September 27-28 at the "Centro Bosco" stadium in Lviv, took place the second round of the first Ukrainian amputee football championship, which is being implemented by the Ukrainian Football Association as part of a social project called "League of Strong."

The tournament, which will last five months, involves 10 teams from different regions of Ukraine: «MSK Dnipro» (Cherkasy), «Pokrova AMP» (Lviv), «Shakhtar Stalevi» (Donetsk), «Burievoy» (Kyiv region), «Crusaders» (Lutsk), «Vinnytsia AMP» (Vinnytsia), «Invincible» (Kharkiv), «Titans» (Zhytomyr), FC «Bartka» (Ivano-Frankivsk), «Vikings» (Ternopil). Most of the players are war veterans who have returned to sports after rehabilitation.

Military personnel undergoing rehabilitation at the Superhumans center also attended the match.

Symbolic moment of the round

The second round of the championship will be remembered not only for its sporting results. Between matches, a touching and personal moment took place for one of the participants. A player from «Pokrova AMP», Mykola Hatala, proposed to his girlfriend right on the football field.

Photo: Dan Balashov

«Lion of the Round»

In the amputee football championship organized by the UAF and its partner, «Lvivskiy,» a permanent award called «Lion of the Round» was introduced. The second round's «lion» was awarded to Mykola Oleksienko from «Pokrova AMP,» who scored five goals.

The championship will run until December 2025. Matches will take place in Kyiv, the Kyiv region, Lviv, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The winner will represent Ukraine at the UEFA European Amputee Football League (EAFF) 2026.

The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Agency for Mass Sports of Ukraine.

Official partners of the Ukrainian Amputee Football Championship include Mastercard and Oschadbank. Project partners also include match broadcaster MEGOGO, Ukrzaliznytsia, «Lvivskiy,» adidas, and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

Photo: Dan Balashov

Championship matches will be broadcast live on the media service MEGOGO and on the YouTube channel of UAF.

*Amputee football — is a sport for people with amputations or congenital limb deficiencies. The game follows these main rules. On the field, there are 7 players (6 outfield and one goalkeeper). Outfield players must have an amputation or lower limb deficiency, while the goalkeeper must have an upper limb deficiency. Outfield players move on crutches without prostheses, and goalkeepers play without crutches. The game consists of two halves of 25 minutes each with a 10-minute break in between. The pitch is smaller than 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.

In Ukraine, there live over 100,000 people with amputated limbs. For many of them, amputee football opens a path to physical and psychological recovery, returning to an active life and joining communities of like-minded individuals.

Photo: Dan Balashov

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

In a year, centers for amputee football were established in 18 cities across Ukraine: Boryspil, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhya, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Lutsk, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, and Chernihiv. The project has spurred the creation of 20 teams that are dynamically developing and promoting amputee football across Ukraine. In total, over 500 players have been recruited who actively train, develop their skills, and participate in competitions.

In January 2025, the first tournament, the Winter Cup of «League of Strong,» was held with five teams participating. In March, the «League of Strong» team played an historic match against the Red Flamingos in Belgium and won 1-0. And already in May, the Spring Cup of «League of Strong» took place, involving eight teams.

Less than a year after its existence, "League of Strong" became a laureate of the prestigious UEFA Football Awards 2025 in the category of "National Association."

Photo: Dan Balashov

*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 overcoming war consequences, using the unifying power of football for positive changes in society.