Shakhtar players Mudryk and Shevchenko visit special training

On March 21, Shakhtar players Oleksii Shevchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk attended a training session for children with special needs as part of the Come On, Let’s Play! project.

The event took place in Kharkiv in the framework of the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks 2021 running from March 22 through April 18.

March 21 is the World Down Syndrome Day

For a few years now, Shakhtar Social has been conducting free training sessions for children with special needs in six Ukrainian cities (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mariupol) using an adapted methodology developed specifically for Disability Football. Football sessions for children with disabilities and developmental disabilities are organized with the support of Shakhtar Social’s general partner DTEK, along with the UNFPA Ukraine, Special Olympics Ukraine and Parimatch Foundation Ukraine.

Mykhailo Mudryk and Oleksii Shevchenko directly participated in the training session, played football, took joint photographs, talked to the kids and handed them gifts.

*Football is for all children. We try to hold such events in all cities and towns where Shakhtar come*.

Inna Khmyzova, Shakhtar Social Director:

“As the head of the foundation, and primarily as a mother, I’m really delighted when our players attend such training sessions. Firstly, those are genuine and sincere emotions of children. And secondly, the participation of famous people and football players helps us draw attention to such projects and talk about their importance. Football is for all children. We try to hold such events in all cities and towns where Shakhtar come.”

*The smiles on children’s faces are worth a lot. I am very glad when football brings positive emotions and joy into their lives*.

Mykhailo Mudryk, Shakhtar midfielder:

“I’ve got just positive emotions! The smiles on children’s faces are worth a lot. I am very glad when football brings positive emotions and joy into their lives. This is just the most important thing: for children to find the undertaking that delights them.”

Oleksii Shevchenko, Shakhtar goalkeeper:

“I think that such events should be held more often. The kids are happy, they smile. This greatly influences the emotional state. I want to thank the Shakhtar football club for paying attention to such children.”

More than football

For the fifth year in a row, Shakhtar have been participating in the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks social campaign that is an EFDN initative and supported by the European Club Association, the UEFA Foundation for Children and the European Football for Development Network.