On May 14 in the city of Kosiv, located in Ivano-Frankivsk region, another event within the FIFA TDS project aimed at searching for and developing young football talents was held.

The excellent organization of the event ensured comfortable conditions for children who had to demonstrate their best natural abilities, namely: speed, explosive power, coordination, and agility.

Photo by the press service of UAF

A total of 152 young athletes born between 2007 and 2011 completed a full set of planned tests and received commemorative medals and certificates from organizers as participants in the FIFA TDS testing program.

The head of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Football Association, who showed great dedication to organizing the event, Taras Klim, noted in his welcoming speech that this day, marked by testing for children, should become the beginning of their great football career.

Photo by the press service of UAF

Children from the following educational institutions directly participated in the event:

— Verbovetska Gymnasium;

— Kosiv Lyceum No. 1;

— Kosiv Lyceum No. 2;

— Kozmatyckiy Lyceum;

— Pystynskiy Lyceum;

— Starokutsky Lyceum;

— Sheleshorska Gymnasium;

— Rozhnyvskiy and Yablonivska Hromadas were represented by several educational institutions.

Note

The Ukrainian Football Association, despite the most challenging period for our country, became one of the associations that joined FIFA's new talent development program (FIFA Talent Development Scheme).

The author and main coordinator of the program is renowned coach Arsène Wenger, head of the global football development department at FIFA. He emphasizes that giving a chance to every talent, regardless of where and when they were born, should be a strategic activity and responsibility of each national association around the world (with centralized support and leadership on a global level from FIFA). The launch of the program was preceded by an extensive global research process in each of the 211 member associations of FIFA.

Photo by the press service of UAF

Within the pilot project for implementing the talent development program, the Ukrainian Football Association focused on identifying young talents through testing their natural physical abilities and further organizational support for developing identified potential talents. This process must undoubtedly be nationwide. However, at this stage, the focus is regional—namely Hromadas, towns, and villages, children from which have never been covered by similar testing—and, above all, organized football processes.

The main tool of the project is an analytical system specifically developed for testing children aged 8 to 12 years old to assess their physical abilities and potential development in case they are involved in professionally organized training processes. Both boys and girls participate in the program.