Shakhtar Strategic Development Director: "The best thing Pavelko can do for Ukrainian football is to leave it"

Shakhtar Strategic Development Director Yuriy Sviridov expressed his personal opinion on UAF President Andriy Pavelko.

“I believe that over the course of all 8 years of his leadership, football in the country has not developed, but degraded. Football has no transparency, no strategic vision, no projects, no leadership. Football is used as a tool for emphasizing status, for own PR and for resolving political issues. We do not see the dynamics of development: how many venues are built per year, how many people play football in our country and how the indicators have changed in recent years, how many coaches are in the country, how many stadiums have been built, how many amateur clubs, what are the TV ratings? We do not know how much UAF received funds from UEFA and FIFA and where it spent them. There is not a single annual development report in the public domain on the UAF website. There is also no development strategy. In general, no numbers and statistics that would show where and where we are going. By the way, there is no coach for the men's team yet.

But we actually know that the last time the national men's team played at the World Cup was 16 years ago - in 2006, we know that Ukraine has significantly worsened its position in the UEFA club rankings in recent years, we know that there is no centralized marketing in club football and high-quality fields for playing in winter. We know that the women's team has never participated in the final stage of the world championship. That our referees do not referee important matches in Europe. We also know that FIFA does not respect us and we do not have any leverage to somehow change this state of affairs. During the entire period of independence, representatives of Ukraine have never been in the FIFA Executive Committee or in the position of vice president. We give nothing to world football in terms of administration, and frankly, no one expects anything from us.

Of course, there have been successes and changes in the last 8 years. Success is the victory of the youth team at the World Cup and the team's entry into the 1/4 finals of the European Championship. And the changes are the change of the name from the federation to the association and the change of the official logo. But. There is no strategy, no dynamics and transparency. There is a drop in rating next to a bunch of different kinds of scandals. This is a statement of facts without unnecessary emotions, accusations and offensive epithets against Pavelko.

If someone thinks that he owns football in the country, he is very mistaken. We must take care of the development of the game for the next generations, pass on the love of football to our children. And I sincerely believe that Mr. Pavelko and his team are people who do not care about football and cannot convey anything useful.

Eight years of government have shown the capabilities of the current head of the UAF. These possibilities are very limited, so I think there is no point in continuing. The best thing Pavelko can do for Ukrainian football is to leave it, taking the whole team and entourage. For a better future," Sviridov wrote on his blog on Tribuna.com.