The Ukrainian Football Association continues to work on raising awareness among those who work with children about the protection of minors in football. Thus, a module on child protection in football has been included in the training programs "Diploma D UAF" and "UEFA C License," which are conducted by the UAF.

On January 5, participants of the UEFA C License training program attended an introductory webinar on child protection. The goal was to familiarize attendees with UEFA's concept and tools for protecting children in football, as well as the activities of the UAF regarding child protection, including the UAF Child Protection Policy, and to improve practical skills and motivation aimed at creating a safer environment for children in football.

Photos courtesy of the UAF press service

"Today, this is a very relevant module, and, in large part, the philosophy of our coaches is at a turning point. Currently, guidelines for interacting with children have been established, along with recommendations on behavior during training sessions. The reaction from our participants is interested; they already understand what they know how to do with children without crossing the line into violence or disrespect," — noted the course coordinator Valeriy Zolotukhin.

Photos courtesy of the UAF press service

Among the participants are Yuriy Chystov and Sofia Sidlyar.

Yuriy has been coaching at DUFK "Athletic" (Odessa) for only six months, but he has been a father of a football player for over six years.

"When on July 1, due to a rocket strike in the resort town of Sergiyivka, my son's coach and president of DUFK "Athletic," Oleksandr Shyshkov, was killed, I was approached by parents from our team asking me to train their children. Since then, two new groups of kids have been added to my roster, and their number has significantly increased.

Photos courtesy of the UAF press service

On the courses, I received a huge amount of useful information, but I singled out something for myself. From now on, I will be more careful about my behavior and actions because even the smallest action can be misinterpreted," — Yuriy comments on his future challenges. He also plans to establish relationships with children whose behavior is more reserved.

Sofia Sidlyar has been working as a youth coach at FC "Champions" and press officer for FC "Kolos" (Soфиївка) since the age of 14. She also conducts individual sessions with children and adults.

"I really enjoyed the child protection module; I consider this topic important, it needs to be talked about.

The modern world can often be very harsh, not just for adults but also for children. I believe that as coaches, we are responsible for protecting a child from this harshness and fostering human qualities in them.

In my team, a microclimate has been created where all the kids respect each other; they are friends both during training and outside of it.

Photos courtesy of the UAF press service

Also, my task as a coach is to help them during puberty. I remember myself at this age very well; how many insults I heard both in school and among peers. There were so many complexes that society imposed on me, but it was precisely the coach, training, and desire to achieve my goal that helped me cope with this.

I really liked the idea of creating behavior codes that can be developed for parents, children, and coaches. This would be an official document from the club, which each child and their parents would be familiarized with.

The new generation of coaches must combat the old system of training where physical and psychological violence, bullying, insults, and even fights were considered normal. We need to foster mutual respect, kindness, perseverance, and love for sports," — Sofia concluded.

At the end of the webinar, three most active participants received a paper copy of "The UAF Child Protection Policy." We remind you that the document is available here. 

In addition to the webinar, participants must complete online courses from UEFA, which are available on the online platform https://uefa-safeguarding.eu/. They offer a basic course "Child Protection in Football Awareness," as well as specialized courses for coaches and one about engaging children in their protection. After completing these online courses, all participants will receive corresponding certificates. Currently, the UAF is working on translating UEFA's online courses into Ukrainian.

The introduction of a child protection module once again confirms the desire of the Ukrainian Football Association to create conditions for safe football activities regardless of age, gender, ethnic background, social origin, religion, ability level or disability, etc.

The UAF will continue working on raising awareness about child protection, and such webinars will be held in the future.