On June 10, the women's national team of Ukraine in futsal departed from San Marino to Italy, to Bologna, where they are currently holding their second training camp. On June 15, the blue and yellow team will play a friendly match against the Italian national team in Prato (kick-off at 7:00 PM CET), while on June 16 (9:30 PM) their opponent will be the "Banjolo" team representing the second-tier local division.

The day before the game against Italy, the head coach of Ukraine's women's national futsal team Oleg Shaytanov and captain Yulia Forsyuk spoke with journalists. Their words are quoted by the press service of the Football Federation of Ukraine.

"Firstly, I would like to express gratitude to Italy for their support. The phrase 'futsal family' has always sounded abstract, but today, during the war when Ukraine is fighting for its existence, your support is very meaningful. Many countries have shown a desire to help us, and Italy did not remain indifferent. This is truly a real futsal family. I would like to thank you again for this."

All our thoughts are with Ukraine, with our relatives and friends. Every morning we wake up hoping for positive news from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, we also understand that our front is here today. Each time when the name of our country rings out — it's a victory for Ukraine.

Ukrainians are a strong nation. During the war, they can win two matches in the Nations League as our national football team did. During the war, Ukraine can triumph at Eurovision, as Kalush Orchestra did in Turin. It's time for the women's futsal national team to represent Ukraine at the European Championship. The occupiers cannot conquer our country. We will win this war because we are strong and with support, we become even stronger!

Photo by Paola Libratalo

"I would like to thank the Italian Football Federation and the city of Bologna for supporting us, inviting us here, and giving us the opportunity to train and prepare for the European Championship at such a difficult time for us. Of course, while we are here, we train, laugh, relax, and sometimes even forget about what is happening in our country.

However, no matter where we are — we always communicate with our relatives and friends who stayed in Ukraine. Naturally, everyone thinks about the war and those who remain in our country. I would like to express great gratitude to all people involved in making it possible for our team to assemble fully and prepare for the European Championship. This is very important for us.

Of course, Euro is a tournament where we want to showcase ourselves as athletes to the maximum extent, but the upcoming final four will be not only a sporting competition for us, but also an appeal to Europe and the world. We want more people to remember that there is a war in Ukraine and support our country! We strongly support all those who stayed in Ukraine. Extremely grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Thanks to this tournament, we also want to show the unbreakable spirit of the Ukrainian nation and try to appeal to the world to make more efforts for a Ukrainian victory. We want there to be as many mentions of our country on TV screens and in the Internet as possible. The team will fight not only for medals but also for our people. I believe that the bright future of Ukraine will come sooner."

Composition of the Women's National Futsal Team of Ukraine

Goalkeepers— Viktoriya Sagaydachna, Anastasia Teresh, Natalia Mytrofanova, Viktoriya Kislava; field players — Yulia Forsyuk, Xenia Gryzhenko, Iryna Dubitska, Alona Kirilchuk, Snejana Volovenko, Yulia Titova, Sofia Ruban, Xenia Burlachenko, Yana Dychko, Taisiya Babenko, Oleksandra Skibina, Mariya Vaskovets, Polina Drozd, Khrystyna Yeremenko.

Recall that the final tournament of the second in history European Championship among women in futsal, which Ukraine's national team will participate in, will take place from July 1 to 3 this year.

Earlier, UEFA announced that the final tournament of the Euro-2022 women's futsal championship, which was scheduled for March 25 to 27 in Portugal, has been postponed. This decision was made after consultations and obtaining consent from the football association of the host country.

Later, UEFA announced new dates for semi-finals and medal matches. The games are scheduled for July 1-3. Thus, on July 1, Ukraine's national team will play the semi-final against Spain. The venue of the final tournament has not changed — all meetings will take place in Gondomar, Portugal.

In another semi-final match, Portugal and Russia were supposed to meet. However, due to Russian military aggression in Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA excluded the national teams of Russia and clubs from all competitions under their auspices. As a result, the women's futsal team of Russia will not participate in the Euro-2022 final tournament. According to UEFA decision, Hungary, which took second place in its group in the main round of qualification, will take part in the continental championship.

Euro 2022 Women's Futsal Championship

July 1, 2022

Semi-final             Ukraine — Spain (7:00 PM)

Semi-final             Portugal — Hungary (11:30 PM)

July 3, 2022

Match for third place (4:30 PM)

Final (8:00 PM)

Recall that in October in Lviv, the national team of Ukraine won its group in the main round of qualification for Euro 2022. The blue and yellow team's opponent in the semi-finals is the current European champion — Spain.