The Ukrainian Football Association announces the recruitment of participants for the first children's camp dedicated to amputee football, which will take place within a new direction of the "League of Strong" project — "Children’s League of Strong."

The camp will be held from August 7–11 in one of Ukraine's western regions and will be free for children and their guardians.

The project was created for children with amputations or functional impairments. Amputee football does not require special physical abilities — only the desire to try: on the streets or with a prosthesis, in the field or at the goalposts, the camp is open to everyone.

The Project's Goal

The "Children’s League of Strong" project emerged as a response to stereotypes that often left children with various diagnoses outside the bounds of active social life. The goal of the project is to give them the opportunity to fully realize themselves, find support and like-minded individuals already in childhood.

"This project was created to engage children with amputations into community development so that they can socialize more, find their place, and have the chance to live a full life within society. Previously, many people with different diagnoses remained outside its bounds — now we are creating this opportunity for them," noted Nazariy Specialnyi, coach of the "Children’s League of Strong" project.

According to the coach, children who have already joined amputee football teams demonstrate striking changes: they open up, find their calling and are treated by teammates as equal players — without any special treatment or attitudes.

Camp Program

Participants will be offered twice-daily training sessions, as well as an additional developmental program: quizzes and interactive activities, media literacy lessons, cybersecurity basics, and personal hygiene. In the future, organizers plan to involve national team players in the camp.

Throughout the entire camp, parents or guardians will be nearby with their children, and participants will receive support from psychologists.

The impact of amputee football on children was described by Oxana Paliy, mother of Mykhailo — the mascot of the "Pokrova AMP" team and one of the future camp participants:

"At first, I did not take amputee football seriously — I had never heard of it before. But from the very first training session, Mykhailik really enjoyed it, and this positively influenced him: he started dancing with the boys, singing, feeling comfortable around them. I'm very glad that we joined 'Pokrova AMP,' " Oxana noted, while Mykhailo added: "I like playing amputee football — I can find myself here. I feel like a regular person. The guys in the team treat each other simply, sometimes even joking about amputation — they just communicate as normal people."

Camp Details

When: August 7–11.

Where: western region of Ukraine.

Cost: free for the child and guardian.

Registration is open. You can fill out the registration form here.

Contact Information

Bogdan Melnyk (project manager) — 0673717878

Nazariy Specialnyi (coach) — 0688538410

The program is implemented by the Ukrainian Football Association within the social project "Children’s League of Strong" with support from the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine as part of the Development Cooperation and Democracy Support Programme.