During his work visit to Khmelnytskyi, the president of the Ukrainian Football Association and head of the UAF Coordination Center, Andriy Pavelko, together with First Vice President of the UAF Vadym Kostyuchenko and head of the oblast football association Ihor Khilblym, met with the head of the oblast military administration Serhiy Gamaliyev and Mayor Oleksandr Symschyn.

During the meeting, they discussed issues related to cooperation between local authorities, the football community in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, and the UAF Coordination Center in implementing a number of humanitarian projects aimed at supporting children displaced from conflict zones and military personnel defending Ukraine's independence.

Photo by the UAF press service

"“I am grateful to the head of Khmelnytskyi Oblast and the mayor of the oblast center for their support of our initiatives. We continue fruitful cooperation! I am proud of the regional football association team led by reliable Ihor Khilblym, which has actively participated in all our humanitarian programs since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and accomplished a great deal of work! It is important both for our football community and local authorities that hundreds of children from Kharkiv, Severodonetsk, Mariupol, Sumy, Bucha, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Mykolayiv, Kherson, and Berdiansk, who have found temporary shelter in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, receive not only necessary care but also conditions for learning and playing football.”" — Andriy Pavelko said.

Photo by the UAF press service

Representatives of the UAF also met with displaced children in Khmelnytskyi together with the head of the regional football association and presented them with balls. "“The youngest of our young football players is only two years old, but playing with a ball already is his favorite activity. The older ones have more experience, train daily, and dream about returning to competitions. Full-scale aggression by Russian fascists forced their families to seek refuge far from home, which is a great stress for the children. This will be alleviated by the care of adults and new friends from all corners of Ukraine, which also contributes to uniting Ukrainians from every part of our homeland.”" — noted the president of the UAF.