Women in Football Forum: Development of the Field and Year's Symbolic Team Named at the House of Football

More than 100 participants, speakers from FIFA, UEFA, and FIFPRO, the "BEST XI – 2025" ceremony

Women in Football Forum: Development of the Field and Year's Symbolic Team Named at the House of Football

Photo: Dan Balashov

On July 30, the Football House became a venue for one of the key events in Ukrainian women's football — the Forum "Women in Football." The event gathered over 100 representatives from the football community, international organizations, and state institutions and turned into an open discussion about the future of the field.

The Forum was organized by the Ukrainian Football Association in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Association of Professional Footballers. The event's partner was the Swedish trade union organization Union to Union.

What was the forum part about?

Participants focused on three major topics: global trends in women's sports development, the protection of footballers' rights and challenges facing Ukrainian football today. International speakers shared their experience representing FIFA, UEFA, and FIFPRO.

Certain parts of the program were dedicated to anti-doping education within the "Clean Sport" campaign and FIFA initiatives in women's health — an area that has become increasingly prominent on the global agenda over recent years.



"BEST XI – 2025"

The Forum concluded with the ceremony honoring the "BEST XI – 2025" — a symbolic team that includes the strongest players of the Ukrainian championship based on last season's results.

The uniqueness of this award lies in the fact that the team's composition is formed exclusively by professional footballers themselves. The award is part of the annual "Football Stars of Ukraine" ceremony, which has been organized since 2016 by VAFP and UFA based on the principle of the world-famous FIFPRO | FIFA World XI ranking.
 

Symbolic team "BEST XI – 2025"

Goalkeeper:
Kateryna Samson (Sisters)

Defenders:
Olha Basanska, Marina Shainyuk (both — Metalist 1925), Yana Kotik (Glasgow City, Scotland), Kateryna Korsun (Slavia, Czech Republic)

Half-backs:
Daria Apanaschenko, Viktoriya Hryin, Kristine Aleksanyan (all — Metalist 1925), Anna Petrik (Sparta, Czech Republic)

Forwards:
Roksolana Kravchuk (Slavia, Czech Republic), Yana Kalyina (Sisters)

The Kharkiv Metalist 1925 team received the most representation in the symbolic squad — four players. Another four players are currently playing abroad, in Czech and Scottish leagues.