In an exclusive interview, Anastasiia Klipachenko, Head of the UAF Women’s and Girls’ Football Committee, a world beach soccer champion, international master of sports, and player for the Ukraine national futsal and beach soccer teams, shares her vision of the development of Ukrainian women’s football in wartime, the unique “Way of Champions” sports project, and sports diplomacy.
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Source: UAF
Anastasiia, you have a rich sporting experience. What has been crucial for you along this path?
I have been playing futsal for 24 years, beach football a bit less. A children’s coach is an important hero in my life and in the life of every girl who takes up football. This is the main criterion. And the second criterion is the desire to be special: to stand out among other girls. I wanted to build a strong character, and this is only possible through sport.
You have been appointed to the position of Head of the UAF Women’s and Girls’ Football Committee. What are your emotions and expectations?
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It was my big dream to be involved in the development of women’s football in Ukraine. It is a great honor for me to be the heart of women’s football, to communicate with our players, coaches, representatives of women’s football, and to improve its level. The main thing is relationships with people, coaches, officials, club representatives and players. It should not be a monologue, but a dialogue and feedback.
Souce:UAF
How is the training camp of the Ukrainian national women’s team organized amid war?
Organizational aspects are more difficult to implement. We are constantly on the road, we have lots of trips. There are organizational issues regarding equipment, inventory, matters of the departure of coaches abroad. The representatives of Belgian women’s football admire us and do not understand how we can still compete for top positions in football, win medals, when we have a war going on. In Belgium, we gathered 6,000-7,000 fans who love women’s football. This is what we should strive for.
Source: UAF
The last training camp in Turkey and the final matches of the year were very emotional. Our national team stopped one step short of qualifying for the EURO-2025, having lost to Belgium. In your opinion, what was missing to win?
The matches were very emotional. For everyone, it would be the first time they’ve ever been to the EURO. We are not hosting with our own stands. Unfortunately, we do not have this aspect. We must admit that we have a gap with European countries. Although we can play on a par with some of them, we are a bit behind. It not only depends on the girls’ desire, but also on the tactical preparation of the coaching staff.
Source: UAF
What should be the football philosophy and vision of the future coach of the national women’s team?
The main goal is to create a field of motivation for them so that they understand that anyone can become a national team coach. Perhaps for some, this is a chance to move forward, because in small towns, coaches work in their comfort zone and think that their dream will never come true. This platform of opportunities should give an impetus to move, study, get licenses, visit training courses whenever possible during the war. And to understand that now is the time for change.
Photo: UAF
Tell us more about the comprehensive player development project. How will Ukrainian women’s football clubs and players participate in this project? For example, the captain of the national women’s team, Daria Apanashchenko, has joined the newly created UAF Women’s and Girls Football Committee.
Now the committee is more active as we have engaged a player who has been the captain, the face of women’s football for many years. The comprehensive player development project is one of the steps towards showing that your possibilities are endless. We are all women. We have to think about who we will be, how we will realize ourselves in the future if we get injured or end our career.
We understand that, compared to men’s football, girls cannot afford to provide themselves with housing, a car, or a business. Therefore, the mental health of each player is at the heart of this comprehensive development. The strategy provides team-building activities. We will cooperate with the teams with the support of the WAF Foundation. We have won a six-month project for girls aged 12 to 18, which will be the foundation of their mental health knowledge.
From Feb. 3 to 7, the Winter Cup will be held at the Dynamo training complex. Football is creativity, it is a religion. I want women’s football to be treated as art, and I want female footballers to be treated with respect. My comprehensive development is about respect for women’s football, breaking down stereotypes and gender inequality.
Source: personal archive of Anastasiia Klipachenko
What are the activities and plans of the “Way of Champions” project? Do you plan to expand your activities throughout and beyond Ukraine?
Our organization, the “Way of Champions,” has been officially established for three years. Before that, we cooperated with international leadership schools, for example, in Moldova and Azerbaijan. A little bit in South Africa, where my colleague studied at a leadership school. This is a very relevant topic around the world. It is not so much covered in our sport. We are the only organization that works with professional athletes and deals with mental health. We will develop our own identity, and this project will be the driving force for the further development and mental health of our players.
Before the start of the second round of the Ukrainian Women’s Championship, which is scheduled for March 19, how do you assess the development of Ukrainian clubs at the moment compared to European ones?
Right now, we are dealing with the issue of unified broadcasting for teams. Now all the Premier League clubs have kicked off their training camps. We see that with the support of men’s clubs, our women’s teams are growing a lot: infrastructure, pitches, stadium. For example, men’s clubs provide their own stadium, and the club’s management shares the first team’s pitch with the women’s club. This is respect and improved conditions.
Source: personal archive of Anastasiia Klipachenko
Do you believe in the power of women’s football as an effective tool of sports diplomacy?
Women’s football is like a base for the development of an athlete as a person. Recently, I was a presenter at the cultural and ethical exhibition Nezlamni.UA. There were ambassadors and diplomats from different countries. There was a painting that had the following subtext: Eleonora Maltseva, a football player of the Ukrainian national futsal team, died in the war two years ago, and our organization, the “Way of Champions,” has been holding a tournament in the summer for two years. This is a one-day marathon tournament where teams gather to pay tribute to the memory on Independence Day. We called the tournament “Invincible.” Our friend organized an exhibition of paintings by Ukrainian artists called Nezlamni.UA (Invincible.UA). There was a picture-photograph of Eleonora by a Ukrainian artist, standing in a military uniform against the backdrop of ruins. She personifies this invincibility.
Photo: personal archive of Anastasiia Klipachenko
During the international forum “The Power of Sports Diplomacy” Andriy Yermak [President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff] noted that for Ukraine “each of the athletes is a diplomat.” Do you agree with this statement?
I played for the national beach soccer team when we became world champions during the war, which was the first time in history. We won the final against Brazil. The whole stadium understands your anthem, and everyone is inspired by our people. We are the embodiment of this freedom that cannot be broken. We are truly sports diplomats. We carry this flag, we have to carry it with pride, and we have to talk about our country. Football is such a powerful diplomatic tool. Who better to talk about this than athletes? We are constantly grateful to our Armed Forces for keeping us alive and thanks to them we can play on the international stage, hold the Ukrainian championship and continue to use football as a strong tool to unite the nation.
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