The head coach of the Ukraine national team, Serhiy Rebrov, visited a village of a fallen war hero, gifted football souvenirs to children of deceased defenders and held an autograph session for all members of the local sports club.

The story of this visit goes back to last month when the head coach and players of the national team met with families of fallen heroes during a training camp in Prague as part of the "Heroes' Stand" project. It was then that Viktor Yarmol's mother, Oksana, invited Serhiy Rebrov to her village where her son and other men who gave their lives for Ukraine grew up. And less than a month later, the coach of blue-and-yellow fulfilled his promise by arriving in Zolochevsky community, located on Kyiv Oblast.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

The honored and desired guest was eagerly awaited by parents and children. For five years now, a sports club called "Danapris" (the Latin name for Dnipro) has been operating here where children from local villages aged 5 to 14 practice football in five age groups. Previously, football lessons took place in the gym of the local lyceum, but a month ago an outdoor football pitch was opened here, giving children the opportunity to hone their skills on grass. The initiative for constructing the pitch came from Oksana Yarmol, who donated the entire state compensation received after her son's death towards this cause. And with the help of the Ukrainian Football Association and FC "Left Bank," the mother of a defender's wish was realized.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

"My son was a passionate football fan, he had a shirt with number 11 of Serhiy Rebrov hanging on his wall. He never missed any match, football meant a lot to him. Now when I see children practicing on this pitch, I feel an unbreakable connection with my son and know that he would be happy seeing how football is developing in his native village and who visits it." — Oksana Yarmol shared her emotions.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

At the beginning of the meeting, First Vice President of UAF Vadim Kostyuchenko and Serhiy Rebrov himself emphasized the importance of supporting families of our heroes and generally Ukrainian military in difficult wartime. Firstly, the coach of blue-and-yellow gifted football balls with autographs and other souvenirs from the national team to children and relatives of 17 deceased residents of Zolochevsky community who gave their lives for their country. In particular, he presented a personalized shirt of Oleksandr Zhinenko signed by him and a ball with signatures of all players of Ukraine's national team to the daughter of fallen hero Serhiy Dragomeretsky in honor of whom a football tournament is planned.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

After that, the head coach of the national team held an autograph session for all children who practice football at the local sports club.

"I always say that we must constantly support our heroes and their families. This is more important than any other task we undertake because everything we do now is thanks to our defenders. Our nation has no choice but to unite, and thanks to this we will definitely win." — Serhiy Rebrov said in a comment to the UAF press service.

The football holiday for Zolochevsky community continued with a football master class conducted by instructors of UAF, honored teachers and coaches of Ukraine Liana Kopilova, Serhiy Chesheyko, Vitaliy Titaryuk and Oleg Shust for schoolchildren.

For further practice, children from the local sports club and their coaches received equipment and football balls from UAF.