The initiative of the Ukrainian Football Association and Kirovohrad Oblast Football Association "Inclusive Football Sections" has been successfully presented at the Kropyvnytskyi Educational-Rehabilitation Center.

The project's trainer, Bohdan Horelenko, works with children with special educational needs, while the coordinator from KOAF is Oleksiy Kravchenko.

"The goal of our inclusive section's sessions is to unlock the potential of our students with special educational needs, provide them with motivation to engage in football regardless of their physical development or psychological state, unite boys and girls of different age categories, thereby promoting gender equality."

Photo KOAF

During the sessions, students learned various football exercises and games with partners. At the end of each lesson, we summarized the outcomes, provided feedback together with the children in a light and comfortable conversation.

After completing the cycle of lessons, parents noted that their children's activity levels increased, their mental and physical state improved, they became more open, and most participants expressed a desire to continue playing football," — observed project trainer Bohdan Horelenko.

Photo KOAF

Main goals of the project:

— to improve the mental and physical state of children with disabilities and special educational needs through their involvement in sports activities and socialization;

— to change society's attitude towards people with disabilities and children with special educational needs;

— to provide access to inclusive sports training;

— to unlock the potential of children;

— to unite children and adults, regardless of physical or psychological development;

— to provide motivation for mass football for all children, regardless of abilities, gender, social issues;

— to activate local communities through intersectoral networks (teachers, coaches, psychologists, parents, youth leaders, local authorities, patrons, etc.).

Thanks to the UFA, sections are equipped with children's football uniforms, balls, and necessary sports equipment.