Oleg Sobutsky: "We are planning now how to support the national team of Ukraine for Euro 2020"

14.01.2020 21:15

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

The season for the Football Veterans Association of Ukraine does not end for a week. Numerous tournaments for players of different ages, all-Ukrainian and world tour of the national team of Ukraine among veterans…

During a short break related to the holidays, UAF Vice President, AVFU President Oleh Sobutsky shared his impressions from last year and outlined plans for the near future:

- I will start with our latest events, which took place on January 6. In the morning, the whole veteran family congratulated Volodymyr Lozynsky on his 65th birthday, and in a few hours - on his appointment as the head coach of the veterans' team. We sincerely thanked Anatoliy Demyanenko, the team leader who has remained the same for the last four years, and wished him success in working with the Slovak Nitra. I am sure that his professionalism, professionalism and decency will help to fulfill the set tasks. And we will support and support him, as we do with each of our veterans who find a new job. Volodymyr Fedorovych's competence is beyond doubt, he has been in the national team since day one and enjoys the authority of the players. So this year we have many plans, the implementation of which we have already begun to work.

Photo of the press service of AFVU

- I suggest going back to last year. What was he like for veteran football?

- Interesting and difficult at the same time. The Association of Veterans is doing everything possible to bring the competition to a qualitatively new level. We cover almost all the costs of the tournaments - refereeing, stadium rent, medical care, pay the teams for accommodation and meals, after the competition we arrange a joint dinner so that guys from different parts of Ukraine can communicate, cheer up. In total, five championships and Cups of Ukraine in age categories from 35+ to 55+, a New Year's tournament in memory of Kolotov and Rudakov, as well as the Super Cup of Ukraine were held. I want to say about the latter separately, it was our experiment - to form teams of performers of different ages. As a result, 14 teams took part in the tournament, in particular, there were representatives of small towns, where it is much harder to gather players for a team of one age category.

- What competitions are planned for 2020?

- We want to make sure that every veteran team in Ukraine can choose the competition they like. We understand the situation in the country, it is difficult for teams now to find funds for trips, uniforms, application fees, people are worried about completely different problems. Probably, we will change the format of the competition a bit. For us, the main thing is not the number of tournaments held, but the result (the number of participating teams, players involved). The Association of Veterans will continue to bear the lion's share of costs, make convenient logistics, expand geography. Our most outstanding football players, legends - Volodymyr Muntyan and Andriy Biba will definitely come to the awards ceremony. I would also like to thank Vitaliy Kulibabenko, the permanent organizer of the tournaments and the executive director of AVFU. Despite his respectable age, he communicates with teams on a daily basis, develops proposals for new competitions.

Photo of the press service of AFVU

- The pearl of Ukrainian football, the national team of veterans, knows no rest, having played 2019 matches in 40. Which of them do you remember the most?

- Each of them had a certain zest. Intrigue on the field, meetings with interesting people… Traveling in Ukraine, you never cease to wonder what a beautiful and rich country we have. In four years we have held about 200 fights, visited small and large cities. All matches with the participation of the national team are dedicated to the support of the military, we do not tire of repeating that the war is going on in the East of the country, and our defenders now need more attention and support than ever.

That is why visits to the East are special for me. This year, for the fourth time in a row, we traditionally took part in the tournament in Volnovakha, dedicated to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the 51st OMBR. I also remembered the visit to Luhansk region, the matches in Rubizhne and Stanytsia Luhanska. Our last meeting took place a kilometer from the CPVV, and this is the best evidence of the patriotism and professionalism of our star players. These matches were helped to organize by the chairman of the Luhansk regional football association Igor Shopin.

Photo of the press service of AFVU

Traditionally, we played a lot of games in Western Ukraine, collecting full stadiums in Lviv and Khmelnytsky regions. I remember the game in Bukovyna Putyla, where traditionally Valentina and Leonid Gusina with the support of the head of the Chernivtsi Regional Football Federation Vasyl Orletsky hold a tournament in memory of their son, Andriy Gusin. In Vinnytsia, at the Central Stadium, at the invitation of our friend Anatoliy Slivinsky, they played with a team of Ukrainian special forces, reinforced by instructors from NATO countries, and in Zhytomyr, on the Day of the Armed Forces, they played a friendly match with a paratrooper team.

- At least once a year, the national team plays at the main stadiums of the country that hosted Euro 2012. How do you like the atmosphere of Arena Lviv?

- The match with the veterans of the Carpathians was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian football, we organized this holiday together with the UAF and the Football Federation of the Lviv region. Arena Lviv is one of the best stadiums in Ukraine, with an incredible football atmosphere. We felt this while cheering for our national team in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, as well as when we entered a new wonderful field. We should respect our history, thank the outstanding players of the past years. Such games are a further confirmation that the Ukrainian football family today is stronger and more united than ever.

Photo of the press service of AFVU

- The most remote place where the team played the match was Canadian Toronto. How did the idea to visit North America come about?

- We have friendly relations with the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, which maintains active ties with the homeland. At first they were supposed to visit Independence Day, but postponed the visit for a month and arrived in Toronto on Ukrainian Days in mid-September. They took part in the festival and the festive procession, walking with tens of thousands of Ukrainians through the streets of the city. Subsequently, they delivered a speech on stage with Canadian Foreign Minister Christie Freeland. It was nice to feel the attention of our compatriots, even the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau thanked us for the visit.

Also great impressions were left from a visit to Spain. On the first day we won the prestigious tournament, beating the veterans of Atletico Madrid - 3: 1 in the final, and on the second day we met with the diaspora team. The organizers specially invited all spectators to come to the match in embroidered shirts, and during the break they organized a contest for the best. And now we remember the wonderful atmosphere at the stadium, with the help of football we managed to unite compatriots in Spain and give them a holiday.

- Who helps AVFU to implement such large-scale projects?

- The main partner of AVFU and the national team of veterans is the company "Agribusiness". She takes care of all organizational and financial issues. We also feel support from the Ukrainian Football Association and its president Andriy Pavelko, Epicenter, represented by Halyna and Oleksandra Gereg. We try to solve all questions concerning the organization of matches and departures of the national team, carrying out of tournaments operatively and qualitatively.

- What plans AFU has 2020?

- Our veteran family has a good tradition to hold a final meeting on New Year's Eve, where we discuss the near future. I want to thank every player and coach for their performances throughout the year. Wherever we were going, there was never a rejection from anyone.

2020 promises to be very interesting, and we will start it traditionally in Georgia on January 19 by participating in the tournament in memory of David Petriashvili. This is one of the most prestigious European veteran competitions, where, in addition to us, the national teams of Georgia, Spain, Turkey, FIFA and UEFA will play.

Photo of the press service of AFVU

For three years in a row, we stopped a step away from victory, we hope that this time the result will be maximum. We are also already planning how to support the national team of Ukraine for Euro 2020. There is an agreement with the team of veterans of the Netherlands to play in Amsterdam, something interesting for our fans will be planned before the games in Romania. Foreign matches will complement our tour of Ukraine in support of the military. Almost every day we receive a lot of invitations from different regions. We try not to refuse anyone, but at the same time we set one requirement to the organizers - there should be a football holiday at the stadium so that thousands of spectators, anti-terrorist operation participants, children come. We play for the fans, their attention and support is the best assessment of our work.