During a working trip to Zhytomyr, the president of the Ukrainian Football Association and head of the UAF Coordination Center, Andriy Pavelko, together with the first vice-president of the UFA Vadym Kostyuchenko, met with the head of the regional military administration Vitaliy Bunychenko, mayor Sergiy Sukholyhin, and the head of the Zhytomyr Regional Football Association Ruslan Pavlyuk.

Photo by the press service of UFA

The main topic of discussion was deepening cooperation between the UAF Coordination Center, local authorities, and the football community in various areas. Since the beginning of the full-scale war with Russian occupiers, the regional association has organized a whole volunteer movement, which all employees of the organization's office joined. This involves humanitarian and logistical aid to people who were evacuated from the conflict zone, as well as medical facilities that care for the wounded, and soldiers defending Ukraine's independence. In addition, with the support of UFA, several groups of young football players have been successfully evacuated, including to Poland, Germany, and Austria.

Photo by the press service of UFA

As Andriy Pavelko noted, the interaction between Zhytomyr's authorities, the UAF Coordination Center, and the regional association led by Ruslan Pavlyuk is extremely effective because cooperation between organizations was established long ago. "We have been cooperating fruitfully with the leaders of Zhytomyr and the region for a long time now. Specifically, last year we opened the reconstructed city stadium 'Polesye' together with the mayor and head of OVA. Today we closely cooperate to achieve a common victory for Ukraine against Russian occupiers," said the president of UFA.

Photo by the press service of UFA

Near the office of the Zhytomyr Regional Football Association is school № 25, which was hit by a Russian bomb in March. The building is half-destroyed. But nearby, an intact football pitch remains where children play football even now. Adults could not resist and joined the game with these fearless young players. Also, the president of UFA expressed hope that after reconstruction, this school will create better conditions for both learning and sports activities for local children. "We will try to come to its opening ceremony and once again play football with this brave team of boys," promised Andriy Pavelko.