Youth football tournament "Ukraine Unity Cup 2024" held in Kyiv

13.09.2024 19:56

The second annual youth football tournament "Ukraine Unity Cup" was held in Kyiv, a tournament initiated in 2023 by the UN Refugee Agency in partnership with the charity fund Rokada and the Ukrainian Association of Football.

The tournament aims to highlight the role of football as a unique and powerful tool that unites people, promotes physical and mental health, and aids in the integration of internally displaced persons into host communities.

This year’s competition featured eight teams:

- Novovolynsk (Volyn Oblast);

- Irpin (Kyiv Oblast);

- Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhia Oblast);

- Lubny (Poltava Oblast);

- Khmelnytskyi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast);

- Solomna (Khmelnytskyi Oblast);

- Cherkaske (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast);

- Novomoskovsk (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast).

A total of 80 children participated, with each team consisting of two girls. The teams were made up of displaced children and children from host communities.

Photo by Dan Balashov

Honored guests at the event included Senior Community-Based Protection Associate of the UN Refugee Agency Iryna Kostyuk, UNHCR Protection Officer Danielle Scarpassa Do Prado, Head of the Board of the Rokada charity foundation Nataliya Hurzhiy, Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Coordinator at Rokada Dmytro Petrosyuk, Ukrainian football legend Oleh Luzhnyi, and UAF Social Responsibility Manager Iryna Makarevych.

Photo by Dan Balashov

According to the regulations, the participants were divided into two groups of four teams. The teams that placed first in their groups played in the final, while the second-place teams competed for third place. The teams that finished third in their groups played for fifth and sixth places, and those that finished fourth played for seventh and eighth places.

Match for 3rd Place

Solomna (Khmelnytskyi Oblast) — Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhia Oblast) — 2:0

Photo by Dan Balashov

Final

Novomoskovsk (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) — Novovolynsk (Volyn Oblast) — 2:0

The winners received trophies, while all participants were awarded sports equipment, shirts, caps, diplomas, and medals for participation.

Photo by Dan Balashov

Individual Awards:

Best Goalkeeper: Oleksandr Yevstafiev (Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia Oblast);

Best Defender: Dmytro Yavdyk (Novovolynsk, Volyn Oblast);

Best Striker: Mariya Liulko (Solomna, Khmelnytskyi Oblast);

Best Player: Maksym Movchanov (Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast).

Photo by Dan Balashov