The seminars took place within the framework of the Ukrainian Football Association project "Open Football Festivals," which is being implemented under the donor program "Restoration and Resilience Under Youth Leadership in Ukraine."

During the week in Kyiv, two groups were trained. The first seminar was attended by representatives from Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy regions as well as Kyiv. The second brought together volunteers and young leaders from Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi regions.

The work with participants involved representatives of the UAF Denis Suchoruk, Yevheniy Stolitenko, Ihor Yamborko, Oleksandr Kosevych, Dmytro Chulanov, as well as project experts Liana Kopilova, Vitaliy Titaryuk, Serhiy Chesheyko, Oleksiy Kachan, Olena Timoshenko, Viktoriya Biletska and others.

About Football, Children and Community Work

The basis of the program was youth leadership. Participants presented initial results of their project work in their regions, talked about events they had organized and discussed future plans for youth football hubs.

Special sessions were dedicated to inclusive methods of teaching football for various groups of children, modern approaches to conducting training and football management. Participants also discussed cooperation with parents, resource search for local initiatives and community promotion of mass football projects.

Within the seminars, a new electronic football training program developed in the Shakhtar Social project was presented. It can serve as an additional tool for those organizing activities and events for children.

After Theory – Practice

The practical part took place on the synthetic field of the UAF Training and Preparation Complex for youth and junior national teams.

Regional leaders and mass football coaches worked on technical exercises, interaction, and the development of game skills. They not only participated in sessions but also independently conducted separate training segments to share with colleagues.

This format allowed each participant to test their ideas in practice, receive feedback and enrich their own set of exercises for future work with children.

Plans for Youth Football Hubs

During the training, participants also planned football festivals and their own mini-projects within youth football hubs. Each of them formed a vision for future work in their community.

The knowledge gained by volunteers and young leaders can be applied soon — during the "Open Football Festivals," training sessions, and local football events in their regions.

Certificates for Mass Football Leaders

After completing the seminars, participants received certificates for mass football leaders. They were presented by the UAF Department of Football Development Director Bohdan Hordynyuk, the UAF Mass Football Committee Chairman and UEFA Mass Football Commission member Oleksandr Kadynko, and the UAF Amateur and Mass Football Department Head Denis Suchoruk.

Ahead of the participants are regional work and new football initiatives for children and youth.