UEFA GROW Football Development Project Implementation Seminar Launched in Kyiv

16.07.2019 22:07

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Today, July 16, a seminar on "Sustainable development of football for Ukrainian society as a result of UEFA GROW projects" started in Kyiv.

The event was attended by the coordinator of UEFA programs for the development of grassroots football and the UEFA GROW project Igor Yankovich, representatives of football associations of Belarus and Romania, who came to Ukraine to learn or share experiences of the UEFA program, which includes the development of amateur, children's, women's football people with disabilities and veterans.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

UAF Workshop was represented on the first day of work by UAF First Vice-President Oleg Protasov, UAF Secretary General Yuri Zapisotsky, UAF Deputy Secretary General Andriy Bondarenko, UEFA GROW Pilot Project Leader Oksana Lesik, UEFA Mass Soccer Manager.

As part of the UEFA grassroots football development program, three oblasts were selected - Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk - which will be pilot regions for the GROW project. Its main goal is to fight physical inactivity through the promotion of football, expand opportunities for coaches, find hidden talents and increase the number of people who play football.

"I am glad that Ukraine has joined the project, which has already been successfully implemented in several Eastern European countries. During the seminar, representatives of Poland, Romania and Belarus will share their experience, which I am sure will be successfully used in Ukraine, which is very fond of football and has great success, as evidenced by the victory of your country's youth team at the World Cup in Poland . After a systematic study within the GROW program, we will be able to understand where there is still room for improvement, ie how best to develop school, women's and children's football, as well as - what is needed from UEFA to achieve high rates of football development in Ukraine. With the support of all units aimed at the development of football and sports in general, we hope to show a really high result in the development of grassroots football in two years, "said Igor Yankovich, UEFA GROW project coordinator, at the opening of the seminar.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"Thank you for helping us in our desire to develop," Oleg Protasov addressed the seminar participants from Europe. - Yes, we have a football country, but we still have something to work on. Mass football is our priority. We need to give children, people in general, even those who rarely play, the right direction so that they love football even more. I started playing football in the yard myself, but it was a disorganized hobby. Therefore, our goal is to provide conditions, organize children and direct them in the right direction, and therefore, in my opinion, this is a very cool project, and it has great prospects. "

"I would like to congratulate all the participants of the seminar and thank the representatives of the regional federations of Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk, which will be pilot projects for the development of UEFA grassroots football under the GROW program. I am sure that you and I will make a good start, and then the whole of Ukraine will pick it up, ”said Yuriy Zapisotsky.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

In the second part of the seminar, representatives of the Polish, Belarusian and Romanian federations spoke about the successful implementation of the GROW program. Under this program, UEFA proposes to make a global structuring - to create a single database that will store information about the number of players in football clubs in different areas.

“The aim of the seminar was to share experiences with our colleagues from the countries where the GROW project was successfully implemented - Romania, Poland and Belarus, which showed good results. GROW is about growth, about football for all with equal opportunities, about expanding access to football for children, women, veterans and people with disabilities. We want to move away from the competitive principle and give the opportunity to just enjoy the game. The emphasis, of course, will be on children, so that the main goal is not victory, but participation, to instill a love for football, give the opportunity to make new friends, separate children from the street and crime, "said Oksana Lesyk, talking about the pilot project. in Ukraine.

Summing up, the hosts thanked their European colleagues and expressed confidence that football will continue to develop successfully in Ukraine - including within the GROW project.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov