On the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine, as part of the official visit of President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda to Kyiv ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, First Lady of Lithuania Diana Nausėdienė attended a children’s amputee football training session at the Football House.
The First Lady met with the young participants of the “League of the Mighty: Children” programme, an initiative launched by the Ukrainian Association of Football to develop amputee football for children with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine. UAF President Andriy Shevchenko personally welcomed the First Lady of Lithuania and the Lithuanian delegation.
UAF Develops Children’s Amputee Football: Ukraine Hosts First “League of the Mighty: Children” Amputee Football Camp
The first-ever “League of the Mighty: Children” amputee football camp has taken place in Ukraine. Five days in Deliatyn brought together 15 children aged 5 to 13 from five regions of Ukraine who have limb amputations or an impairment affecting the function of one of their limbs. The programme was implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine through the Development Cooperation and Democracy Support Programme.
“It makes me happy to see that Lithuania’s support is helping not only to heal the wounds of war, but also to create new opportunities for children who, through sport, become invaluable team players, leaders, active members of society and a source of inspiration for others,” said Diana Nausėdienė, First Lady of the Republic of Lithuania, addressing the children.
“We are grateful to the First Lady of Lithuania for coming and supporting our project. The support of the Lithuanian Embassy is extremely important for Ukraine at this time. My impressions from meeting the children are very positive. The atmosphere is very lively, and it is clear that the children are fully engaged and enjoying the training sessions. It is inspiring to watch them — they are happy and in great spirits. It is also important that they have the support of their parents. It is incredibly valuable when families are involved and there for their children — that is when we can achieve even better results,” said Andriy Shevchenko, President of the UAF, sharing his impressions.
During the meeting, the children shared their impressions of the first children’s amputee football camp, talked about the new friends they had made and spoke about their football dreams.
The five-day camp in Deliatyn brought together 15 children aged 5 to 13 from five regions of Ukraine who have limb amputations or an impairment affecting the function of one of their limbs.
The children had also prepared special gifts for the occasion: they presented the First Lady of Lithuania and the UAF President with a group photo from the camp as a keepsake, signed by all the participants. In return, the First Lady of Lithuania personally presented a gift to each child.
After the meeting in the conference hall, the children and their parents headed to the football pitch, where Diana Nausėdienė and Andriy Shevchenko joined them. They watched the young footballers train and took group photos with the children.
