On May 25 at the NTU named after Viktor Bannikov field, an annual football tournament in memory of Colonel Igor Pavlov - a hero who died in 2015 while performing combat tasks in the ATO zone - took place.

Photo by Anna Hetsman

The tournament has already taken place for the fourth time and gathered four teams:

— The Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology named after Heroes of Kрут;

— Main Military Clinical Hospital of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

— Kyiv Military Lyceum named after Ivan Bohun;

— Institute of Special Communication and Information Protection of KPI.

The tournament was organized with the support of the Ukrainian Football Association, the Pechersky District State Administration in Kyiv, and the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology named after Heroes of Kрут.

Photo by Anna Hetsman

«Dear organizers and participants of the tournament! I am glad to welcome you and sincerely thank you for your participation. We gathered here not only for a competition in our favorite game, but also to honor the memory of a person who gave their life for Ukraine - Colonel Igor Pavlov, head of the Tactical and Special Training Department at VITU. This tournament is a symbol of our gratitude, a way to preserve his memory and pay tribute to every hero who died for our country. I wish you team spirit, honest competition, may skill and mutual respect prevail on the field. Glory to Ukraine!» — addressed the audience Brigadier General Oleksiy Kovalenko, head of VITU named after Heroes of Kрут.

Photo by Anna Hetsman

«I want to thank everyone who preserves the memory of my father and honors all fallen heroes of Ukraine. May the strongest prevail in honest competition on the football field.», — said Igor Pavlov's daughter Aliona, who had the honor of making the first kick-off.

The tournament was held in a round-robin format. According to the results of the matches, the winner was the team of VITU named after Heroes of Kрут. The second place went to the team of the Main Military Clinical Hospital, and third place - to the team of the Institute of Special Communication and Information Protection of KPI.

Photo by Anna Hetsman

Individual awards:

best goalkeeper — Yaroslav Andrushenko;

best defender — Andriy Hrybunko;

best forward — Oleh Koliysnyk;

best player — Vitaliy Tarasov.

All winners were awarded cups and medals, as well as football calendars and flags.