Aware of the power of football to promote important societal values and adhering to principles of social responsibility and sustainable development, the Ukrainian Football Association continued the implementation of an ambitious international project "TARGET: Youth Footballers as Ambassadors for Gender Equality" in Ukraine, involving ambassadors — captain of the national women's team striker Daria Arpuashchenko and goalkeeper of the national men's team Anatoliy Trubin.

"‘Challenge Stereotypes!’" and "‘Win Confidently!’" — with such calls, ambassadors of the mentioned social project will soon address the Ukrainian football community. The project is also being implemented by football associations in Latvia, Estonia, and Malta, involving scientific and pedagogical partners from Italy and a European media network.

"The messages of the project generally correspond to Goal 5 of the UN's Millennium Goals — ‘Achieving Gender Equality’, but each participant chose an aspect most relevant to their national context, " emphasizes coordinator of the expert group on gender equality at UAF Yelizaveta Stepaniuk. "In our communication campaign, the UAF will focus on dispelling gender stereotypes and empowering women, including recognizing women's achievements. Because we understand how stereotypes limit opportunities and development, while undervaluing women's accomplishments and contributions demotivates and deprives us of tapping into the maximum number of talents."

The absolute record holder in Ukrainian football (both among men and women) with 149 matches played and 65 goals scored for the national team, legendary striker Daria Arpuashchenko will share her story, encouraging by example to play football regardless of gender and do so confidently, knowing that football is a sport for women. Both for building a professional sports career and for social integration.

The main goalkeeper of Portuguese FC "Benfica" and representative of the new generation of goalkeepers in Ukraine's national team Anatoliy Trubin will declare that stereotypes about girls and women in football need to be eliminated because they are not conducive to development.

Each ambassador will appear in a series of social videos made for the TARGET project implementation.

The three-year long TARGET project aims to promote gender equality on the football field (in youth football teams) and beyond. Within the project, public opinion research is being conducted among coaches and young players and players in Ukraine, as well as exchanging experiences and practices with all international partners.

In February 2024 in Riga (Latvia), a meeting of all project partners took place, which was attended by the UAF's social responsibility manager Irina Makarevich. During this meeting, the first steps and plans for implementing the project were discussed regarding creating methodology to popularize ideas and scientifically substantiated programs promoting gender equality in sports.

The main joint goal is to form an understanding in each country that there is a place for everyone in football. This sport should be accessible regardless of gender, social status, or other factors. Football is not just competition but also a space for cooperation, support, and equal development. The TARGET project will help overcome stereotypes about football being solely a male game by opening up opportunities for girls and women to achieve success in this sport. Because gender equality in sports also contributes to building a fair society where everyone has equal opportunities to realize their potential.

The TARGET project is implemented within the EU's Erasmus+ Program (Erasmus+) in the field of sports, uniting efforts of several leading European organizations, including the Latvian Football Federation (project coordinator), Estonian Football Association, Maltese Football Association, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, professional school ForModena in Modena (Italy) and independent pan-European media network EURACTIV MEDIA NETWORK B.V. This collaboration opens up new opportunities for football development in Ukraine and building a more equal and inclusive sports environment.

This project was financially supported by the European Commission. This publication reflects only the views of the author, and the commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.