On May 24, a meeting took place at the Kyiv Football House between President of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Shevchenko and General Secretary of the UFA Ihor Gryshchenko with representatives of football media, journalists, and bloggers.

In this format, the president of the UFA has already met with leaders of regional associations, clubs from the UPL and PFL (links to news about this).

"I am glad to welcome you to the Football House! We invited you here to discuss Ukrainian football. Your opinion is important to us, as we work together in a very challenging time."

Recently, I was at the FIFA Congress, had many meetings, and spoke with representatives of many countries around the world. Many were interested in information about Ukraine and surprised by the fact that for two years now our national championship has been running, our national teams are playing, and they are involved in all tournaments.

I think this is a great victory for all of us, for the entire football community. For journalists, club presidents, those who fulfill their duties every day.

Photo by Dina Balashova

Why do I say this is our victory? Because football has a huge influence in the world. It's a very powerful force, and it's important that we use it correctly. And for this, we must thank Ukraine's defenders!

Our national championship is coming to an end, and I would like to congratulate the winner, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, who also became the Cup champion. My congratulations go out to the players, coaching staff, employees, and president of the club!

I want to say that Dynamo Kyiv and Kryvbas showed very good football this season and tried to be worthy competitors for the miners.

Also wanted to congratulate FC Karpaty and FC Ingulets on their promotion to the Premier League. I think everyone was waiting for FC Karpaty, as it is a powerful club with great traditions. FC Ingulets is currently building its stadium, so we expect them in the next season.

I believe we can start our discussion, which I hope will be positive," — said Andriy Shevchenko in his opening remarks.

After this, representatives of the media and UFA leaders discussed current football issues for more than two hours.

Many questions were raised, including about the budget of the UFA for 2024, which journalists received directly at the event. For the first time in its existence, the national football association shared its financial plans for the year, approved by the Executive Committee of the UFA.

Answers to journalists' questions from the leaders of the UFA will be available later on the website of the UFA.