Sport gives maimed Ukrainian veterans ‘new goals’, says Andriy Shevchenko

PARIS – Sport has given Ukrainian veterans maimed in the war with Russia “new dreams and goals to aspire to”, Ukraine football legend Andriy Shevchenko said.

Some of those veterans are in the Ukrainian squad taking part in the Euro 2024 football amputee championship in France.

Shevchenko, the 2004 Ballon D’Or winner and the son of a “military man”, is president of the Ukrainian Football Association (UFA) and devised the project to aid amputee veterans in June 2023.

The 47-year-old said that Ukrainians owe a huge debt to the veterans, who have fought at great cost to defy the Russian army since President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion in February 2022.

“Sport allows them to feel alive even during difficult times,” Shevchenko told AFP via e-mail.

“Sport is a powerful instrument of the physical and psychological recovery of veterans, and also gives them new dreams and goals to aspire to.

“Veterans are the reason we are all alive today and have the opportunity to continue developing Ukrainian football.”

The former Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan and Chelsea striker added there are around “70,000 amputees” in Ukraine and “the majority are war veterans”.

“UFA has established one of its strategic goals to help them to return to active life through football,” he added.

“We are currently putting together a road map of the project for the next five years on the development of amputee football across the country.”

There are teams in Lviv, Cherkasy and two in Kyiv, including Shakhtar Donetsk.

For the moment all eyes are on the amputee squad – who have “four to five” veterans – competing in the Euro 2024 championship and who began their campaign with a 1-0 loss to hosts France in Evian-les-Bains on June 1.

The veterans are a huge inspiration for the civilian amputees in the squad, coach Dmytro Rzhondovskyi said.

Equally, though, he said the civilian players have their own role to play in helping the traumatised veterans.

“The civilian players take pride in playing with the wounded veterans,” the coach said. “For them, it is unbelievable. (The civilians) say ‘they are our heroes, our heroes are our soldiers’. It’s so unbelievable for the civilian players.

“However, they must as well help our soldiers, to get back and adapt to this life.”

Matches at the nine-day tournament last 50 minutes with six outfield players and a goalkeeper, who must be missing an arm, plus six substitutes.

Although Ukraine failed to qualify for the quarter-finals after losing 3-0 to Spain and beating Belgium 3-1, morale has been boosted by Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk’s world heavyweight title win over Tyson Fury.

“Usyk is our spirit, he is Ukraine’s spirit and our power and we are so proud of Oleksandr,” added Rzhondovskyi, who played football with Usyk when they were youngsters.

“His (win) was a very important victory for our country.”

Rzhondovskyi, who also coaches the women’s amputee team, knows what it takes to win a title.

The former Dynamo Kyiv academy player won Mundiavocat – the World Cup for lawyers – in Barcelona in 2018, scoring in the semi-finals and final.

The 35-year-old, a Ukrainian soldier’s son born in Prague, says he has not fought in the war yet, so this is his way of contributing to his country’s efforts.

“They are heroes, I am not a soldier but for me I am a Ukrainian man helping female and male soldiers to adapt back to life after their traumatic injuries,” he said.

“For me I am honoured to know these people.”

He is also due to oversee the women’s amputee team in the World Cup in Barranquilla, Colombia, from Nov 2 to 11. However, he is unsure whether he will get there.

“At the moment I am not there in a war, I am in Kyiv... but I do not know where I will be tomorrow,” he explained. “It is a difficult situation as maybe I will be needed to go to war. It is our home, not Russia’s home, and we want to live in peace in Ukraine our land.” AFP