The main and most discussed event of the past week was the XXVI Congress of the Ukrainian Football Association, during which the election of the president of the organisation took place.
Andriy Shevchenko. Photo - A.YushchakWhy Shevchenko?
Thursday, 25th January, will forever go down in the history of Ukrainian football. On this day Andriy Shevchenko, who received one hundred per cent support of the Congress delegates: 93 votes in favour out of 93 possible. As Shevchenko's own vote was 94th, for obvious reasons he did not take part in the electoral procedure.
The extraordinary nature of the event is confirmed by the work of the media, which were extremely attentive and fully approached to the coverage of the Congress - up to the fact that some publications were almost minute-by-minute online directly from the House of Football, touching on seemingly insignificant details.
Volodymyr Zverov shared his impressions: "It turned out that on the day of his appointment Shevchenko arrived at the House of Football as early as 9 o'clock. He had moments through which he was worried and wanted to clarify. And he went in through the centre line".
In Zverov's words, of course, symbolism prevails. But at the same time they became another evidence of how acute was the issue of change of power in the UAF. So the unanimous choice in favour of Shevchenko was not a revelation for anyone. The media had predicted just such an outcome.
"At the Congress on the 25th of June Andriy Shevchenko will officially become the president of the UAF. Although his announcement and coronation actually took place in the chestnite, when he remained the only candidate, put up for election. Congress will only complete the formalities and confirm the acceptance of the position legally, " reads the Tribuna website (Ua.tribuna.com, 25.01.24).
Of course, the point is not that Shevchenko de facto turned out to be a non-alternative contender. Simply to offer a more suitable candidate at the moment is unrealistic.
Who, if not him? Approximately such a question was asked by the press. The best Ukrainian footballer of the XXI century, who went through the school of genius Valeriy Lobanovskiy and won almost everything that was possible. A successful coach, under whose leadership the national team reached a qualitatively new level of play and made it to the top eight at the European Championship 2020. A true patriot, who after the full-scale invasion of our country by Russian troops put his coaching career on pause and fully devoted himself to humanitarian and social activities, becoming one of the most prominent newsmakers of Ukraine in the world.
Throughout the week, the press has been quite active in recalling the background of Andriy Shevchenko, whose name is always on the rumour not only in Ukraine, but around the world.
By the way, many consider very important factor just the international authority of the new UAF president, who became the first ever winner of the "Golden Ball" at the head of the national federation.
"Among the winners of the trophy of the French periodical France Football there are coaches of clubs and teams, there are club presidents, the head of the UEFA (Michel Platini) and even the head of state (George Vea)! But we have not yet seen the goals of local football federations", - testifies the website "Football Club" (Footclub.com.ua, 27.01.24).
"Shevchenko is a great brand in world football, " Tribuna elaborates. - His name can attract new additional revenues both in Ukraine and from abroad. This concerns not only the creation of conditions for investment projects with foreign capital, but also the search for assistance for survival.
The work of the UAF in search of financial aid during pandemic and war is a disaster. So much has already been lost, but Shevchenko has to change the trend" (Ua.tribuna.com, 25.01.24).
Of course, there were also mentions that Andriy Shevchenko most likely lacks managerial experience. But at the same time, no one expressed doubts about his organisational skills, which he showed, for example, as head coach of the national team, gathering a strong team of like-minded people.
The football community believes that will be the case this time too. At least, the current Shevchenko team also received absolute support of the Congress delegates: the first vice-president of the UAF was approved lawyer Pavlo Boychuk, with whom Andriy Mykolaevych has a long-standing partnership, the vice-presidents became the head coach of the national team of Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov and the head of Lviv regional association Oleksandr Shevchenko, and the post of general secretary remained with Igor Hryshchenko, who recently closed this position as acting.
An essential point: weighty arguments in favour of Andriy Mykolaivych were stressed not only by journalists, but also by those who directly invest in football and are engaged in its development. That is, the most interested participants of the process. In particular, the president of "Polesya" Gennady Butkevich:
"In the Ukrainian national team Shevchenko was the head coach, and it is also a managerial job - you select the team, divide the duties, work together for the sake of the result. Now the scale of his experience, interests and ambitions has grown. It's normal.
It is wonderful for us, for the state, for football that there is such a legendary personality and he supports Ukraine in the whole country. Andriy Shevchenko can open any door in world football ... I do not doubt that he has thought it over well, and all clubs, all regional federations, all football organisations will help him" (Ukrfootball.ua, 20.01.24).
And the most accurate about the alternativeness of Shevchenko's candidacy was expressed by UEFA honorary president Hryhoriy Surkis on the sidelines before the Congress.
"-Whowould you vote for?
- I do not vote.
-If you had the right to vote, who would you vote for?
- Insanely, I would vote for the person who has done everything she has taken on - she has done almost everything. Andriy Shevchenko, who, in my opinion, was a great asset in football. Now, when our country is suffering from the Rashist invasion, he was the first who promoted the UNITED24 brand on the world arena. Now he has a new challenge", - Sportnews.com.ua (25.01.24) quoted Hryhoriy Mikhailovych as saying.
Thus, we can state: Shevchenko was expected, and his arrival as UAF president became a kind of a breath of fresh air and a clear impetus that allows us to count on serious positive shifts in the sphere of sport number one.
This is exactly what our football needs, which has found itself in the most difficult situation not only because of the large-scale war, but also because of the destructive activities of the former leadership, mired in scandals and endless talk about nothing.
"Without a doubt, a historic moment for Ukrainian football. The opponents promised a lot, but did much less. A lot of problems piled up, the confidence of the football community in the head football body of the country has significantly decreased. Now we need to improve the situation," Nazariy Shmigal summarises (Sport.nv.ua, 25.01.24).
By the way, what is characteristic: in the walls of the House of Football on 25 January, very little was said about the previous head of the UAF. And this is a kind of litmus: there is a general desire to forget about the activities of Pavelko and his team as soon as possible, like a terrible dream, and start with a clean slate.
"About the former head of the FFU-UAF at the Congress was mentioned in passing and very quietly - quoting his lawyer, stating the "critical situation in the work of the Association", stressing the systemic managerial crisis. Maybe it is right, so as not to overlook the urochistiosti of the event - the day of the "birth" of the new football president, which coincided with the last date of the President of Ukraine", - says Yuriy Korzachenko (Footclub.com.ua, 26.01.24).
The same applies to the solitary attacks on Andriy Shevchenko, which some media outlets have undertaken. They were in the deep shadows against a generally positive background. And indeed, to present his arrival in the UAF as an adventure is at least silly. For all sensible people it is obvious: Shevchenko's decision to head the federation going through a deep crisis, and even in the current situation, when the future of the whole country is decided, speaks of his hyper-responsibility and desire to give a shoulder to Ukrainian football. And what should be done - he understands perfectly well. Otherwise he would not have taken it.
Actually, it follows from the speech of Andriy Shevchenko himself:
"I realise how great the responsibility is on me now. We face very big tasks. First of all, to do everything to make football in Ukraine grow. Developed in such very important conditions, when there is a full-scale war. We must do everything to solve this task. We must prepare our national team, our Olympic team, futsal and women's football teams. All these areas are very important" (Suspilne.media/sport, 25.01.24).
And most journalists have no doubt that Andriy Nikolaevich is well aware of the path he will have to take in his new capacity.
"After Andriy Shevchenko's announcement as UAF president, I can say this: he clearly understands the range of problems, which the new team will have to solve; he clearly sees their harmful root and, judging from everything, knows how to correct it. That's the main thing!" , - stressed journalist Igor Linnik on his Facebook page (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 25.01.24).
What is expected from Shevchenko?
Meanwhile, the scope of tasks to be solved by the new UAF president looks very impressive. The media also devoted a lot of attention to this topic, sharing their expectations.
Almost all sources point to the obviously bloated staff of the organisation, eating up fabulous salaries with gusto.
"Pavelko neumovirnomirno roflodivsya the staff of vice-presidents, members of the vikonkomu, radnikivs, okhorontsivs and drivers. If Andriy Mykolayovych is controlled by a healthy logic, then this whole charashchina office should be ch ased away," reads the article by Oleksandr Vasylenko (Sport.ua, 24.01.24).
"What exactly Shevchenko must do very quickly - by concrete actions to inform everyone what he is different from Andriy Pavelka to the best side. Otherwise, there will be no sense in his coming to the post. To convince all of us, he could start with 10 questions...", - writes Oleksandr Sazhko (Ua.tribuna.com, 25.01.24).
The author goes on to list those very questions, with detailed comments: starting with a transparent election system and ending with a reform plan.
"In general, shrewdness, planning, comunication, delegovannya and diplomacy are going to become key terms in Shevchenko's work in the UAF," Sazhko summarises (Ua.tribuna.com, 25.01.24).
In general, the speech was about what our football categorically lacked in recent years. Including the solution of problems with refereeing, which Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi (now an honourable member of the UAF) once again touched upon.
Valid wishes were also voiced by those who spoke on 25 January from the rostrum of the House of Football.
"Thehead of Ivano-Frankivsk UFF Taras Klim, in particular, appealed to restore justice in the situation with the Association of Football Association of Kyiv. One of the oldest local nuclei of the Ukrainian skins, a federation with almost 115 years of history, was denied the right to exist by a voluntaristic decision. This is contrary not only to a healthy mind, but also to the corresponding verdicts of the courts. Over 30 thousand participants of the capital's races and seven dozen clubs, among which, absurdly enough, Dynamo Kyiv is waiting for the return of legitimacy.
Valeriy Pustovoitenko, FFU president in 1996-2000, told the new leadership not to forget about traditions.
Andriy Kozhemyakin, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Youth and Sports, very emotionally, with military directness, insisted on the UAF's adherence to the line of boycott of the aggressor country's representatives in the world sports arena.
And the report of honorary UEFA member Hryhoriy Surkis - about the strategy of building, returning the trombotic turbot about children's and youth football, where Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov came to the big arena," - states Yuriy Korzachenko (Footclub.com.ua, 27.01.24).
Undoubtedly, Hryhoriy Surkis' performance should have been highlighted, which was done by the press. Given his vast experience as a football functionary and his successful work at the head of the federation and in UEFA.
First of all, Hryhoriy Mykhailovych expressed words of gratitude to ZSU and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, thanks to whose position during the war and crisis there is an opportunity to discuss the development of Ukrainian football:
"Among other things, it is very symbolic that our President has today's People's Day. It is really symbolic. So pay tribute to him and let him always be accompanied by happiness, health, prosperity and good luck, as well as our joint victory. God's grace to him" (from the speech of Grigory Surkis at the UAF Congress, 25.01.24).
Reflecting the Russian invasion, Ukraine stands for the ideals and values of the entire civilised world, said Hryhoriy Surkis. Given the current realities, he believes that we should once again be served by the diplomacy of the leather ball. This effective slogan, Grigory Surkis recalled, was proposed in the House of Football - at a time when preparations for Euro 2012 were underway, and our country was generating positive news for the world. And it is important that for Andriy Shevchenko this mission is not new: at one time he was an ambassador of Euro 2012, in the last two years he is the ambasador of the UNITED-24 brand, and now he was unanimously elected as the head of the UAF.
"I catch myself thinking that this non-alternativity accompanies Andriy throughout his entire career. It was reflected in the victories of Dynamo and the Ukrainian national team, in his successes, in the Golden M'yacha, which he dedicated to the memory of Valeriy Lobanovs'kyi.
This is what characterises him the most. Andriy's call-up is not only a new perspective for Ukrainian football, but also the Ukrainian future in international organisations, " Hryhoriy Surkis was quoted by Xsport.ua (25.01.24).
As for the cornerstone of the federation's work, Hryhoriy Surkis emphasised the need to revive the institution of national teams:
"Speaking in general about the institute of national teams, we should remember that football players are trained by clubs. But the trainees, who are in the prospect of playing in the main team of the country, must begin by playing for the U-15 national team, which we do not have today. As there is no U-20 team, which appeared in 2010 and was abandoned in 2016. There is no Ukrainian U-21 Championship, which was closed in 2021.
I believe that the Shevchenko and Rebrov tandem will resume the effective work of the institution of the national teams, having learnt from the successful experience gained in the past years" (Sportarena.com, 25.01.24).
And one more essential message from the speech of Grigory Surkis - due attention to the most valuable resource in the world, which is human capital.
"Our future educational programmes should turn into one of the priorities and an important element of the strategy of Ukraine's development. It should concern both the education of club trainees and the education of coaches and managers, who will be in charge of Ukrainian football in the future.
Ukrainian land is rich in football talents. For the first time in history we have a full-fledged team, which has over 11 players playing in the top clubs of the world professional football. And despite all the above-mentioned difficulties, the management crisis, the consequences of which will have to be dealt with by the new management.
The post-deadline Congress and the election of a new head of the Football Association will open new opportunities for Ukrainian football. That is why the cadence of the next president will be an occasion to unite true patriots with a common goal to ensure that Ukrainian football does not survive, but lives and breathes on full bosom. Do not let our joint work ґrunnutsya exclusively on the principles of democracy, openness and fairness", - stressed in his speech at the Congress honorary member of UEFA Grigory Surkis (Fcdynamo.com, 25.01.24).
Where does Shevchenko start?
Comparing all of the above and Andriy Shevchenko's own speech at the Congress, we can identify an unambiguously positive trend: on many issues - yes, practically on all! - there are points of contact. That is, the new UAF President is, as they say, absolutely in the subject.
"We have a lot of problems, - fixed Shevchenko in his programme statement. - Let's go through the key ones. Dislike to the UAF through non-protection activity. Through the war suffered marketing, we have a weak sponsorship base, lack of confidence in the institution of football arbitration. Absence of the current database of data and other IT solutions, there are no clear criteria for success and efficiency, there is no single pyramid of football competitions, professional clubs can not agree on joint actions for the development of the UPL.
The UAF is experiencing a crisis of prosody, a crisis of responsibility. And as a result - a crisis of prospects.
Our main asset is talented people and their desire to change for the better. I want to share with you my vision of the development of Ukrainian football. We will:
- Ukrainian football is popular and accessible to everyone;
- our clubs are strong and efficient, our national team is the pride of the country.
Further mission is to implement the best world standards for the rapid development of Ukrainian football and post-traumatic renewal of Ukrainians. Values - vision, progressiveness, professionalism, inclusiveness and responsibility" (Footboom1.com.ua, 25.01.24).
The first step that the new UAF president decided to take concerns finances. It has already been accepted: the House of Football will no longer have a bunch of bread-and-butter positions that allowed to do nothing but receive fabulous salaries, which caused widespread resentment.
Now the UAF has three vice-presidents instead of 12 under Pavelko and a dozen members of the Executive Committee instead of four dozen. Such an optimisation, according to the press, was long overdue. And it was met with full approval. As well as the audit of the UAF financial activity for the last nine years, which Shevchenko announced:
"The results will be known already in two months. One of the leading audit companies of the world will be involved. It will make us understandable and reliable for international partners, and most importantly - it will return the trust and respect of Ukrainians" (Fooball24.ua, 25.01.24).
In the coming days, the first meeting of the new UAF structure, the Assembly of Regions, which will be responsible for local football and represent the interests of territorial communities in the Association, will be held.
"All heads of regional football associations will be included in the Assembly of Regions. On30 June, the head of the Assembly of Regions will be announced, attention will be paid to the problems of grassroots football, cooperation with the UAF Viconcom will be discussed, where the interests of the regions would be taken into account", - Sport.ua informs (26.01.24).
We can say that the process of restoring the football pyramid of the national teams has already been launched. This direction is the prerogative of Serhiy Rebrov, as he himself informed the press:
"I control the whole institution of the Ukrainian national teams. Starting from U-17. Also U-19, U-21, and the national team. And we plan to create U-16" (Ua-football.com, 25.01.24).
By the way, Sergiy Stanislavovych believes that in order to restore the football vertical it is important to resume the youth championship of Ukraine (U-21). This is necessary to minimise the loss of transition age players (after U-19).
Judging by how actively the topic of the U-21 championship has been positioned recently on the pages of the media, discussions with the UPL representatives in this direction are already underway. Such a tournament is not only an aid for the national teams, but also a good "platform" for clubs to bet more actively on their pupils.
Meanwhile, speaking about youth football, Shevchenko noted that because of the war there is a serious outflow of promising boys abroad. However, here he also has ideas on how to act:
"There is acountry with a successful response to such a crisis - Croatia, which has stopped the mass departure of children in the 90-ies, when they started the war. I talked to my friend Zvonimir Boban, and he is ready to help us" (Uainfo.org, 25.01.24).
Obviously, there is no way around it without quality monitoring, which should be facilitated by another revolutionary plan of Shevchenko: digitalisation of the UAF's activities and creation of a full-fledged database of people involved in football activities (from children and amateurs to professional footballers, managers and coaches). And, undoubtedly, such a digital project - if it is realised - will give the opportunity to really control the situation in all areas of activity of the UAF and its "centres".
"The new management team has planned the "nationalisation" of the resource base of the UAF and its donors through the process of digitalisation. I absolutely know that the emergence of a unified register of registered football players (not only professional ones) has been halting for more than a decade! Moreover, on the level of local federations, which in their former form, with their former function is simply not needed!", - writes on this occasion Igor Linnik (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 25.01.24).
Also among the tasks outlined and voiced by Andriy Shevchenko - quality training of personnel (referees, managers, coaches), constructive dialogue with professional clubs, openness to the press, social mission, development of the brand of the national teams of Ukraine in the international arena and the involvement of international partners. In general, according to the media, a rather interesting picture emerges.
"Next to me sat people who have been present at such a forum more than once, and they say: "This is the first time such a professional programme". Proceeding from this, I am satisfied" , - so, for example, one of the most authoritative coaches of the country Mykola Pavlov (Ua-football.com, 26.01.24) characterised Shevchenko's laconic, but quite capacious report.
Thus, between the approaches of the previous and current presidents of the UAF is already clearly felt a significant difference. Well, the fact that Shevchenko, holding a press briefing at the Congress, limited himself to only three questions, in no way should be considered a violation of election promises on transparency and openness. Moreover, Andrei Nikolaevich promised to allocate time for a thorough dialogue with journalists.
The day already turned out to be extremely saturated. The media got a lot of food for thought, and Shevchenko and his team had enough important working moments on the agenda. Now the main thing for them is to focus on the process, which requires balanced and well-considered decisions.
Viktor ZHURAVLEV
