May 10-11 at the NTU named after Viktor Bannikov in Kyiv, the second All-Ukrainian amputee football tournament — Spring Cup of the "League of Strong" project, a laureate of the prestigious international UEFA FootbALL Awards 2025 prize — took place.

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The Cup gathered participants from different corners of Ukraine and became another important step in the development of inclusive football. This event proved that sports have no boundaries, and passion for the game, team support, and mental strength overcome any obstacles.

For the first time, the tournament was held in two divisions, the Super League and the First League, which gave an opportunity to showcase both experienced and new teams. Eight collectives from Kyiv, Lviv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Lutsk participated on the field.

First League:

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— «Vinnytsia AMP»;

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— «Dnipro Honor-Invincible» (Dnipro-Kharkiv) team — finalist;

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— «Crusaders» (Lutsk) team — winner.

Super League:

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— «Storm» (Kyiv region);

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— MCK «Dnipro» (Cherkasy);

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— «Pokrova AMP-2» (Lviv);

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— «Shakhtar Steelmen» (Donetsk) team — finalist;

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— «Pokrova AMP» (Lviv) team — winner.

At the award ceremony, Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Ruslan Prykhodko, General Secretary of the UAF Igor Gryshchenko, CEO of Carlsberg Ukraine Oleksandr Khaidakin, Director of Marketing at Oshadbank Serhiy Grabchak, and Regional Marketing Director of Mastercard Olha Hubar were present. They congratulated the winners, presented awards, and handed out gifts.

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«Cup Lion»

A special award, «Cup Lion,» for the best goal-scoring performance was received by player of the «Pokrova AMP» team Dmytro Shegelskyi. This individual award for the top scorer of the tournament was initiated in partnership with the brand «Lvivske.» It was presented personally by CEO of Carlsberg Ukraine Oleksandr Khaidakin.

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Referees who make history

A particularity of this year's tournament was the use of video assistance, for the first time in Europe in amputee football matches. Also, as part of the UAF program to train referees in amputee football, two new referees from the «League of Strong» community joined the refereeing staff. They are player of the amputee football team «Storm,» Oleksandra Zolotukhina, and player of the amputee football team «Shakhtar Steelmen,» Andriy Hrytsiuk.

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Expansion and inspiration

During the tournament, representatives of new amputee football centers from Brovary, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Odesa, and a coach from Ternopil joined open training sessions. The tournament was also visited by singer Fozzy, who supported the initiative to develop adaptive sports in Ukraine. This confirms that «League of Strong» is growing, and more people are finding not just a means of recovery but a new meaning of life in sports.

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The next stop — the Ukrainian Championship in amputee football. And it is already clear that the future of Ukrainian inclusive sports will be strong and inspiring.

The Ukrainian Football Association expresses gratitude for the support of the tournament by socially responsible businesses: official partners Mastercard & Oshadbank, as well as adidas, brand «Lvivske,» Norwegian Football Association, and final match broadcaster MEGOGO.

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Information

*Amputee football is a sport for people with amputations or congenital limb impairments. The game follows these main rules. Seven players are on the field (six outfield and one goalkeeper). Outfield players must have an amputation or impairment of lower limbs, while the goalkeeper must have an upper limb impairment. Outfield players move around the pitch without prostheses, while goalkeepers play without crutches. The match consists of two halves of 25 minutes each with a 10-minute break in between. The size of the pitch is smaller than that of a standard football field (60x40 m). Adapted rules of football are used with an emphasis on player safety. There are women's, men's and mixed teams. This dynamic and exciting sport promotes inclusion and inspires with its spirit of struggle and teamwork.

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Over 100,000 people with amputated limbs live in Ukraine. For many of them, amputee football opens the way to physical and psychological recovery, returning to an active life and self-confidence.

«League of Strong» is a social project of the Ukrainian Football Association that helps people with amputations or impairments of one limb return to an active life and find inspiration through sports. The project covers a wide range of tasks, including recruiting new players, creating teams in cities, organizing training sessions, preparing professionals — coaches and managers, as well as equipping teams with full-fledged sports equipment. UAF also develops the competitive aspect by holding cups and initiating championships.

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Less than a year after its inception, «League of Strong» became the laureate of the prestigious UEFA FootbALL Awards 2025 in the category "National Association."

«UAF Foundation» is a charitable foundation established by the Ukrainian Football Association that implements social projects and fundraising aimed at developing football in Ukraine. The main areas of activity of the foundation include adaptive football, mass children's football, women's football, social support, and restoring sports infrastructure. The foundation also initiates projects related to combating war consequences using the unifying power of football for positive changes in society.