The Slavsk Territorial Community has become the first in Lviv Oblast and fourth in Ukraine to implement FIFA's "Search and Development of Young Talents" program through the Ukrainian Football Association (UFA).

Last week, with the support of the Slavsk City Council, FC Lviv, and OKKO fuel station network, UFA conducted testing for children from 16 local schools. Over three days, 600 boys and girls aged seven to twelve participated in football tests.

Photo by UFA press service

Children jumped in length from a standing position, ran with and without the ball over distances of 10, 20, and 30 meters. There were also two interesting tests, "Illinois" and "Smart Goals," to check coordination and running skills.

Based on the test results, the national association calculates a single score for all participants and enters the data into the Football-Test Online platform. The most talented young football players are offered admission to local DYSKs where FIFA's talent development program is implemented.

Photo by UFA press service

"&Not all will become professional football players, but the main thing is that our children love football and have the opportunity to join their favorite game. And playing also helps our little ones not think about war in these difficult times. Seeing these happy faces is priceless!"— notes First Vice President of UFA Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko.

The second part of the project involves training physical education teachers and coaches. They received "D-diploma" licenses from Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko and Vadym Kostyuchenko. And the honored guests presented children with medals and certificates in memory of the sports event.

Photo by UFA press service

By year-end, UFA plans to hold another 20 similar events. Within the first phase of the pilot project in April, UFA already conducted testing for children and trained coaches in Kuyalnytska OTG (Podillya city, Odesa Oblast), Kivercivska OTG (Kiverci city, Volyn Oblast) and Rivnenska OTG (Rivne village, Volyn Oblast), involving nearly 1,200 people.