On August 27, the children's tournament "Talantikos" took place at the capital's NTK named after V. Bannikov, organized by the Ukrainian Football Association together with the UAF Foundation.
Photo: UAF
Photo: UAFDuring this event, UAF and Ukrposhta presented a joint charity issue — the postage block "The Next "Ballon d'Or" is Yours!". This is a joint charitable initiative aimed at promoting youth football and supporting young athletes.
The ceremonial cancellation was attended by the Ballon d'Or holder, UAF President Andriy Shevchenko, Ballon d'Or holder Ihor Bilanov, and the General Director of JSC "Ukrposhta" Ihor Smiliansky.
"Talantikos" is a new format of a children's tournament founded by UAF. It is a space where young football players can showcase their talent in various formats — without pressure and without a focus on results. This is a new approach for Ukraine, but it is well known and successfully applied in leading football countries. I am convinced that Ukraine will soon have its new Ballon d'Or winner. And we must do everything possible to help talented children achieve this dream," noted Andriy Shevchenko.
The three new postage stamps depict legends of Ukrainian football — Oleg Blokhin, Andriy Shevchenko, and Ihor Bilanov. Each of them once received the highest individual award for a football player, the Ballon d'Or, and forever etched their name in the history of global sports.
Today, the younger generation of football players follows their example, but the war significantly affects the development opportunities for children. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russians have destroyed 63 sports complexes and 17 stadiums (as of June 15, 2025), where children could train.
That is why UAF pays special attention to the development of youth football. "Talantikos" is a series of festivals and football tournaments for boys and girls aged up to 13 years, where there is no pressure for results, all children receive equal opportunities on the field and can reveal their talent. In 2024-2025, over a thousand children have already participated in the project.
The print run of the block is 53,000 copies. 45 hryvnias from the sale of each postage block will go towards the development of the UAF project — "Talantikos".
During the ceremonial cancellation, Ukrposhta presented original works by Ukrainian artist Serhii Tehov featuring portraits of football players, which served as sketches for the postage block.
The postage blocks can be purchased at the Postal Market, philatelic shops, and at Ukrposhta branches.
