The day before, a friendly match between the Ukrainian national veterans' team and the Armed Forces of Ukraine took place on the field of the V. Bannikov National Sports Complex in Kyiv on the occasion of the Day of Defenders of Ukraine.
Photo: D. BalashovThe participants of the match were greeted by the UAF First Vice President Pavlo Boichuk, head coach of the Ukrainian national team among veterans Eduard Tsikhmeystruk and veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, medalist of the International Invictus Games, head of the NGO "Rehabilitation of ATO Veterans through Sports" Artem Lukashuk.
"On behalf of the Ukrainian Football Association, I would like to congratulate all those present on the Day of Defenders of Ukraine! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took up arms and went to fight for our land. We remember everyone who gave their lives for Ukraine. I thank our defenders for their courage. Glory to Ukraine!" said Pavlo Boychuk.
Before the match, the Ukrainian Football Association also recognized a number of people who have made a significant contribution to the development of football and support for veterans. Among the awardees were:
- Eduard Tsikhmeystruk, head coach of the Ukrainian national team among veterans;
- Oleh Sobutskyi, an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and founder of the Ukrainian national team among veterans;
- Andriy Biba, chairman of the Football Veterans Association of Ukraine;
- Serhiy Drobot, Kostyantyn Kalisetskyi, Maksym Burenko, Oleksiy Hopta, Vitaliy Mamchenko, Vladyslav Sydorenko, and Viktor Klymenyuk - military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The match itself consisted of two halves of 40 minutes each, and the symbolic draw of the ball from the center of the field was made by a veteran of the 92nd Brigade named after the Kosh Ataman Ivan Sirko, Senior Soldier Ilya Tyshchenko and a soldier of the DIU Kraken Special Forces of the 3rd Assault Company, Hryhoriy Kozachenko.
In the end, the national team of Ukraine among veterans won 7-4.
Individual awards were given to:
- Best Goalkeeper - Serhiy Pogorily (Ukraine's national veterans' team);
- Best defender - Oleksandr Ryabchuk (Armed Forces of Ukraine);
- Best forward - Artem Lukashuk (Armed Forces of Ukraine);
- Best Player - Volodymyr Lysenko (Ukraine's national veterans' team).
The team of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received silver awards, and the winners, the national team of veterans, were solemnly awarded gold medals. In addition, the veterans presented their colleagues from the Armed Forces with a T-shirt signed by the entire team as a sign of respect and support.
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