Ukrainians With Us, when football becomes solidarity
{mb_sdlf_jugador_SDLF-jugador_frase-destacada}Marcet summons FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol to celebrate a tournament as a gesture of friendship for the victims of the war.
At Marcet, solidarity and football have always gone hand in hand. Even more so after February 24, 2022, the day of the beginning of the war in Ukraine. As of that date, the Marcet Foundation has begun to collaborate with the authorities of the Slavic country to bring refugees to Spain, sending its coach to the border with Poland and making dozens of places available in its residences, some of them occupied by the Dynamo Kyiv‘s U-16 team.
After having invited the best Ukrainian club to its facilities for 10 days, the Marcet Football University summoned the two main Barcelona teams to organize a tournament that combined social action and sporting quality. RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona did not hesitate to join the initiative and the result was Ukrainians With Us.
The solidarity tournament was held at the beginning of June at the Marcet Academy headquarters, and the winner was Dinamo Kyiv. Not only because they defeated their rivals on the pitch, but also -and above all- because the young Ukrainians who participated in the expedition managed to get away for a few days from the conflict in their country.
“The main objective of this initiative is that these boys could recover their dignity as people”, explained president J. Marcet the day of the tournament. “Here these young soccer players are doing what kids of their age should do: playing sports, enjoying themselves, fighting to achieve their dreams,” added Artem Vorobyov, Ukraine’s consul in Barcelona.
“We want to thank the Marcet Football University for this great initiative”, said Dinamo player Denis Khmelovskyy: “We are enjoying every moment, especially the possibility of being able to face these great teams”.
An experience that was made possible bringing together some of the best European grassroots clubs thanks to cross-sector collaboration between political authorities and sports institutions. Another proof that football can also be a tool for inclusivity and social cohesion.