The Ukrainian Football Association is a partner in the «BESIDE» project, aimed at providing psychosocial support to children and youth through sports activities.

Recovery through sport – a new direction of the joint project by MОН and UNICEF «BESIDE», which aims to provide psychosocial assistance to children, youth, and families affected by war. «BESIDE» includes group psychological support sessions, art therapy, master classes, healthy nutrition development, and sports activities.

The sports component of the project is implemented by the charitable fund «Development of Football in Ukraine» in partnership with the Ukrainian Football Association and with the support of UEFA Children's Fund.

Already at the first stage, in April, training was organized for a network of specialists (psychologists, physical education teachers, medical volunteers) who will work with children and youth over the next five months. The Ukrainian Football Association also organized training on child protection for project specialists.

Photo by UAF

Starting from the second half of May, parents will be able to bring their children to sports fields where young children and youth will engage in playful activities alongside psychologists, physical education teachers, and medical volunteers.

Sports fields will be divided into zones where children will alternately work with a psychologist, play active games with a football ball, and at the end, medical volunteers will inform and demonstrate what to do in case of injuries. Overall, this format of work will contribute to psychological recovery after traumatic experiences and overcoming fears.

Sports activities for children within the «BESIDE» project will be introduced in eight regions of Ukraine: Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Volyn, Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Zakarpattia.

Follow the project on our social media pages.