During May-June this year in Ukraine there were 25 zone tournaments "Leather Ball" in four age groups.
The winners of qualifying tournaments got the right to participate in the finals that took place in the first half of June in Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk and Slavuta Khmelnytsky region.
"Leather Ball" is the most massive football competition among school teams that are held jointly by the Football Federation of Ukraine and the Association of Amateur Football of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and are included in the programs of sports events of Ukrainian schools. The tournament is the successor of the football competitions for the prizes of the club "Leather Ball", which have their history since 1965. Competitions at the all-Ukrainian level resumed in 1998. Since then, and up to now, the tournament is headed by a veteran of Kiev Dynamo, the best footballer of the USSR in 1966, the honored master of sports Andrey Biba.
New football centers Determining the venue for the final tournaments, it is always appropriate to grant the right to take them not only to well-known football centers, but also small towns where football is loved no less and where much is done for its development. Guided by this principle, the final in the younger age group (U-11) was decided to be held in Slavuta, Khmelnitsky region. Competitions were held on June 6-8 at the stadium of the local Youth Sports School and gathered a large spectator audience. The tournament ended with a solemn awarding of participants at the local House of Culture where the teams were greeted by Andrey Biba, the first vice-president of the AAFU Alexander Kadenko and the local mayor Vasily Sidor. The victory in the tournament was won by the team of Lviv school No. 73, the second place was taken by pupils of the local NPK-lyceum "Success", the third was the team of gymnasium No. 237 g. Kiev.
The final of the Leather Ball - "Cup of Coca-Cola U-12" was held June 13-15 in Ivano-Frankivsk on the field put into operation last year, the hat-trick of the Arena, the construction of which was financed by UEFA in the framework of a joint project with the FFU hat-trick. Ivano-Frankivsk was chosen as the venue for the finals not by chance, because it was here 20 years ago, in the distant 1998, the historic first final tournament of the revived "Leather Ball".
The team of the local 10th school celebrated the victory here, the silver was won by the students of the Lutsk school No 25, bronze - the players of the secondary school No. 25 g. Vinnitsa. Andrey Bondarenko, chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional federation of football, welcomed the winners, and Taras Klim - the first deputy chairman of the regional federation, the vice-president of the AAFU.
Young champions Traditionally, one of the final tournaments (U-13, May 31-June 2) was held in the metropolitan region. All matches took place at the city stadium in Vishnevoe, a suburb of Kiev. The first place was able to get young players school № 20 g. Kharkov, the second was the team of Kiev 301-th Yaroslav the Wise school, the third were the students of the famous for their achievements boarding school from Vladimir-Volynsky.
On June 2, all eight finalist teams were awarded at the Kontraktova Square in Kiev, where the first Kyiv Ball. The first vice-president of the Football Federation of Ukraine Vadim Kostyuchenko, the first vice-president of the Association of amateur football of Ukraine Alexander Kadenko, the president of the Leather ball Andrey Biba and the head of the department of the Committee on Physical upbringing and sport of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine Vitaly Maslo.
During the award ceremony, Andrei Biba called the football player, who was voted the best player of the final tournament. He was Vladislav Prots - a student of secondary school № 301 g. Kiev. And Vadim Kostyuchenko announced the decision of the FFU to award certificates to all players of all four finals of the "Leather Ball" to attend matches of the Ukrainian national team.
"The leather ball is becoming more popular all over Ukraine. This is a wonderful project, which creates a solid foundation for the development of mass football in Ukraine, "- said Vadim Kostyuchenko.
Another final of the Leather Ball - the Cup of Coca-Cola will take place at the end of August in Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson region, where 14-year-old players will compete and where all conditions for holding such a high level competition are created.