The League of the Mighty Ukraine holds first soccer championship for amputees wounded in Russia’s war
The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) hosted its first “League of the Mighty” soccer championship for amputees in Kyiv on January 11–12. Amputee football, as it’s known in Europe, involves teams of seven players, each with one goalkeeper who has an upper limb amputation and six outfield players with lower limb amputations; outfield players use forearms crutches and play without their prostheses. “Football has a unique power to aid rehabilitation and recovery,” UAF President Andriy Shavchenko said at the tournament’s opening. “Ukraine is home to over 100,000 people with limb amputations, many of whom are soldiers injured while defending our country. This first UAF amputee football tournament demonstrates that nothing is impossible when there is determination and a supportive team.”
Five teams competed in the League of the Mighty’s inaugural Winter Cup: AMP FC Kyiv, MSC Dnipro, FC Pokrova AMP, FC Pokrova-2, and Shakhtar Stalevi. After 11 matches played over two days, the Lviv-based FC Pokrova-2 emerged victorious, with the recently assembled coed team from Kyiv coming in second place. “This is very important for veterans,” said Dmytro Kuts, a Pokrova-2 player recognized and one of the tournament’s top scorers. “Amputee football provides a chance to rehabilitate and rejoin society. Thanks to football, I don’t even notice that I’m missing a leg.”