv between the president of the Ukrainian Association of Football, head of the UAF Coordination Center Andriy Pavelka, and State Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language Taras Kremen.

The participants discussed the importance of using and protecting their native language in wartime conditions, including within the football community. After all, Ukrainian — the only official state language in Ukraine — is today one of the most effective tools for defending the country's independence.

"It is precisely the successful development and growing popularity of the Ukrainian language in our country over recent years that has become one of the reasons for Russia's full-scale invasion. A clear example of this is the aggressor's attempt to force teachers in temporarily occupied areas to teach exclusively in Russian at schools. This is just one manifestation of Russian fascism," — Andriy Pavelka believes.

Photo by the UAF press service

In response to Pavelka's argument, such an aggressive approach by the occupiers in occupied territories will only have a reverse effect. "We, our children and grandchildren without any coercion and with great pleasure will communicate in Ukrainian both in the West and in the East, in the Ukrainian Crimea, and throughout the territory of our state. I hope that over time, Ukrainian will also become one of the official football languages at UEFA level," — Andriy Pavelka noted.

Photo by the UAF press service