”Come on, Let’s Play!” continuously engages Ukraine kids
Boys and girls from all over Ukraine participate in the Shakhtar Social’s ”Come on, Let’s Play!” programme. Recently, Shakhtar coach and a former player joined a training session and opened a new field in Zelenodolsk.
This training session of the ”Come on, Let’s Play” programme in Lviv was somewhat different than usual. The children from different areas of the city usually gather together to participate in friendly matches and compete with one another but on this day the young players were surprised with the attendance of two well-known representatives of the club. The visit of the Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca and the former Shakhtar player Igor Duljaj was highly appreciated and Fonseca and Duljaj shook hands with each participant in the project – there were about sixty of them – and played a small-sided game as well.
”Paulo Fonseca siad: I don’t play that often, but today we’ve had a great match. My team is strong. It’s really nice to come here and live through this wonderful moment together with the guys. The atmosphere here is happy and joyful! Shakhtar developed the ”Come on, Let’s Play!” project in order to motivate people to engage in football. It’s always important that clubs, federations and the state get concerned with involving children in sports and creating the necessary conditions.”
After the game, the children were invited to go to the stadium that evening. Paulo gave each child two tickets for the match Lviv vs Shakhtar, autographed team photos, and also awarded them with footballs with the images of Shakhtar players.
New training ground opened
Next to this special event, Shakhtar Social recently opened a new 3G pitch to deliver the ”Come on, Let’s Play!” project for children in Zelenodolsk. More than a hundred kids aged 7 to 12 from the town got the opportunity to play football for free within the project. Training sessions on the synthetic pitch will be organised three times a week. Shakhtar Social will provide the children with the necessary equipment, as well as organise tournaments and continues training sessions for volunteer coaches. DTEK who plans to allocate UAH 7.6 million for the development of children’s football, is the main partner in this project.
”I want to express my gratitude for the excellent initiative that has been implemented in our town. In the places where DTEK operates, the infrastructure develops. We support the ”Come On, Let’s Play!” project. It’s great that our children can fulfil their dreams.” – said the Zelenodolsk mayor Andrii Savchenko.
”Today’s protagonists are children. I can already feel the emotions, and I understand all the participants – we have a real sporting festival! The conditions are excellent here. Our company will continue creating new opportunities for both children and adults to understand that we are developing and supporting their communities.”
I’m delighted to be present at the launch of the ”Come On, Let’s Play!” project in Zelenodolsk. I want to say that the conditions are great here and it is a wonderful field. I wish every young player the best to achieve some excellent results!
Shakhtar Social
‘Come on, Let’s Play!’ programme – Shakhtar Social Foundation
