On October 28-29 in Poland, a camp for women's football among individuals with amputated limbs took place. At the invitation of Polish colleagues, a team from Ukraine participated in it for the first time. The Ukrainian team was formed by the Ukrainian Association of Football for People with Disabilities and the Ukrainian Football Association in cooperation with NGO "TABIR MAXIMUM".

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For two days, women intensively trained and played football. For the girls, this was a unique experience as they had only gathered once before at "TABIR MAXIMUM". For one of the girls, Tetiana, the camp in Poland was her first-ever experience participating in such events. Tetiana lost her leg in childhood and it turned out that she never engaged in sports or played football.

«The time we spent at the camp was incredible. We were constantly supported and encouraged, so fatigue quickly passed. Each day was special and interesting. We were surrounded by friendly, sincere people. It's a pity I don't speak Polish — it would have been easier to communicate with participants from Poland... I am very grateful to everyone who organized such a rest for us, experience, and development! Special thanks to the prosthetists who consulted us. I will always remember this trip and look forward to new meetings!»— Tetiana commented, who stood on crutches on a football field for the first time and tried training.

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«For me, rehabilitation through sports is important. It helps to stay in shape and always be active. There's an opportunity to communicate with people like you. I'm grateful for the chance to try myself in a new sport.»— Olga shared her impressions, who is 31 years old, mother of two sons, and a military servicewoman. In 2017, as a result of shelling, Olga lost her leg.

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«Currently, such events are very important because they help understand that life after amputation exists and nothing is impossible, you just need to have the desire.

Effective training may be physically exhausting but emotionally fulfilling. Also, I cannot not mention the support of camp participants, exchanging experiences among girls inspires and awakens new ambitions.»— Lyudmila commented who is 45 years old.

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«Such events are extremely important for both civilians and military personnel who have lost a leg or an arm. Because football or other sports help them stay physically fit, train on the same field with people who have similar problems, exchange experiences, and support each other. In June of this year, the Ukrainian Association of Football for People with Disabilities together with the Ukrainian Football Association started training at NTK named after V. Bannikov fields. Yes, everyone interested can come to us twice a month and try their hand at football. It's not necessary to engage in professional football because we strive to help people who have lost limbs psychologically. Football for amputees is our big project within the continuous development of the Ukrainian Football Association. We thank the Polish Amputee Football Federation for constant support regarding the development of football among amputees in Ukraine. We hope that next year there will be joint events both for women and men. In June next year, our male team will take part in the European Championship which will take place in France with 16 teams participating.»— President of UAFLI Mykola Oskoma commented.

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«For many years, the Ukrainian Football Association has been carrying out an important social mission for us, which consists of comprehensive support for war veterans who have sustained severe injuries and require long-term physical and psychological rehabilitation. Of course, we are happy to help other fellow citizens who unfortunately lost limbs but preserved the most important thing — their faith in themselves and enthusiasm for football. We are ready to assist them by organizing training sessions, competitions, participation in international events, etc. The huge attention from the media towards this topic since the beginning of training for amputee players is evidence of the importance of these events both for society and, above all, for the players and players themselves. Football erases any boundaries, limitations, and unites completely different people, strengthens their cooperation and friendship. The UAF team is happy to be an organizer of this movement.»— First Vice President of UAF Vadim Kostyuchenko emphasized.

After the camp ended, Ukrainian players underwent consultations at a prosthetic center in Rzeszow and two women will soon receive new prostheses.

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