September 27-28 at the Bosco Center stadium in Lviv, the second round of the first Ukrainian amputee football championship took place as part of a social project called "League of Strong" implemented by the Ukrainian Football Association.

The tournament will last five months and includes 10 teams from different regions of Ukraine: «MSK Dnipro» (Cherkasy), «Pokrova AMP» (Lviv), «Shakhtar Stalevi» (Donetsk), «Burivyj» (Kyiv region), «Crusaders» (Lutsk), «Vinnytsia AMP» (Vinnytsia), «Neslamni» (Kharkiv), «Titans» (Zhytomyr), FC «Bartka» (Ivano-Frankivsk), «Vikings» (Ternopil). Most of the players are war veterans who have returned to sports after rehabilitation.

Soldiers undergoing rehabilitation at the Superhumans center also attended matches of the championship.

A Symbolic Moment of the Round

The second round of the championship will be remembered not only for its sporting results. Between matches, a touching and personal moment occurred for one of the participants. Player «Pokrova AMP» Mykola Hatala proposed to his girlfriend simply on the football field.

Photo: Dan Balashov

«Lion of the Round»

In the amputee football championship organized by the UAF and its partner «Lvivske,» a permanent award called «Lion of the Round» was introduced. The second round's lion was selected as Mykola Oleksienko, a player from «Pokrova AMP,» who scored five goals.

The championship will run until December 2025. Matches will take place in Kyiv, the Kyiv region, Lviv, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The winner will represent Ukraine at the UEFA European Amputee Football League (EAFF) Champions League 2026.

The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Agency for Mass Sport in Ukraine.

Official partners of the Ukrainian Amputee Football Championship include Mastercard and Oschadbank. Project partners also include match broadcaster MEGOGO, Ukrzaliznytsia, «Lvivske,» adidas, and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

Photo: Dan Balashov

Championship matches will be broadcast live on the media service MEGOGO and on the YouTube channel of UAF.

*Amputee football — is a sport for people with amputations or congenital limb deficiencies. The game follows these main rules. Seven players are on the field (six outfield and one goalkeeper). Outfield players must have an amputation or deficiency in their lower limbs, while the goalkeeper must have an upper limb amputation. Outfield players move around using crutches without prosthetics, whereas goalkeepers play without crutches. The game consists of two halves of 25 minutes each with a 10-minute break. The pitch is smaller than a standard football field (60x40 m). Adapted rules of football are used with an emphasis on player safety. There are women's, men's, and mixed teams. This dynamic and exciting sport promotes inclusion and inspires through its spirit of struggle and teamwork.

Over 100,000 people in Ukraine live with amputated limbs. For many of them, amputee football opens the way to physical and psychological recovery, returning to an active life, and joining a community of like-minded individuals.

Photo: Dan Balashov

*«League of Strong» — is a social project by the Ukrainian Football Association that helps people with amputations or limb deficiencies return to an active life and find inspiration through sports. The project covers a wide range of tasks: attracting new players, creating teams in cities, organizing training sessions, preparing professionals (coaches and managers), as well as equipping teams with full sporting equipment. UAF also develops the competitive aspect by holding cups and initiating championships. Official partners of «League of Strong» include Mastercard and Oschadbank.

In a year, amputee football centers were established in 18 cities across Ukraine: Boryspil, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhya, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Lutsk, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, and Chernihiv. The project has spurred the creation of 20 teams that are dynamically developing and promoting amputee football throughout Ukraine. In total, over 500 players have been involved in training, skill development, and competitions.

In January 2025, the first tournament, Winter Cup «League of Strong,» was held with five teams participating. In March, the «League of Strong» team played an historic match against Red Flamingos in Belgium and won 1-0. And already in May, the Spring Cup «League of Strong» took place, featuring eight teams.

Less than a year after its establishment, «League of Strong» became a laureate of the prestigious UEFA FootbALL Awards 2025 in the category of «National Association.»

Photo: Dan Balashov

*UAF Foundation — is a charitable foundation established by the Ukrainian Football Association that implements social projects and fundraising aimed at developing football in Ukraine. The main areas of activity include adaptive football, mass children's football, women's football, social support, and restoring sports infrastructure. The foundation also initiates projects related to overcoming war consequences using the unifying power of football for positive changes in society.