Today, February 9, a press conference was held at the Football House with the President of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Shevchenko to review the achievements of the second year under the new UAFA administration.

During the media interaction, the President of UAFA outlined the association's stance on key international and domestic issues, including the possible inclusion of Russian teams in competitions, the status of Ukrainian players abroad, the introduction of a direct compensation mechanism for first-tier youth coaches, as well as presented an updated organizational structure of the UAFA administration.

Photo: Dan Balashov

Below is the full text of Andriy Shevchenko's statement as President of the Ukrainian Football Association:

"I would like to start with the main news of the week, which has shaken everyone and concerns each one. It is about the interview by FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding the possible inclusion of Russians in football. UAFA reacted immediately. You all saw our statement. We clearly expressed our position, which remains unchanged: until the war continues, we categorically oppose the return of Russians to football.

Over these days, there has been communication with FIFA representatives at various levels. Currently, the FIFA Council is not considering the issue of returning Russians — this information was also reported by European media.

I plan to meet with Gianni Infantino to convey the information about the war in Ukraine and our position once again. Colleagues from other associations support us. As long as this support is maintained, the return of Russians to competitions is not being considered.

Now let's move on to good news. It concerns the status of Ukrainian players abroad.

As known, most European countries apply quotas for Ukrainian footballers-legionnaires. Our team gathered legal arguments and evidence base to address this issue. We approached associations with an explanation that according to Article 17 of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement such limitations have discriminatory characteristics. We proposed reviewing internal regulations norms in these countries.

Following consultations, we reached positive decisions from Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany regarding competitions where these restrictions were applied. Negotiations with other associations are ongoing. Ukrainian athletes have a right to full Euro-integration and equal conditions for access to competitions. More details on this case will be shared today.

Photo: Dan Balashov

And another fresh and exclusive news concerning our domestic football matters.

For me, it has always been important the issue of respect for youth coaches. People who lay down the first football knowledge to future players of Ukraine's national team and professional clubs.

Last week, the Executive Board of UAFA approved an important addendum to the regulations on player status and transfers. Now all first-tier youth coaches will be guaranteed direct compensation for training a player. Previously, these costs were only received by schools and clubs. We have fixed this.

Every youth coach should be confident that his work is properly valued, and he can fully focus on nurturing talents.

UAFA — the main regulatory body for football development in Ukraine. But our resources are limited by the frameworks set by our key stakeholders — UEFA and FIFA.

The UAFA budget is practically unchanged. Therefore, the main task of the association's activity is how to distribute these funds among directions and real projects and what results this brings. I would like you to pay attention to this specifically.

The key to effective work is creating a team of people who take responsibility and professionally perform their duties. Therefore, I present the new organizational structure of UAFA.

All activities of UAFA are divided into five directorates, each with a designated responsible person. Only disciplinary bodies, arbitration department, and investigation direction work independently from them. Internal management is carried out by the "Coordination Council," which includes the president, vice-presidents, general secretary, and five directors of directions.

This is the top level of the organizational structure. More details will be presented on official UAFA resources. The structure of football teams remains unchanged; it is headed by Serhiy Rebrov.

I often repeat the word "team" — and I want to emphasize this again. The processes and reforms we have initiated require coordinated actions from a large number of experts. UAFA today — 200 staff members."