The most common dream among boys is to become a football player like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andriy Shevchenko or Mykhailo Mudryk. Many of them run around a stadium or an amateur soccer field near their homes and imagine scoring a life-changing goal.
In Khmelnytskyi, the unofficial football capital of Ukraine, it is much easier to imagine. After all, this city has a very developed sports infrastructure and active clubs.
The full-scale invasion made its own adjustments - many internally displaced persons arrived in Khmelnytskyi, some of whom eventually joined the community. There are many children among the IDPs who attend sports clubs and sections.
With the support of the local authorities and the sponsor Podillia Football Club, more than a thousand children aged 6 to 18 have the opportunity to run on high-quality football fields, train in sections, and get a little closer to their dreams.
“The level of the team is much higher than it was in my city”
It is sunny and noisy on the soccer field. You can hear the coaches' comments, whistles, children's excited reactions, and the sounds of kicks on the ball from all directions.
This is the U-17 team of the Podillia football club training.
One of the participants is 16-year-old Serhiy from Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. His love for the game was instilled in him by his older brother, who always took him with him to the amateur field.
“My brother was not a pro, he liked to play football in the yard with his friends. I used to go to the stadium with him, and in the 4th grade I joined a soccer section,” he recalls.
After 6 years of playing in his hometown football club, Serhiy had to leave his hometown due to a full-scale invasion.
In April, he and his family came to Khmelnytskyi. Here, Serhiy found not just a new soccer section, but joined the students of a sports lyceum.
The young footballer was interviewed during the game. His efforts and skills were highly appreciated by the coaches.
“The team is very friendly, they accepted me easily and quickly. We play a lot and study. The coach is great, I feel that the level here is much higher than it was in my city. Overall, I'm glad to have joined the team,” says the boy and returns to training.
Today, the team is practicing passing and dribbling with the ball.
Oleksandr Mandziuk, the coach of the children's academy of the Podillia football club, notes that Khmelnytskyi is a fairly football-friendly city.
Many city fans always come to the games of teams of different levels - from children's or amateur to professional - and they are always enthusiastic. The lion's share of them are children who are inspired by the game and imagine themselves on the field.
“I've been coaching this team for 6 years - since they were in 4th grade. Each player is different. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses that they need to improve. One of my students is Serhiy from Bakhmut. He is very motivated and hardworking. I have hopes for him,” the coach says with a smile.
He adds that, in addition to Serhiy, there are children from Voznesensk, Mykolaiv, Snihurivka, Chornobaivka, and other places in different age groups.
“I realize that not all of my future graduates will become famous football players. But I am glad that they now have the opportunity to gain this experience of team play. This is possible thanks to our team sponsor KOLVI.
“With their help, young boys, the future of our country, can develop in the sports field. During training, they can forget about the war and enjoy the moments of childhood,” says the coach.
Junior with 10 years of experience
That day, the players from all age groups trained together on the field, as most of the players were on vacation.
Coach Oleksandr said that there was another IDP boy, Bohdan from Mariupol, on the field. He said he met this player off the field. One day, the coach was returning home wearing a FC Illichivets shirt (the old name of the Mariupol team - ed.). A man was coming to meet him, who stopped and asked him where he got the shirt.
“I explained that I played for this club and lived in Mariupol for three years. The man told me that his family was also from Mariupol - they were forced to leave their hometown. And then he added that his son had been playing football since he was a young boy. The conversation was pleasant - he invited me to his home,
to meet my son. So I talked to Bohdan for about half an hour, who was then training at the Children's and Youth Sports School No. 1. Now he has joined the Podillia U-19 youth football team. He has very good data for a central defender,« says Oleksandr.
He adds that school graduates often get lost in the transition from school to a professional team. After all, many parents hesitate: should their child continue playing football or go to school. Therefore, the fact that Bohdan is now in the team is very good for a guy who is pursuing his goal and professional football.
During a break in training, we meet 18-year-old Bohdan. He told us that he had been going to soccer games with his father since he was a child, and that he was also fond of watching other teams play on TV.
So when Bohdan was 8 years old, he attended his first soccer training session and became hooked.
“When the war started, everything stopped. My family and I had to leave the siege on foot. We had to walk about 10 kilometers along the road to our friends who helped us get to the territory controlled by Ukraine. A few days later we arrived in Khmelnytskyi. It was April 2022,” he recalls.
In less than a month, Bohdan resumed football training at the children's sports school, and then joined the junior football team Podillia. He really likes his new team. He says that the adaptation period went quickly - after a dozen training sessions he felt at home.
Recently, Bohdan became part of the U-19 junior team of the Podillya football club.
“The difference between the game I'm used to and the one I'm about to play is the speed of decision-making. Most of the players are older, faster, more experienced and physically stronger. Because of this, as a defender, I will have much less time to make decisions on the field. But it will be interesting for me,” the young player notes.
Bringing infrastructure closer to the child
Podillia Sports Complex trainings are held at the Children's Youth Sports School No. 1, where more than 1,200 children play various sports. The most popular sport is undoubtedly football, with more than 600 pupils aged 6 to 18 attending this section.
“The biggest challenge we faced at the beginning of the invasion was uncertainty. But within a few months, we resumed training in compliance with security requirements. It was extremely important, because sport forms full-fledged athletes and citizens of Ukraine. Currently, about 30 displaced children are studying free of charge at our children's and youth sports school. We help them to adapt socially in society and among their peers,” said Vasily Yankiv, director of the Children's and Youth Sports School No. 1.
He added that in February 2022, more than 200,000 IDPs arrived in Khmelnytskyi. Almost half of them are children. These are school students, members of clubs and sections.
By 2023, the total number of IDPs had decreased by almost ten times, as they either went abroad or returned home to the de-occupied regions (Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson).
“There are about 25 thousand IDPs living in the city now. A lot of effort has been put into developing various activities for children - clubs, sections, art and sports schools. Of course, most children play football, which is the No. 1 sport for us,” says Khmelnytsky Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn.
Since 2016, the city government has invested heavily in sports infrastructure to encourage children to engage in physical activity.
“We wanted to build a full-fledged field near each school and a sports ground in each yard. Our goal was to bring infrastructure closer to children,” explains the mayor.
He adds that the city council facilitated the launch of school leagues in various sports - football, mini-football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, track and field, etc. These were full-fledged tournaments with spectators and prizes for the winners, as well as a source of motivation to continue playing sports.
The football trend is also observed in the Department of Youth and Sports of the Khmelnytskyi City Council. In school championships, the record number of football teams was 31, while there were 11 basketball teams and 16 volleyball teams.
“We do not dictate the conditions, but children make their own choices. Currently, football is popular, and we support this aspiration and continue to encourage others. For this purpose, the city has a sports lyceum, four youth sports schools and the Podillia football academy,« says Vasyl Holovatyuk, head of the Youth and Sports Department of the Khmelnytsky City Council.
The sports lyceum started its work only 3 years ago. Currently, 220 future athletes study there, including IDP children from Kharkiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions.
“Our institution has five departments: football, futsal, boxing, wrestling and judo. We never divide children into categories, because they are all our students, we love them equally and strive to develop harmonious personalities who are first and foremost citizens of our country,” says Lesia Pidhorna, director of the sports lyceum.
The future of football
In 2024, the Podillia children's and youth football club will start playing in the Elite League for the first time.
“This is a great result for children's football in Khmelnytskyi. It's only been three years since a sports lyceum appeared in the city, and our students will already compete with such strong academies as Shakhtar and Dynamo. These are certainly the results of Podillia's coaches, parents, and the children themselves, who give their all on the football field and train until they break a sweat, blisters, and bruised knees and elbows. This is also a great job of the Department of Youth and Sports and the significant support of the sponsor KOLVI, thanks to which children have the opportunity to be active in professional-level teams,« says Oleksandr Symchyshyn.
At the moment, there are not many businesses that are able and willing to finance football teams in the war. But KOLVI sponsors children's football, the main team and sports in general.
“Both children and adults are always focused on a big goal - the pinnacle of skill. Students dream of playing in professional teams when they are only juniors. They look at the major players and see opportunities. In particular, transferring to other teams, because it stimulates and motivates them. There are also soccer camps for students, which bring together students of all ages from all over Ukraine. «My sons spend a lot of time with Podillia. And every time after a sports camp, they rethink many things and grow up in the truest sense of the word,» says Oleksandr Kroshka, co-owner of FC Podillia and chairman of the KOLVI Charitable Foundation.
He emphasizes that the lion's share of the initiative in football development belongs to the city council, which seeks to raise a generation of athletes.
“It all starts with the football field of the Podillia junior club and grows into the dream of each player to join professional Ukrainian and international teams. And also to lead their home team Podillia to the Premier League and further to the European Cups. This is our goal, which we will fulfill with the support of our students,« Oleksandr Kroshka summarizes with enthusiasm.
