On 18 March, the first meeting of the Assembly of Regions of the Ukrainian Football Association took place at the Football House. The meeting was attended by UAF President Andriy Shevchenko, First Vice President Pavlo Boichuk, Secretary General Ihor Hryshchenko and the heads of all regional football associations.
"On 25 January, at the UAF Congress, I announced my initiative to create the Assembly, and in less than two months we have implemented this idea. On 13 March, the Executive Committee approved and I approved the Regulations on the UAF Assembly of Regions on the same day. And today we officially start our work.
Thank you for supporting my initiative and for your productive work during this preparatory period! I am confident that the Assembly's work will be as effective as it was during this period in the future.
This is a very important body in the country's football development strategy, and you can always count on my support. I, in turn, rely on your professionalism, experience and initiative," said UAF President Andriy Shevchenko, addressing the audience.
During the first meeting of the Assembly, the participants discussed the possibility of holding and format of the Regional Cup. In addition, Andriy Shevchenko recalled the initiative to organise summer football camps for Ukrainian children in the countries with which the UAF has signed and will sign relevant memoranda of cooperation. The head of the national association asked the regional representatives to be very careful when compiling the lists so that only children who need real help would be included.
The UAF President also shared with the audience his plans for the digitalisation of Ukrainian football in the context of cooperation with regional associations: "We are now finalising the formation of a team that will implement our digitalisation strategy. We will provide you with a modern tool that will help bring football management and development to a new level."
In addition, the meeting elected the Council of the UAF Assembly of Regions. This governing body will be elected for a year (the first composition - until the end of 2024), and this time it includes Ivan Duran, head of the Zakarpattia Football Association, Viktor Bezsmertnyi, head of the Kirovohrad Regional Football Association, and Viktor Kovalenko, first deputy head of the Kharkiv Regional Football Association.