Shevchenko: elected president Ukrainian Football Federation – 01/25/2024 – Sport

Former striker Andriy Shevchenko was unanimously elected this Thursday (25) as the new president of the Ukrainian Football Federation (UAF), with the mission of “developing” the sport in the country, which has suffered from the invasion for two years. Russian.

“It’s a huge responsibility. We have great missions ahead of us (…) It is necessary to allow football to develop in Ukraine, in such difficult conditions, with a large-scale war”, declared Shevchenko, winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2004 , at a press conference in Kiev.

Despite the war, “we must prepare our national team, the Olympic team, futsal, women’s football…”, he highlighted.

The 47-year-old former footballer, who frequently speaks out against Russia’s invasion of his country, was the only candidate in the UAF election.

The war has had a devastating effect on Ukrainian clubs: some can no longer play in their hometowns for security reasons, others have had their stadiums hit by bombs and there are players who have lost family members.

President of Ukraine Volodomir Zelensky insists on his intention to fight corruption in public organizations. Shevchenko proposed to provide transparency to his work at the head of the UAF.

In a statement on the X network, the UAF explained that Shevchenko was elected “for a five-year term.”

Andriy Shevchenko is the best-known Ukrainian player in history, alongside legendary goalkeeper Oleg Blokhin, Ballon d’Or winner in 1975.

The former striker is Ukraine’s all-time top scorer and scored 59 goals in the Champions League, which he won in 2003 with Milan. In addition to the Italian club, he played for Dinamo Kiev and Chelsea throughout his career.

For the Ukrainian national team, there were 111 games and 48 goals scored. Furthermore, he was the team’s coach between 2016 and 2021.

Ukraine is still trying to qualify for this year’s European Championship (June 14 to July 14). On March 21, the team visits Bosnia in the playoff semi-final, before a possible final against the winner of the duel between Israel and Iceland.