Youth Football Hub and section of the "Open Football Festivals" project in Dnipropetrovska Oblast

In Dnipropetrovska Oblast, a project of the Ukrainian Association of Football and the Dnipropetrovska Oblast Football Association has covered Magdalynivska and Synelnykivska communities.

Youth Football Hub and section of the "Open Football Festivals" project in Dnipropetrovska Oblast

Training sessions for the football section of the project were held at Magdalynivsky Lyceum, involving 24 students, including children of military personnel, those in difficult life circumstances, and from large families.

Over the course of the cycle, 24 training sessions were conducted during which the children mastered technical and tactical elements of football, participated in relay races, dynamic games, learned to work as a team, support each other, and achieve common goals.

The trainings were led by Yuri Zozulya and Vladyslav Redko, who had previously undergone special training within the framework of the project. Thanks to their professionalism, support, and sincere attitude, children not only improved their sports skills but also received necessary psychological support and positive emotions during a difficult time for the country.

According to one of the participants' mothers: "Football classes helped the child become more confident in themselves and open to communication. Football became not only a sport but also a place where new friends appeared, support, and sincere emotions."

In Sineledivka, under the leadership of experienced coach Oleksandr Rodzyn and a team of young leaders who had undergone appropriate training by the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF), activities for a youth football hub were organized. The events involved locations and children from Sineledivka Lyceums No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, Sineledivka DYSHS, Slobozhanska DYSHS, Znamenivska DYSHS.

These were football training sessions for children, including with a child psychologist, fun games and "sweet cups," tournaments in football, futsal, and handball.

 

Words of one participant's mother: "Thank you to the UAF and AFDU for such projects that involve children in sports activities, making them more disciplined and responsible. Thanks to sports, they find new friends and set themselves new goals."

The "Open Football Festivals" project by the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) is:

— youth leadership and development of volunteering in communities; 

— psychosocial support for children of military personnel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), internally displaced persons' children, and those affected by war; 

— an inclusive environment where everyone participates regardless of abilities or gender, including also children with special educational needs; 

— knowledge about safety in wartime; 

— the philosophy of mass football — joy from playing rather than results at any cost; 

— a first football experience for children.