Despite the challenges of war, thanks to the efforts of the Ukrainian Football Association and personally its president, Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine became one of the countries to which FIFA provided modern modular mini-fields with artificial turf as part of its new global program "FIFA Arena".

The grand opening of the first two venues took place in Lviv on April 15, 2026. The locations for them were chosen by FIFA, as Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine, and it was here that the organization decided to test the project before further scaling it to other regions.

"The full-scale war has been going on for over four years. We are not waiting for it to end to develop football. We are glad that FIFA has involved Ukraine in this new project. These two venues are just the beginning. Soon we will open five more in other cities of Ukraine. The world sees Ukraine and supports our football," noted UAF President Andriy Shevchenko.

Locations of the first sites

The first two sites were established in Lviv at the following addresses:

— Secondary School No. 77 (7a Vyhovskogo St.) — an institution with in-depth study of economics and management;

— the mission “Orphan Care Center” of the Lviv Archdiocese of the UGCC (7 Taras Bobanych “Hammera” Street) is an institution that provides comprehensive support to orphans, half-orphans, and children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.

Photo: Dan Balashov

The Orphanage Care Center is home to FC Kopa, a club for children from vulnerable groups. They are currently the reigning world champions among teams from orphanages, but they have not had their own training infrastructure.

The new football locations were built in cooperation and with the assistance of the Lviv City Council. They will become a base for training and matches for students of the aforementioned institutions, local children's teams, as well as new centers of the "UAF Development Center", where professionals will train children according to the association's methodology. Under the terms of the program, the sites must also be accessible to other members of the community.

Photo: Dan Balashov

About the FIFA Arena program

The program was launched by FIFA in 2025 as part of the global football development initiatives announced at the 75th FIFA Congress. The project involves the construction of 1,000 mini-pitch pitches measuring 20 by 40 meters with built-in goals, safety nets and the latest artificial turf.

Photo: Dan Balashov

Cooperation between UAF and FIFA

Thanks to the active position of the UAF, FIFA agreed, despite the war in the country, to include Ukraine in the program. The successful opening of two pilot sites gives the right to receive five more - so the UAF is already counting on further construction in other cities.

Photo: Dan Balashov

Lviv was chosen for the project launch for security and logistical reasons. This allowed FIFA and contractor representatives to personally visit the sites, as the program requires supervisors to directly monitor the quality of the installation process on site.