All-Ukrainian children's soccer tournament «Football for kids»

On the 15th-16^th of June 2018, the All-Ukrainian Children's Football Tournament "Football for kids" was held in Poltava, the uniqueness of which was that special categories of children took part in the competitions: those who violated the law, children from large families and families with low income, from boarding schools, from families of migrants and children whose parents died in the ATO zone.

The organizers of the competition were the Office of Juvenile Prevention of the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the PO "Pavlichenko Brothers Fund", the PO “Mironostsi”, the football and sports society "Dynamo" of Ukraine, the Futsal Association of Ukraine.

The competition was held in three stages in all regions of Ukraine. At the first stage, the teams-winners of the regions were selected. In the second stage interregional group tournaments were selected with the division into five zones: east, west, south, north and center parts. And in the third stage, in the final part, teams-winners and prize-winners of zonal competitions from ten regions of Ukraine took part. Young footballers from Poltava, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Zhytomyr, Nikolaev, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne regions fought for the victory in the competitions. In the rival struggle, the children demonstrated an understanding of team play and player's personal qualities: physical data, persistent character and perseverance.

According to the results of the competition, prize-winning places were divided into these teams:

1st place - the team of the Poltava region;

2^nd place - team of the Zaporozhye region;

The third place is a team of the Lugansk region.

The nomination "The best player" was given to Vozniy Svyatoslav (Poltava region), Lisitsky Vadym (Luhansk region), Khaliszev Mykyta (Zaporozhye region).

The Nomination "Best coach of the tournament" was presented to Kravchenko Yuriy Aleksandrovich (Zaporozhye region.).

The nomination "Audience Choice Award" went to the youngest football player Khodyrev Timothy (Poltava region), a participant of the Real Madrid Foundation football courses, which were held last year and, thanks to the support of the PO "Pavlichenko Brothers Fund", five children and five coaches from various Ukrainian boarding schools were able to take part in the trainings that were held by using the methodology of the Real Madrid Academy.

One of the organizers of the championship, President of the Public organization "Pavlichekno Brothers Fund", Oleg Pavlichenko shared his impressions of the tournament: "I would like to express my sincere thanks to every participant of the tournament. To everyone who has invested a particle of his soul into this project, despite all the difficulties. I am convinced that the glow in these eyes, the joy and splash of positive emotions that children have received, will be a worthy reward for the work. Special words of gratitude, I want to express to the heads of the Chelsea Football Club for the help and the great gifts that have become a real wonder for children in this tournament. It confirms one more time that for the sincere and kind hearts there is no strange child."

The words of approval and support were made by the Head of the Juvenile Prevention Department, Police Colonel, Zub Larisa Vitaliyevna: "Through the harmonious and fruitful work we managed to achieve the goals: we aimed to motivate our children for a healthy lifestyle, to conduct in-depth prevention of non-admission of offenses, to establish friendly relations with children and gave them smiles and unforgettable impressions, because children, brought up by strict fate and street, need special attention. "

The game was very friendly and the guys from the opponents’ teams supported each other, trying to win together. But the emotional tension of the players nevertheless was transferred to the rostrum fans: together experienced the joy of the victory and bitterness of defeat. The charge of positive emotions was received by everyone who was present at the stadium.

The need for organizing such sports events for children was noted by the Police Colonel-General and the head of the public organization “Mironoscy” Evdokimov Vladimir Nikolayevich: "The need for such projects in our time is difficult to overestimate. When the country is at the crossroads, when shots are still heard, when the future is closed by black clouds, these projects give the chance to the new generations to return to a normal, peaceful life. This is especially true for the categories of children who participated in this tournament: children who are in the conflict with the law, children from large and low-income families, children of displaced persons and children whose parents died in the ATO zone. Nobody, but they know the price of life. I sincerely wish you to live a peaceful life! Peace in the soul, peace in the family, peace in the country! »

The winning teams were awarded with cups, medals, certificates. Each competitor received memorable gifts, souvenirs and sweets.

The guys were especially pleased with the brand gifts from FC Chelsea. The soccer club gave children not only sweatshirts, scarves, caps, game shields, goalie gloves, toys, it gave the children a piece of their energy, the energy of Chelsea.

We wish the children who took part in the competitions to believe that any goals are realistic. Maybe it would be not immediately, but with the help of struggle, perseverance, and faith in yourself, you could reach unprecedented heights!

We hope that such tournaments of the All-Ukrainian level will be held annually, covering not only futsal competitions, but also other sports, and the number of participants of the younger generation will grow, join a healthy lifestyle, choosing a harmonious and comprehensive development of the individual.