His Beatitude Sviatoslav Meets with Players from the Pokrova Amputee Football Club
Today, August 29, at the residence of the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with players from Ukraine’s first amputee football team, Pokrova AMP. Two years ago, the club was founded in Lviv by the Salesian congregation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Currently, the team has over 40 players, most of whom are veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war, for whom football and a team of like-minded people are a good source of rehabilitation and self-realization.
Greeting the veterans, the Head of the UGCC expressed his gratitude for the meeting, calling the meeting motivational and inspiring.
“Today is difficult for all of us. Everyone has their own struggles. You help not only yourselves, but also everyone who looks at you, who cares about you, who does not give up in the most painful circumstances. After all, to play football, one must first overcome oneself.
If we know how to overcome ourselves, we are an invincible people. And so I want you to feel here today, at the Patriarchal Center of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in our home, the admiration, support, and gratitude for all that you do,” emphasized the Primate.
He assured the players that their victory was important for all of us, for Ukraine, recalling the saying that a sound mind resides in a sound body, and adding that in their case it could be rephrased: a sound mind makes even a wounded body strong.”
“Therefore, what you are doing is extremely important for Ukraine today, because we are all wounded in one way or another,” explained His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The Patriarch wished the guests, despite all the awards and recognition, to continue to overcome themselves and create the kind of team they are building, assuring them that the Church stands with them and will support them.
“I wish you that all the goals you set for yourselves, with God’s help and blessing, will be achieved. And we want to be useful to you, to support you, to serve you all in every way we can. Thank you for your testimony, for the victory you carry within yourselves and for inspiring all those around you,” concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The young men expressed their gratitude to the Head of the UGCC for the meeting, noting that their dream had come true. Team founder Bohdan Melnyk said that the idea of creating such a team arose when Fr. Mykhailo Chaban, provincial superior of the Salesians, returned from foreign countries, where he saw football players on crutches. “This prompted an idea that quickly developed.
We became the first team in Ukraine to come together and enjoy ourselves, first and foremost from communicating, from meeting, training, and from having specialists with experience in medicine and coaching around the team. Everyone here lives for this. We are glad that we have become an impetus for the whole of Ukraine to create such teams,” said the founder.
Eventually, the Ukrainian Football Federation took notice this and invited him to lead a separate amputee football division. “In less than a year of activity, we already have 20 centres where teams train regularly. That’s hundreds of guys and girls, because what makes us special is that the teams are mixed, meaning both guys and girls can play in matches,” said Mr. Melnyk.
At the same time, the team’s goalkeeper noted that “when you come to church, you find yourself in an environment with a special ambiance and a sense of uniqueness.” This team, though, gives him a similar feeling— a place where he feels truly happy.
The veterans then shared with the Head of the UGCC their dreams of becoming champions of Ukraine and showed him a video of their victory in Warsaw.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav blessed the players for their future achievements.
The UGCC Department for Information
