November 1-2 at the MCK Dnipro stadium in Cherkasy, the third round of the Ukrainian amputee football championship, initiated by the Ukrainian Football Association as part of the social project "League of Strong," took place. This is the first tournament of this scale in Ukraine.

The tournament, which started in August and will continue until the end of the year, involves 10 teams from different regions of Ukraine with a total number of participants exceeding 250 people. The majority of players are war veterans who have returned to sports after rehabilitation.

Participants: MCK Dnipro (Cherkasy), Pokrova AMP (Lviv), Shakhhtar Stalivi (Donetsk), Burivyj (Kyiv region), Khrestosy (Lutsk), Vinnytsia Oblast team, Metalist 1925 Nezlamni (Kharkiv), Titans (Zhytomyr), FC Bartka (Ivano-Frankivsk), Vikings (Ternopil).

It is worth noting that two amputee football teams in the championship, Shakhhtar Stalivi and Metalist 1925 Nezlamni, are supported by Ukrainian Premier League football clubs — Shaktar (Donetsk) and Metalist 1925 (Kharkiv).

Further course of the championship

The tournament that began in August will continue until December, taking place in Kyiv, Kyiv region, Lviv, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The champion of the championship will represent Ukraine at the UEFA European Amputee Football League (EAFF) 2026.

Next rounds:

— Fourth round — Ivano-Frankivsk, November 22-23;

— Fifth round (final) — Kyiv, December 13-14.

Along with the third round of the championship on November 2, the Autumn Cup "League of Strong" will take place, where four teams that have not previously participated in professional amputee football competitions will meet:

— Sich (Zaporizhzhia);

— Dnipro Honor (Dnipro);

— Veres Mriya (Rivne);

— Kryvyi Rih AMP (Kryvyi Rih).

The two teams that reach the final will join the first league of the championship at the fourth and fifth stages.

The Ukrainian Amputee Football Championship was founded by the UAF, with its implementation supported by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Agency for Mass Sport of 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.

Live broadcasts are available on the media service MEGOGO and the UAF YouTube channel.

*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 lower limb deficiency, while the goalkeeper must have an upper limb deficiency. Outfield players move around using crutches without prosthetics, while goalkeepers play without crutches. The match consists of two halves of 25 minutes each with a 10-minute break in between. The pitch is smaller than standard football fields (60x40 m). Adapted rules 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 with 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.

*"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-fledged sporting equipment. UAF also develops the competitive component by holding cups and initiating championships. Official partners of "League of Strong" include Mastercard and Oschadbank.

Over the year, amputee football centers were established in 18 cities across Ukraine: Boryspil, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, 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 developing dynamically, 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, the Winter Cup "League of Strong," took place with five teams participating. In March, the "League of Strong" team played an historic match against the Red Flamingos in Belgium, winning 1-0. And already in May, the Spring Cup "League of Strong" was held, featuring eight teams.

Less than a year after its inception, "League of Strong" became the laureate of the prestigious UEFA Football Awards 2025 in the category "National Association."

*UAF Foundation is a charitable foundation established by the Ukrainian Football Association to implement 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.