Dynamo Kyiv captain Serhiy Sydorchuk was invited to the opening ceremony of the new season and the draw for the Darynok School Football Premier League.
This solemn event, which brought together all the teams participating in the league, which is a total of about four hundred schoolchildren in grades 9-11, took place in the large auditorium of the Desnianskyi State District Administration, which, along with the support of FC Dynamo Kyiv and Darynok Market Mall, will host the second season of the large children's tournament.
The tournament is aimed at popularizing sports and developing school and grassroots football. The new season will involve 24 teams from different schools that will compete for 2.5 months. The winning team will receive a gift - an invitation to the training base of FC Dynamo, where teenagers will be able to meet their football idols.
The main guest of the ceremony, Sergiy Sydorchuk, spoke about his football idol during the season opening ceremony. The event began in a question-and-answer format, and several boys asked Sergiy about his childhood football idols. Sergiy's answer was not obvious - the legendary Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, but not because of his position on the field, but for his attitude, professionalism and, of course, football talent.
The students also asked why Serhiy chose Dynamo as his football team and whether he ever dreamed of playing for any of the top European clubs. The captain of the White and Blues admitted that, although he was born and raised in Zaporizhzhia, he had been supporting Kyiv since he was a kid, and as a child he had bought Dynamo T-shirts with the names Shevchenko and Rebrov on them. He dreamed of playing not for any European club, but for Dynamo and the Ukrainian national team.
Serhiy also said that school football tournaments like the Leather Ball evoke his best childhood memories and advised the young men to appreciate this time and enjoy it to the fullest.
Together with Sydorchuk, the draw was conducted by Dmytro Ratnikov, head of the Desnianskyi District State Administration, and Andriy Fedorov, CEO of City Capital Group (the developer and management company of Darynok market mall).
The event ended with a lengthy photo and autograph session with Sergiy Sydorchuk.