The weekend at the ‘Ruh’ football Academy was quite productive as the final straight of the selections and searches for new football talents for the ‘yellow-black’ team began.

If on Saturday, the selection was held for the 13-year-old boys, the final competition took place on Sunday for 16-year-old boys. These young athletes already confidently know what they want and what they aspire to, so without any doubt or hesitation, they chose to build their football career at the FC ‘Ruh’ Academy.

The founder of the Football Academy, and he honorary president of the Lviv football club ‘Ruh’, Hryhoriy Petrovych Kozlovskyy not only constantly helps Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, but also really cares about the healthy future of young Ukrainians.

The well-known philanthropist invests all his strength and resources into the football Academy of FC ‘Ruh’ that he created, the construction of which began in 2018 on the outskirts of Lviv near Vynnykivske Lake. The complex consists of eight training fields of the latest generation: three fields with artificial turf, five with hybrid turf, as well as an indoor arena. The complex has all the necessary infrastructure for the development and training of football players.

More than 500 participants were willing to join the team. The coaches had the opportunity to see each of the participants and evaluate their capabilities and skills. During the selections in the older age categories, the excitement of the participants was much stronger than among the younger children, because the older boys are more aware of the actual competition and what it takes to secure their place ‘under the sun’.

The participants of the selection and their parents came from all over Ukraine. They highly appreciated the infrastructure of the Football Academy and the approach to football there.

“Impressions of the Academy are great, everything is very impressive, so the emotions are only positive. Major football is my son’s dream, so ‘Ruh’ is the first important step towards a  professional football career,” noted Serhiy, the father of one of the participants.

The boy’s desire to be a part of this Football Academy is understandable because there is not only an excellent base for sports, but also strong coaches, and the opportunity to participate in international tournaments.

One of the prominent examples is the participation of ‘Ruh’ players in the prestigious tournament Universal Youth Cup in Italy. In April, the founder of FC ‘Ruh’ Academy, Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy, took over all matters regarding the ‘Ruh’ U-11 youth team and sent it to the prestigious Universal Youth Cup tournament in Italy – 64 teams from leading European academies took part in this international competition. As a result of the tournament, the FC ‘Ruh’ U-11 secured an eleventh place at the Universal Youth Cup.

Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy always actively participates in the lives of young athletes, so this time he joined in watching the selection process. The founder of the ‘Ruh’ football club Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy is proud of the fact that thousands of children dream of the Academy and are ready to travel hundreds of kilometres to become professional football players here, in ‘Ruh’: “It is important for the ‘Ruh’ Academy to give a chance to those children who have never been selected for other academies, boarding schools, football schools. Ukraine has always been famous for the fact that there were talented children with good physiological capabilities in villages, towns and on the outskirts, but they didn’t always have the opportunity to showcase themselves. In some age groups, we already have teams actually formed, but we still hope for new additions, and every year a few very interesting children appear, and we will closely watch them, they will get their chance. Football history knows such cases when young football players revealed themselves at the age of 13, 14 or 15, and in the end became great players. I am proud that the seed I once planted is to bear fruit throughout Ukraine. Now we need to wait for this seed to grow in the national team. Dreams come true! The main thing is to dream and work hard for it, then everything will be fine. Welcome! Come and seize your chance.”