- What key changes in the work of the FFU would you note in the past year after the previous Congress?.

- I have been working in FFU for a little over a year and during this time I can note the significant progress in the development of mass, children's and youthful and women's football, which really confirms the priority of these directions for the Federation. During this time, launched a number of new projects, competitions and programs that are actively supported by UEFA. In the events that are held under the auspices of the FFU, hundreds of children take part in different regions of Ukraine, including immigrant children from Crimea and Donbass. And, what is very important, if we take, for example, "Open football lessons", and on one of them I recently visited my native Dnipro, then in such events, from 30% to 45% of girls participate, which in practice refutes stereotypical perception football in our country, as a purely male sport.

- A lot of criticism of the FFU sounds in terms of too slow development of the football infrastructure ... - Criticism is always easier. In my opinion, work is being done in the right direction. Of course, I want every yard to have its own modern football ground and that today. But, if we are talking about the qualitative and systemic updating and development of the sports infrastructure, then it takes some time. FFU has built a plant to produce high-quality coating for such sites and full-size fields, and this year the first facilities appear where there is a coating produced at this enterprise. The project was implemented in just one and a half years! Once again - from the presentation to the opening of the plant was only a year and a half!.

Now there are a lot of accusations against the management of the plant and FFU, but if there are suspicions or grounds for believing that there are abuses, let them be checked by the competent authorities. It is strange that with the advent of such an enterprise, individual media discuss not how many fields can be built, but unfounded accusations against the leadership of FFU.

- That is, a little more time and we will see how the football infrastructure of Ukraine will change?.

- It is changing now. New sports grounds and new opportunities for children are opening in different regions of the country. We make every effort to ensure that football develops in these venues. It is necessary to make so that as much as possible boys and girls have come to football sections, having left therefrom healthy and successful. The work is carried out in different directions, beginning with the training of trainers, what the Institute of Football does, ending with the creation of a common database for all Ukrainian football players, which was not previously in our football.

- What is the reason for the increased criticism and whole information campaigns against the FFU and its leaders?.

- Indeed, recently there is an explicit and frank order to discredit the Football Federation of Ukraine and its leaders. It even goes so far that there is a hacking of accounts in social networks. Of course, all these things do not paint our football and do not contribute to its development. Definitely a way to nowhere. It is especially regrettable that all this takes place on the eve of the most important for Ukraine and all domestic football of the UEFA Champions League final. There is an impression that someone, in our country or in the neighborhood, clearly does not like that the FFU received high marks from UEFA for preparing for the Champions League finals. And such a position is clearly not going to benefit the national football, all will lose.

The country is not an easy situation and we are under the attention of the entire world community, so we need to consolidate, bury the "ax of war" and work together to develop Ukrainian football.

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