The Pankevsky NVK in Bukovina has hosted another cycle of sessions within the UEFA Playmakers project, which is implemented by the Ukrainian Football Association and the Chernivtsi Oblast Football Association.

Pankev is the third center for this project in Chernivtsi Oblast. Nataliya Alexyuk and Illia Pobizhan work with the children here.

Nataliya Alexyuk reports: "The sessions were bright and emotional. The children especially enjoyed filling out their Playmakers diary, where they marked down their emotions, achievements, favorite games, and accomplishments. This allowed each child to feel unique and progress, as well as better understand how mood and behavior change depending on the situation."

Photo by AFCO

A special moment was that the girls independently chose their favorite games, which gave them more freedom, motivation, and responsibility. They happily showed various emotions, reenacting scenes from Inside Out 2, and learned how to deal with these emotions in real life.

This year, new participants joined the program and quickly integrated into the group, showing great interest in all activities. For them, it was interesting, fun, and educational. The older group is particularly captivated by quests and competitive games. They love completing tasks for speed, logic, and teamwork, demonstrating not only physical skills but also leadership qualities and ingenuity. Such a format turns each meeting into an actual adventure filled with emotions, discoveries, and positive drive.

Photo by AFCO

We sincerely thank the Ukrainian Football Association for this wonderful opportunity to be part of the UEFA Playmakers program! For our girls, it is not just football sessions — it's a space where they can develop, play, learn to understand themselves and others, enjoy every step and victory. We are also grateful for the provided equipment — this is great support that inspires us to move forward. Every ball, pin, and cone has become an instrument of joy, movement, and team games.

It's a pleasure to be part of such a good initiative, and we very much want to continue participating in the program in the future. Because here something more than just football is happening — confidence, friendship, and happy childhood are being born here.

The goals of the UEFA Playmakers project implemented by the Ukrainian Football Association:

• to introduce girls to football, creating an environment for them where fun, friends, and football are at the center;
• to implement a new individual coaching approach that uses imagination (inspired by Disney stories and characters) as a tool for training and acquiring football skills;
• to refine girls' life skills, basic movement skills, and teach them the basics of football to foster lifelong interest in the sport.