The central stadium in the village of Gorodok is bustling and crowded. The football field is divided into six locations, each buzzing with activity. Children run around, dodge balls, work on their shooting and passing accuracy, and play football. A true hive of soccer activity.

All the children are participants in a large-scale nationwide project called "Open Football Festivals" by the Ukrainian Football Association. This time, the Gorodok village council gladly agreed to host it under the coordination of the Rivne Oblast Football Association.

Photo by ROAF

The festival began with a ceremonial part. Addressing the attendees were the head of Rivne district administration Yuriy Kolos, the head of the Rivne Oblast Football Association Oleh Kucher, his deputy Oleksandr Hily and the head of education, culture, youth and sports department of the Gorodok village council Volodymyr Hrysyuk.

Before the start of the event, all participants and guests observed a moment of silence in memory of fallen defenders of Ukraine.

The festival brought together students from four schools: Gorodok, Karpyliv, Obaryv and Bronytsya. The organizers deliberately formed groups so that children from different institutions could get to know each other and become friends.

"For us, this is our first such experience, and we are grateful for the trust. We divided the children into six groups, there were six locations - relay races, ball games, coordination exercises, police and psychological sessions. It was especially important that we involved schoolchildren who rarely participated in sports competitions before. We did it deliberately because throughout the year there are many such events for students. The event became a celebration of sport and friendship, as well as another step towards developing mass football among children in our community," said volunteer organizer Andriy Shevchuk.

Photo by ROAF

The project we now know as "Open Football Festivals" started in Ukraine in 2010. Under different names, it has continued to this day and continues to attract school youth. These events are held twice a year - in spring and autumn. All equipment used is provided by the UAF and remains with the community.

"Such festivals have already become a good tradition in Ukraine. This time we visited the Gorodok community, which actively develops, especially in football. We saw excellent organization: the field was prepared, children arrived on time, local authorities representatives joined. Everything is at a high level. It's nice that the equipment provided by the association remains with the community after the event," said head of ROAF Oleh Kucher.

In addition to physical activities, students worked with police officers and psychologists from the local community.

"I was invited to the Open Football Festival to provide social-psychological support to children. We worked on how to deal with stress and anxiety, as football is a team game, and not everything always goes as planned. Children learned breathing techniques, methods of calming down and understanding that feeling anxious is normal. It's important for everyone to contribute to the team because only together can we achieve victory," shared thoughts Kateryna Chaban, psychologist from the Gorodok territorial community's Center for Resilience.

For the Gorodok community, this is not their first large-scale sports event.

"It was very honorable to host the Open Football Festival in our community. We do a lot for children's development and sport plays an important role in this process. We believe that during these difficult times for the country, we need to involve children as much as possible in various activities so they are constantly engaged - developing and having fun. I thank the Rivne Oblast Football Association for entrusting us with hosting this event. I think we succeeded and everything was done at a high level because this is not our first large-scale event, so we had experience," said Volodymyr Hrysyuk, head of education, culture, youth and sports department of the Gorodok village council.

Photo by ROAF

The project does not end with one event but rather just begins.

"After the festival, a group of 24 children is formed who will train throughout the autumn-winter period. In spring, there will be another festival where other children will participate. Overall, over the year, there are 24 training sessions, after which the project reports and concludes. Next year, the festival will take place in another community. This is primarily about popularizing football and involving children in sports, including girls, as it's important to adhere to gender equality principles in developing football," said coordinator of the nationwide "Open Football Festivals" project in Rivne Oblast Oleksandr Hily.

The Ukrainian Football Association's "Open Football Festivals" project is:

• youth leadership in communities;
• psychosocial support for children of military servicemen, IDPs, and those affected by the war;
• unity and friendship between IDP children and local children, social integration;
• inclusive environment where everyone participates, including children with special educational needs;
• knowledge of safety in wartime conditions;
• philosophy of mass football - joy from playing rather than results at any cost;
• cultivation of a healthy lifestyle;
• volunteer development;
• activation of local communities through cross-sector networks (youth leaders, teachers, coaches, psychologists, security experts, parents, local authorities, benefactors and others).